Instead of feeling relieved, I broke down further. I couldn’t chance Ethan alerting Will to my baby. She was mine, not his. I was going to have to betray my agreement with Aiden to save his friendship and save myself.
25
Aiden
I felt completely blindsided, my instincts torn between chasing Ethan down to make him explain himself and comforting the upset omega before me. Actually, my instincts wanted to punch Ethan for making Chris cry, but we had been friends for years. I needed to give him that chance and the benefit of the doubt. But not until I had cooled down. So I went to Chris.
He was curled into a tight ball, and he tried to shake off my advances. But his emotions were just pouring off of him, his pheromones driving me up the wall. I pulled him onto my lap and wrapped my arms around him, murmuring whatever I could think of to calm him. I don't even know what came out of my mouth, I just wanted him to feel better. To feel safe. He should feel safe with me. It was tearing me apart that whatever had happened, it had happened under my watch.
Finally, his body stopped shaking.
"Can you make it to the car?" I asked.
He shook his head vehemently. Well, I couldn't stay here any longer. I needed to get him somewhere I knew he would feel safe, and the only places I could think of were Café Om, where we wouldn't really be able to talk this through, or my apartment.
"I'm going to carry you then," I said.
That snapped him out of his fugue. "What? No! Aiden, I'm fine, just let me—whoa!"
"Please forgive me," I babbled. "I know I've already screwed up somehow back there and I don't know how or why, and I really hope I'm not screwing up right now, throwing you around like a piece of alpha bait, but please, just let me take you somewhere safe. Somewhere you'll feel safe."
Somewhere in my ramble he stopped thrashing and wrapped his arms around my neck.
"Okay," he whispered. "But don't do it again."
I looked down to see the hint of a smile cross his face.
Maybe I hadn't messed everything up.
I held tightly to Chris's hand the entire drive back. Automatics at least had that going for them. He didn't say anything about the change in cars. He was out of the car as soon as I parked, not waiting for the valet to open his door. I tossed the keys to the confused valet, I'd explain the car situation later, and followed Chris to the elevator. We rode up it in silence. Once in the apartment, Chris turned as if to go to the bedroom, but then stopped.
"You had the bookcase brought in."
I came up behind him and tentatively wrapped my arms around him. "I told you I would." He trembled a little beneath me. "Can we talk now?"
I felt tension return to his body, but he nodded, and we walked to the couch together. He sat primly on the edge of the couch, but I leaned sideways against the arm and pulled him in tightly, pulling his back to my chest. I would have preferred to look him in the face as we spoke, but I sensed he couldn't handle that right now. He relaxed a bit more and settled against me.
"What was Aiden talking about you going back to your alpha?"
Chris was silent.
"If you want to go, you know I'd never force you to stay."
Still nothing. My heart was breaking. What had Ethan said that had hurt this man so deeply?
"Ethan said you were buying me a car."
I smiled. "I told you I wouldn't have you riding the bus. It’s not just you, anymore, Chris. You have to protect that little girl of ou—yours."
Chris stiffened and pulled away, turning to face me. "And that’s my responsibility. Not yours. You can't buy me a car, Aiden."
"Why can't I? You need transportation, and I need you to be safe. A car answers both problems."
"You can't just buy everything, Aiden!"
I was confused. What did this have to do with what happened between him and Ethan?
"I'm not your omega, and this isn't your baby. You need to be focusing on your business, not me!"
"Why can't I do both?" I asked.
"It's just, argh!"
I tried to take Chris's hand and he shook me off.
"I don't know if I can do this, Aiden."
Fear struck through to my core. "What are you saying?"
"It's clear that this isn't going to work out between us. I appreciate everything. But I have to go. I—I don't know what to do about all my stuff, but if you can just hold on to it for a little bit, until I get my feet underneath me, I'd really appreciate it."
I jumped to my feet and ran to block him. "What did Ethan say that scared you so much?" I asked desperately.
Chris finally looked me right in the eyes. "Aiden, you said I could leave whenever I wanted. I want to leave now."
His words were a bullet to my heart. I hadn't realized what a castle I had been building in the sky, this image of Chris in my life for longer than a few months. But he was right. I'd promised to let him go whenever he wanted. I didn't want to trap him. I wanted him to want to stay."
I dropped my arms and Chris walked past me.
He turned back as he stepped into the elevator. "Take care of yourself, Aiden."
26
Chris
“Why are you hiding in the office?” I picked my head up off the desk to find my boss in the doorway. I hadn’t even bothered to pretend I was working.
After I ran away from Aiden, and I‘d finally accepted that running away was what I had done, I came to the only place I knew I’d be safe. My apartment was empty, and even if it wasn’t, I no longer had a key. With the hormones and scent I was throwing off right now, being out in public was asking for trouble, and hotels cost money. I wasn’t planning on staying all night, or even more than a few hours, but I needed to be someplace I could feel comfortable while I made a plan.
So far my options were: one, beg Aiden to let me stay a few days. He absolutely would, but we’d be in the same exact position we were now; Two, my original plan, ask Marcus to stay on his couch until I had a down payment for another crap apartment; Or three go to Omega House, an omega shelter. None of the three held promise, but at least I had options.
