Page 93 of I Replaced His Husband
We stopped at a small gas station because I needed to pick something up from the grocery store next to it. Kay said he wanted to come in too and grab some snacks, even though we’d packed a full breakfast. I had a feeling he just wanted something sweet to lift his spirits.
While we stood in a long line, I noticed people blatantly staring at him again; this time it wasn’t just alphas. Betas and even omegas turned their heads, some with their mouths agape. Maybe some recognized him from his modeling days?
Kay used to have a pretty big Instagram with a solid following back when he was a runway model, but he hasn’tposted anything there for about a year now, except for a few of his architectural drawings.
That didn’t mean people wouldn’t recognize his face, though. His striking looks made him stand out in any crowd; you could say he practically glowed from a distance. I could see those curious glances from almost everyone who passed by.
That perfectly symmetrical face, the long, silky hair, the flawless skin… he stood out without even trying.
Sure, I never really had any insecurities. I’ve always seen myself as a classically handsome guy, and my friends used to rate me a ten. But Kay was definitely off the charts, and every now and then I caught people looking at me with a silent,Damn, dude, nice catch!in their eyes.
Those few who didn’t care about his looks were probably taken aback by his height. Six foot one is a really unusual height for an omega. He looked like a graceful and refined aloof prince among them, towering over everyone in line.
One omega ahead of us actually turned his head and gave Kay a fixated look. I watched Kay to see how he’d react. He stayed completely still and didn’t acknowledge itat all.
As we got closer to the cashier, three alphas walked into the store. Right away, I noticed a bit of a shift in Kay. He immediately took a small step closer to me, his body pressing lightly against my chest. Before, when there were only omegas and betas, he was fully relaxed, not caring what they did, almost haughty in his ease.
But alphas were a different case; his energy changed, became… almost nervous.
The newcomers glanced toward our line, and it was obvious that they had locked onto Kay.
My pulse picked up, but then one of them noticed my arm around Kay’s waist and made a sour face. The three of them moved to the back of the line, and that was it. They looked prettyrough and intimidating, so I was somewhat relieved they backed off.
Once we got back to the car, Kay climbed in quickly. It wasn’t until we were back on the road that I saw him start to relax.
"Were you scared of them?" I asked.
"Yeah. Those kinds of alphas are the most dangerous," he said quietly, sounding grim. "Guys from small towns who think they can do whatever they want. They get away with rape and violence because their buddies are in the police or on the city council. Everything’s connected. Everyone knows each other… Our town’s kinda like that. Deputy Johnson’s cousin married into the Dawsons."
"Well, as you remember, my house is in the town where my parents live. It’s a small, suburban town. If you don’t feel safe at Adam’s place, we can go live there together," I reminded him. When I saw the hesitation on his face, I added quickly, "It’s just an option. I’m not pushing. I just want you to know it’s there if all this gets too overwhelming."
Kay was quiet for a moment before he answered softly, "My child’s the only heir of the Sanders family. His grandparents wouldn’t be thrilled if I moved so far away."
He mentioned an external factor as the main thing stopping him from moving out, and it spoke volumes. Somehow, I felt that he was trying to avoid coming to a conclusion about what was going on between us now. Despite the seemingly better energy between us, Kay was still cautious, and perhaps that was a reasonable thing to do. But I just needed to offer him an option out.
We drove for a while in silence. Kay seemed increasingly tense.
Eventually, I asked, "Did you call the Sanderses about what happened yesterday?"
"No. Adam did, but he gave them a very cleaned-up version. Heavily censored."
"Good. They could have freaked out."
He nodded. "Yeah. Definitely."
We fell silent again.
Around 10:30, I noticed the scent of his pregnancy pheromones getting stronger. I glanced at him, his cheeks were a little pink, but he was just staring out the window. I waited. About twenty minutes later, he turned his head toward me. I looked again. His face was redder now, and there was a clear bulge in his pants.
"You need me?"
He gave a slow nod. I pulled over onto the side of the road and got out. Earlier, back at the house, I had laid out a foam pad and sleeping bag in the back of the van to make it more comfortable for him. I opened the back door, and Kay climbed inside, settling onto the pad.
He looked strangely… vulnerable, and uneasy, too. I sat beside him, peeking into his eyes, and gently moved his thick braid off his arm and down his back.
"Are you still uncomfortable that you need this? I thought we were past that," I muttered as I stroked his thigh.
"We are… it’s just," he interrupted, his breath speeding up as my hand slid over his bulge.
