Page 18 of Hired for Research
The barista finished up their order and set the cups on the counter. He paid as Evelyn grabbed hers and blew into the opening in the lid before taking a sip. He could smell the rich, dark brew, bitter in the back of his throat, but Evelyn’s eyes closed and she let out a hum of pleasure.
“Now that’s good coffee.”
Grabbing his cup with one hand, he turned the opposite direction, pretending to fiddle with his straw when he was really adjusting himself so his erection wasn’t so obvious. He wanted to be the one to put that look on her face, and for a moment he wondered what kind of sounds she would make if he got her beneath him.
Before Eden, it would have been impossible for an alpha and omega to have a fling, but it was growing more common among their populace. Both sides were still cautious, careful not to let things get out of hand, and still had to file the proper paperwork before bonding was allowed. They were being very careful that the things alphas had been accused of in the past, like bonding an omega against her will, didn’t happen.
Turning back to Evelyn, he checked the time, realizing they were cutting it close if they wanted to be at the hospital before any potential donors.
“Ready?”
She sucked down another, longer drink, and he almost swore at the surge of blood that rushed below his belt.
“Mmhmm.”
Dragging his eyes away from her, he headed for the door. He usually would have let her go first, but then she may have noticed the bulge straining the front of his pants.
It was a struggle to pull his mind away from the things going through his head, so he stayed a step ahead of her on the sidewalk until he was sure he’d gotten himself under control.
“How’s yours?”
The soft question jerked his attention back to the woman at his side. She raised her brows and nodded towards the forgotten drink in his hand, and he hastily took a sip before pasting on a smile.
“Perfectly sweet.”
Evelyn huffed and rolled her eyes, but finally gave him a smile. He couldn’t help feeling like it was an accomplishment with how serious she had seemed since he met her. He didn’t think she was the type that went out to enjoy herself very often.
“So what do you do besides play vampire on a bunch of alphas and try to figure out if we’re savages?”
Her plush lips pursed as she stared up at him. He kept his smile in place, waiting to see how she would handle his teasing. Evelyn seemed sassy enough to take it.
“Well, for the last year I’ve been studying the fertility issues betas are facing. Their birth rates have dropped over the past two generations, and nobody knows why.”
He raised a brow. The mention of fertility tried to pull his mind back into the gutter, but he forced himself to focus.
“I wasn’t aware of that, but it makes sense. That would have been about when alphas were locked away.”
They’d continued walking but she looked up at him again in surprise.
“Why do you say that?”
He’d expected a touch of outrage at the assertion, but he only heard curiosity in her voice. Something in her expression told him she was testing him, to see how he would explain the connection.
“Alphas have always outnumbered omegas, so naturally some of them would mate with betas. A beta doesn’t have the fertility of an omega, but since an alpha is also more fertile, when put together, it helped increase the odds of pregnancy. Maybe beta fertility hasn’t changed at all, they’ve just lost the boost they got from mating with alphas.”
Evelyn faced the sidewalk ahead, a thoughtful look on her face as she thought over his words.
“Huh. You may be right. That’s very similar to the theory I had, but yours is more concise. I thought it had something to do with alphas but hadn’t quite placed exactly what their role was yet.”
Jett shrugged as they passed through the hospital doors into the lobby.
“I could be wrong, but that seems the most obvious answer.”
She was silent as they made their way to the exam room she’d set up in. The lobby had been empty, but it was still early for a Saturday.
Pulling the strap of her laptop bag over her head, Evelyn placed it on the counter before shrugging out of her coat. Beneath it was a white lab coat buttoned over a soft yellow top, and for some reason, the sight of it had his cock surging to attention again. He’d never had an interest in role play before, but he’d let her play doctor with him anytime.
“I think you’re right. Alphas have higher sperm counts on top of producing more… umm…”