“I needed a place to think and clear my head. Do you need me to leave?” Abrar had his own office, but all of the order files were in here, so he often worked in ours too. I had a suspicion he also tried to leave his alpha scent fresh as a way of reassuring his omega workers. He seemed that kind of guy.
“Absolutely not.” He pointed to the spare chair and I nodded. “Do you need to talk?”
“Yes… No… I don’t know.”
“How about you start, and if you don’t want to continue, you can tell me to pipe down and I’ll go back to my office.”
“You’re my boss and an alpha, I can’t just tell you to pipe down,” I countered, already feeling slightly lighter.
“Try it.” He winked before leaning back in his chair with mischief in his eyes. “It’s fun. My mate does it all the time.” The love they shared was beautiful beyond words. There was a time I had dreamed for that, but now my dreams were a little less self-centered and more focused on the life growing inside of me.
“You’re serious.”
“Yep.” He kicked his feet up on the desk.
“Abrar, pipe down,” I tried the words. My voice may have cracked as I spoke, but I had to push back with him teasing in such a manner.
“Like you mean it.” The scolding in his facial expression was so forced I almost laughed.
“Pipe down?”
“That was weak. You’re not trying. Again.” This time he pushed his alpha strength through his voice.
“Pipe down!” I startled myself at my own strength. It felt good. I knew that once Abrar left the office, reality would once again hit me in the face, but for now, this was nice.
“How dare you talk to me like that.”
“You think you’re so funny.” I waggled my finger at the tongue he was now sticking out at me. It had been a long time since I’d seen Abrar this way. I must have looked beyond pitiful wh
en he first came in.
“Tis true. So tell me, what’s up?”
The playfulness of the room disappeared, but now I felt strong. Stronger, anyway
“I got into a fight with my alpha.”
“Yours?” I had done it again. He wasn’t mine. He was on loan. That was it.
“Not really, but it feels like it… so yes.”
The confession gave me relief. It was one thing to feel it, quite another to acknowledge it.
“Not Will, though?”
“Heck to the no on that one.” Will was many things, mine was never one of them.
“Good.” He nodded, clearly in agreement about my status with Will. “What was your fight about?”
“We have an arrangement. His best friend and business partner doesn’t like it.”
“I think I need a bit more info.”.
He was right, of course. I spilled everything from the first time I made Aiden’s coffee to the huge fight we had today and everything in between. Even with all the negative emotions swirling around me, I couldn’t help but smile as I told him about seeing my little girl. It felt amazing getting it off my chest. It also helped me see things more clearly. Ethan was working with the information he had. He saw me through the lens of deceit, so of course he thought I was the bad guy. What that changed, though, I had no idea. Especially since I already broke our arrangement in such a horrific blow-up. I’d like to blame that all on my pregnancy hormones, but it was all the same in the end.
“Let me see if I have this straight: you and the man you have been flirting with for months decided to become pretend mates, giving you a safe place to be during your pregnancy and keep him from getting cut off. You both are walking hard-ons.”
Leave it to Abrar to bring the elephant in the room into focus.
“I never said that.”
“Am I wrong?”
“No.” At least not on my end. Even now, just talking about him made my lower brain ready to play.
“And he acts as an alpha to you, and you accept it as such.” Why did Abrar have to be so stupid right? “But, he was a putz and didn’t tell his best friend the whole story, and he assumed you were looking for a sugar daddy and protected his friend. You, being pregnant, believed his concerns and let that sway your decision to leave him, breaking you both.”
“I didn’t break him. I let him down and I need to fix that, but he’s not broken.”
Abrar brought his legs down and leaned forward enough to tap on the security screen next to me.
“Isn’t that him?”
Oh fuck. Aiden was standing at the front counter, arguing with Marcus. He shoulders were hunched and his hands gesticulated wildly. I had broken him.
27
Aiden
I sat frozen after Chris left. I didn't know how long for. I had thought that after we had gotten somewhere safe, somewhere I could protect him, he would open up and explain things to me. With him gone, the next best thing I could do was confront Ethan. A call wouldn't do. I needed to talk to him face to face.
Now that Chris wasn't in the car, my protective instincts didn't hold me back. I sped back to the office and tore through every room until I found Ethan. I threw my best friend against the wall. "What the fuck is wrong with you?"
He pushed me off and straightened his glasses. "What the fuck is wrong with me? What is wrong with you? Look, I know this company is your baby, but that makes you blind. Yes, we need money, but that doesn't mean you have to prostitute yourself out for it."
"Prostit—" I sputtered. "I'm not paying Chris to pretend to be my mate."
Ethan sighed. "Okay, maybe that's a little harsh. But serious, dude. I've known you for four years. I've seen you cycle through guys. That guy is not your type. You don't need to just choose the first bastard who needs you just to flout your dad's ultimatum. I won't let you get used like that."
My brain was overloaded. "Wait. Can you tell me exactly what you think is going on between me and Chris?"
