by Grace, Aria
My chest tightens at that thought.
I need him.
I need Rubin in my life.
I need his smile, his laugh, the way he looks at me when he thinks I don’t notice. Over these last few weeks, my life has begun to revolve around him, and I don’t even want to think about what happens when he decides to return to Omega House. When that day comes, I’m pretty sure part of me will die a very gruesome death.
I’ve never had a friend like that before.
“Look, I’m leaving the office now,” I say as I quickly grab my coat and head for the door. “We can talk more as soon as I’m home, alright?”
“Fine. See you soon.” Before I can say anything else, he hangs up.
He’s mad at me. For what, I don’t know. What I do know for certain is I’ve got to get home as quickly as possible. I want a chance to talk to him before the reporter arrives. I need to see Rubin face to face and make sure he really is okay with this.
9
Rubin
Looking at my reflection in the bathroom mirror reminds me how close I am to crying. My eyes are red rimmed from trying to be strong, but so far, I’ve managed to keep my emotions under control.
There’s no reason for me to be upset right now. It’s not like Marius ever gave me any indication he was interested in me romantically. But still...there was hope.
Taking a deep breath, I look down at the water running out of the faucet and down the drain. My hands are muddy, and there’s dirt under my nails. I’ve been outside in the garden all afternoon. It was nice to get out and do something productive for a change.
Soaking up sunshine and being active had me in a good mood. I’d been joking with Paul, Marius’s gardener, when I got the phone call.
After that, everything felt like it was falling apart.
I turn off the water and dry my hands, looking at my reflection again.
The fairy tale is over.
These past few weeks have been like something out of a dream. A humble peasant, locked away in a castle, slowly falling in love with the knight in shining armor who comes to visit him. I’ve always fallen too hard, too fast. But it’s been two weeks of spending time with Marius, and every day only makes me more certain that what I’m feeling is real. I’m falling in love him.
And I hoped he was falling for me too.
After a moment to compose myself, I touch the bandage obscuring the scars on my cheek. These wounds are still healing, and judging by what the doctor said the last time he came to see me, it’ll probably take a few months before I get all the stitches out.
Of course, in my mind, I thought that meant I’d be able to stay with Marius a little longer. Now that my arms and ribs are well on their way to mending, and the pain has subsided to a manageable level without painkillers, I’m worried Marius will ask me to move back to Omega House. And with these reporters sniffing around, looking to damage his reputation, I’m almost certain he’s going to ask me to leave tonight.
The thought stabs me through the heart, and I wince in pain as I clutch my hand to my chest. I don’t want to leave. Even if he never returns my feelings, I want to be as close to Marius as possible for as long as possible.
That realization makes me shudder. In reality, I’m not sure I really could be satisfied living as friends forever. I’m already in agony every time we’re near one another. It takes everything in me to keep my body from reacting and giving me away. At night, I’m tortured by dreams of his body and memories of how his arms felt wrapped around me when he caught me on the stairs.
I catch myself watching his lips when he talks, trying to imagine what they taste like. More than once, I’ve slipped down the hallway, strolling past his bedroom with the intention of catching a glimpse of him in his underwear. I always chicken out at the last second, but the desire is there and it’s overwhelming.
Maybe it’ll be better if I leave.
Maybe distance can bring me relief from the almost embarrassing level of neediness I feel around him. Maybe then, everything will go back to the way it was before.
I swallow back the lump in my throat.
I don’t want everything to go back to the way it was.
“Rubin?” Molly calls to me from the other room.
“Be right out!” I finish drying my hands on a nearby towel. My thoughts are still a jumbled mess but unscrambling them will have to wait for later. For now, I’ve got to put on a smile and pretend everything is fine.
In the mirror, I try on a few different smiles before settling on one I think looks natural. Nodding to myself, I steel my resolve and leave the bathroom.
“Oh good. You’re all cleaned up,” Molly says as soon as she sees me. She’s standing near the open bedroom door with her hands folded calmly in front of her. “Mr. Lang has returned. He’d like to see you in the downstairs lounge before the reporter arrives.”
