Page 80 of His Reluctant Omega

A sigh of relief came from his lips.

His phone rang as he rode down.

“My driver’s waiting for you. He’ll take you home,” Wilder said, his voice smooth as silk.

Avery closed his eyes, his womb clenching harder.

“The… trolley’s still running,” he sputtered, though the thought of a quick drive home sounded better.

“Your brother is ill, and you worked late. Use my car. You’ll get home faster.”

“Okay,” Avery whispered. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Wilder murmured. “Oh… and Abe?”

“Yeah?”

“You don’t have to be afraid of me.”

“I’m not,” Avery fibbed. It’s not that he was afraid of Wilder. He was afraid of what they’d do if left alone too long in his condition. Afraid of what Wilder might see.

Afraid Avery would lose it all.

“You certainlylookedafraid just now.”

“I wasn’t. I’m just… tired.” It was the truth. His heat left him exhausted as it was. Coupled with everything else on his plate? Crawling into bed would be a blessing.

Too bad he could only envision that bed with Wilder in it.

“I want us to be friends,” Wilder said.“Goodfriends.”

A shiver raced through Avery at the implications in Wilder’s voice. “We are.”

“Are we?”

“Yes,” Avery hissed. He closed his eyes, so ready to fall to his knees and beg the man into his bed.

“Good.” Wilder chuckled, the warmth of it rumbling through Avery. “I’m glad we’re friends. I hope we can get closer still.”

Me too.“Goodnight, Wilder.”

“Goodnight,” the alpha said, his voice deep and husky.

More slick escaped Avery. Thankfully, he was alone in the elevator car. It reached the lobby and opened to a blissfully empty lobby, albeit for the lone security guard on duty.

The young beta cocked his cap at Avery and returned to watching the security screens behind the desk.

Avery walked out into the cool evening, glad to see Wilder’s chauffeur waiting with the door open.

“Ready to go home, Mr. Norcross?”

“Indeed, I am.”

* * *

Wilder observedAbraham enter his car, bringing the tumbler of whiskey to his lips. He’d lost interest in attempting to understand the odd attraction he had to the beta. It simply was. Not all relationships fit into convenient boxes that people could easily label. He’d heard tales of alphas loving other alphas… betas living their whole lives with an omega or an alpha in blissful happiness. People rarely spoke of relationships outside the norm of in polite society.

Maybe he was one of those rarities. He’d always been something of an outsider in his own family, so perhaps it was simply in his nature to be different.

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