The first crack in Ethan's anger chipped at his glare. "You realize he's pregnant, right? And there's no way it can be yours."
I held back from rolling my eyes. "No, really? Of course the baby's not mine. But it won't be his asshole of an ex's if I can help it either."
"But, what... okay. How about you tell me what the fuck was going through your head with that guy rather than letting me dig a deeper hole?"
I took a deep breath. "I needed a mate so that my dads don't pull our funding. Chris needed a place to stay for the next few months until he has the baby. It seemed like a mutually sucky but beneficial situation. By the time the baby comes around, we should be pretty secure financially, and I'd be able to announce our breakup and we'd be able to happily go our separate ways."
Ethan deflated. "Then why in seven hells didn't you tell me that, you jerk?"
I rubbed the back of my neck. "I was going to. I just wanted to mess with you a bit first. But I was going to tell you today. Or soon. I may have forgotten today with the whole protein fiasco."
Ethan groaned and leaned against the wall. "I am an ass."
I joined him and slid down to the floor. "I probably am too."
Ethan slid down next to me. "Not as big an ass as I am."
"Okay," I agreed.
He smacked me on the shoulder. "You're not supposed to agree with me!"
I smiled. "I think there have been plenty of times where you've fussed at me for not agreeing with you sooner."
We sat silently.
"You are an ass," I said finally. "But thank you for trying to stand up for me, as mistaken as you were."
"Do you think Chris still wants to play pretend with you?"
I sighed. "I don't know. But to be honest, I don't think I want to pretend. I think I latched on to the whole pretend idea because I was too scared to actually ask him out."
"So what are you going to do?"
I groaned and buried my face in my hands. "I don't know. I don't even know where he went."
"Oh hell, no. I'm not putting up with your miserable moping this time. We have a business to run. And you clearly want this guy, no matter how much he isn't your type. So you're going to go get him."
"Go get him where?" I asked.
"You have to start somewhere. I can think of at least one place where people know him that might be able to help you."
I'm dense, especially when I'm emotional, but I got it a second later.
"You've got to at least get a message to him for me," I pleaded with the formerly flirty omega, Marcus. Normally, the guy was all over every alpha that walked into the place, but today, he was all stone.
"Please leave," he said for the fifth time. "We really don't need your patronage."
"I need to explain," I said again. "Can you at least tell me when he works again?"
The steel-hard glint said no, and he crossed his arms without saying a word.
Café Om was the only lead I had. Chris’s phone was turned off and went straight to his voice mail. I was regretting that I hadn't made the first thing on my list instead of moving him in. I actually had a lot of regrets. First and foremost that I hadn't asked Chris out months ago and avoided this whole damn scenario. Even if he'd been with his asshole ex. I should have asked, and then kept asking until he said yes. I wasn't going to make that mistake this time. If I had to camp out on the sidewalk in front of the cafe, I would.
I turned to do just that, but Chris's voice stopped me.
"Aiden, wait."
I spun around so fast my jacket snapped behind me. I rushed to him and took his hands. "I am so sorry. Let me explain."
Chris shook his head and my heart dropped. "No, let me explain. I should have been open with you from the start. I've had a crush on you for months. I know it was wrong when I had a boyfriend and everything, but I can't do this pretend mate thing. God knows I appreciate everything that you've done and I desperately need a place to stay, but I can't—"
I stopped him, my lips on his. He tried to kee
p talking and I kissed him harder, trying to convey everything I was feeling with my touch. He finally melted into my arms, and I gentled my kiss as he began to kiss me back.
28
Chris
Kissing Aiden felt like home, and when he broke our kiss only to drag me to his car—or was it the car he thought he was going to give to me?—I nearly cried at the loss. I knew we couldn’t stand there making out in my place of employment with Marcus cheering, yes, actually cheering in the background and customers gawking. There was still much to be said and home was the place to do it.
The car ride was silent, filled with the buzz of our anticipation. Our pheromones and scents were bouncing off the doors and windows until I was almost frenzied. Aiden must have felt the same because halfway there he opened the windows. His hand never left mine, a bonus of this new car over his Maserati.
He practically threw his keys at the valet as he pulled me from the car. My urgency matched his as we made our way to the elevator. That was where all self-restraint fled, at least on my part.
As the door slowly closed, I all but threw myself at Aiden, crushing his lips with mine. There was nothing sweet about the kiss. It was all lips, teeth, and tongues in an animalistic fight for dominance. In other words, it was perfect.
His hand grasped the back of my neck as he pushed me against the wall, claiming his role as the alpha. I sighed into his mouth as he tilted my head to deepen the kiss. I took the opportunity to explore his body with my hands, starting with his shoulders. There was just something divine about this man’s shoulders, and as I traced the muscles, my erection became even more painful against my zipper.
When the elevator dinged and the door opened, we both were out of breath and beyond needy. This might not have been the best way to fix our problems, but for all the money in France, I couldn’t tell you why. Not with my raging hard on and the main who put it there staring at me as if I were the sexiest, most desirable man alive.
His Pretend Omega: M/M Non-Shifter Alpha/Omega MPREG (Cafe Om Book 2) Page 10