“Right...I’ll be right there.” I cast my eyes around the room, as if looking for something I might have forgotten. Really, I’m just trying to stall, even if for only a few seconds.
“Rubin?” Molly quietly asks. “What’s the matter, sweetie?”
My relationship with Molly has grown very strong in a very short time. She’s taken on a maternal role in my life, and I’m extremely grateful for her. At first, I thought that she was just doing the job Marius had asked her to do, but it quickly became obvious she was looking out for me in a way that a mother or grandmother might.
Yet another reason why I would hate to return to Omega House. I’ve found something here, in my relationship with Molly, that I’ve never experienced first hand before. I don’t think I’ll survive losing that.
The more I think about it, the more complicated this whole thing gets.
“Nothing,” I lie. “Nothing’s wrong, Molly. I’m just...just a little nervous about this interview, that’s all. I’ve never done anything like it before.”
Molly’s expression softens and she smiles at me warmly. “You’ll do just fine, sweetie. Mr. Lang will be right there with you. There’s nothing at all to fear.”
“Y-yes, you’re right.” The words feel stiff in my mouth, but it’s the only sentence I can manage at the moment. Everything else is lost in the tangled web of thoughts piling up in my head.
I follow Molly downstairs to the first floor. The lounge is located just off the main entry and features a massive window overlooking the front yard and the driveway. Once I was well enough to start walking around the house without being overcome with pain, I started spending my afternoons in that room. It’s the perfect spot to wait and watch for Marius’s return.
Now, he’s the one waiting in there for me. I’d like nothing more than to run in there, throw my arms around his neck, and kiss him hello.
But I don’t.
I can’t.
He’s not that sort of person. I’ve done everything short of telling him outright how I feel, desperately trying to make my affections known to him. There are times when I think he feels the same, like when he brings me presents, but then he withdraws and keeps me at arm’s length. Either he’s just as confused as I am, or he’s toying with my emotions.
I honestly can’t tell.
Molly steps aside and lets me enter the lounge ahead of her.
The room is, like every other room in the house, spacious and filled with luxurious furniture. Several extremely comfortable sofas are arranged in a U formation around the large bay window. The heavy brocade curtains are pulled closed, but I can still catch a glimpse of the pale purple of early evening through the crack where the two halves meet.
Marius is sitting on one of the sofas. His eyes are fixed on a painting hanging on the wall, but it doesn’t take a genius to realize he’s not really looking at it. He’s lost in thought and the painting is merely a place for his gaze to settle while he organizes himself. He does stuff like that a lot, and I’ve learned to recognize exactly how he looks when he’s thinking.
I take a few steps into the room and the mov
ement is enough to snap him out of his head and bring him back to reality.
“Ah, Rubin...come take a seat.” He looks at me with a soft smile, but I see a slight edge to it. He’s nervous about something.
“Is everything alright?” I had intended to sit across from him, but I feel drawn to sit beside him instead. I lower myself tentatively onto the cushion farthest away from him. I desperately want to be closer, but judging from the look of nervousness in his eyes, I don’t think that’s a good idea.
“I just wanted to talk to you for a moment before the journalist arrives.” Marius hooks a finger inside his shirt collar and tugs it slightly as if it’s suddenly too tight for him. “I want to make sure we’re on the same page about everything.”
“We’re friends, you helped me out, end of story.” My tone is a little more gruff than I intend, but I don’t apologize for it. Instead, I glare at the floor and fold my arms across my chest. I know it’s childish, but part of me hopes that by broadcasting my displeasure, he’ll figure out what’s actually wrong. With the mixed signals he’s been sending me, I don’t want to risk being the one to actually bring it up.
“U-um...yes, that’s what I was planning on telling the press…” Marius’s tone sounds a little unsettled. “Do you think that’s incorrect?”
