Page 40 of Omega's Reluctant Mate
His gaze snapped to me. “Here?” he squeaked.
I took one of his hands in mine. “Is this ok?”
He nodded. “I’ve never eaten here. Cody has reservations for him, Theo, and I, but it’s still a couple months out. How?”
“Zaya pulled some strings, but won’t tell me anything more than that.”
The valet opened the door and I got out first, then helped Corey from the sedan.
Something about the light caught in his hair, giving him a soft halo effect. It was like his eyes, instead of one flat color there was a rainbow of dark browns, and for a brief moment I wondered what it would feel like.
The valet closed the car door behind us and the sedan drove off while I escorted Corey to the restaurant, where a doorman held another open for us.
We were escorted through the restaurant, and Corey froze when he saw the maître d' pause at the chef’s table.
“Nate,” he whispered. “Isn’t this too much?”
I turned and took his hands in mine, staring into his eyes. “I want you to have the dating experience you deserve too. You’ve been wonderful about meeting my needs, but I need to meet yours too.”
He smiled, and I saw the sheen of a scent strip under his nose—a reminder that there was a major need I still couldn’t meet.
How long would he wait?
We were seated and a moment later the chef came over to greet us. He discussed the selection for the night, during which Corey’s eyes widened as each new dish was detailed.
“Is that all ok?” I asked as the chef returned to his place in the kitchen.
“It’s… a lot,” Corey replied. “I’d never be able to afford half of that.”
I met his gaze. “You do know… if…” I took a deep breath. “If things actually work out between us, I’m still a billionaire. Dinners like this would become common.”
“I’d forced myself not to think about that,” he replied softly. “It felt too much like pushing things.”
“Don’t hold back on thinking about what you want for yourself just because I might be going slower than you.”
He smiled. “It’s more keeping myself in check.” He glanced down at the table. “Some of the… urges… are still strong.”
Guilt curled in my middle and I reached across the table to touch his hand. “Corey… I…”
“Pardon me sirs.”
I looked away from my sweet omega to see the maître d' standing next to the table. “Yes?”
“Apologies, but we received a call from Mr. Zaya Jones. He indicated that he has an urgent message for you.”
I frowned, Zaya would be the last person I would expect to interrupt the date. “I’ll take it.”
He handed me a cordless phone.
“Zaya?” I asked.
“Hey, I’m sorry for interrupting your date, but Papa is losing his shit trying to reach you.”
“I turned my phone off.”
He sighed. “That’s what I thought. Look, I can try to hold him off, but you know how he gets.”
I groaned. “I’ll call him.”