“No, not at all. It’s perfectly correct. You’ve helped me out, and I’m grateful.” I lift my eyes and meet his gaze, but my frown is still firmly in place. I’m eternally thankful for what Marius has done for me, but somehow I feel like we’re heading down the wrong path right now. He’s trying to force us into the mold of being friends and nothing more. Nothing I’ve done so far has convinced him there’s any other option for us.
But...I can’t ignore the ache I feel in my heart. I need to be closer to him than that. It gnaws at me, taunts me, and tortures me at all hours. I want him so desperately, and he doesn’t seem to realize it.
Marius shifts on the sofa and turns fully toward me. “Rubin, what’s wrong? I’m not a mind reader. You need to tell me what you’re thinking. Have I done something to upset you?”
My frown softens slightly. He looks so lost right now, like someone who walked into the middle of conversation and only caught the last two words. He tilts his head to the side almost comically, but his expression makes my heart break a little.
He really has no idea how I feel.
I thought he sensed it the way I can sense his attraction to me, but he seems oblivious. Have I just been projecting my wants onto him? Maybe he never actually felt anything toward me, and I’ve been reading too much into things that were perfectly mundane. Doubt floods my mind as I look away.
“Rubin...” Marius sounds concerned, and I feel the couch cushions depress beside me as he scoots closer. “Tell me what’s troubling you.” His thick, deep voice is so close it sends goosebumps down my spine.
“Can’t you feel it?” I ask him as I press my hand to my heart. “Or have I just been imagining this?” I curl my fingers into my chest like a claw as if trying to grab the source of all my pain.
“Feel...what?” Marius reaches out and his strong fingers gently close around my wrist, pulling my hand away from my chest.
The feeling of his touch makes me shudder with need. Finally looking at him, and I realize he’s closer to me than I thought. He’s leaning toward me with one arm draped across the back of the sofa behind my shoulders. He’s so much larger than I am that his frame towers over me. I feel small…delicate as I stare up into his eyes.
My cock twitches and threatens to spring to life, but my confusion about the situation keeps it at bay.
“Feel this.” I push my hand forward and press it to his chest just above his heart. The powerful, rapid beats pound against my palm.
His pulse is racing, just like mine.
Our eyes are locked and the magnetic pull between us intensifies. Tilting my head back slightly, I raise my lips to meet him as he drifts closer to me.
Neither of us can resist the pull any longer, not with how strong it is and how close we are.
My eyes drift closed as his lips brush mine. It’s gentle, tentative, but the heat lights a fire inside me. I part my lips and allow his tongue access to my mouth. Melting into him, I give myself over completely to this kiss.
It’s like a fulfillment of everything I’ve yearned for over the last few weeks. It soothes that ache in my chest, but stokes the arousal in my groin. My cock strains against my jeans now, desperate to be part of the action.
I’m not ready to end this kiss just yet though. Curling both hands into his shirt, I tug him closer and lean back against the sofa cushions.
Marius follows me without hesitation, his lips never leaving mine for more than a second. He’s completely over me now, straddling my legs, kissing me like a man who’s desperate for affection.
I’m hot, burning from the inside out. My clothes feel too tight on my skin, and I’m desperate to shed them. I want to feel Marius’s skin against mine, but I can’t bring myself to part from his lips even for a second. I’ve waited so long for this moment, I don’t want to do anything that might bring it to an end.
We’re oblivious to anything outside of ourselves.
A throat clears from the hall and we both freeze.
“Well...this should make for a good story.”
10
Marius
I snap upright and scramble away from Rubin as reality hits me like a brick. My attention flicks to the doorway where I see an unfamiliar man standing beside Jackie. The man has a gleeful smirk on his face while Jackie has buried her face in her hands.
There’s nothing I can do, or say, to fix this. I don’t know how long they were standing there, but even just the last few seconds were incriminating enough.
Guilt, shame, rage, and frustration all roll through me in an instant. I don’t know what to feel. I don’t know which emotion to latch on to.
Rubin is staring at me, and I can sense the confusion wafting off him. He’s wanted me since the beginning, and unlike me, he’s been aware of exactly what it is he needs. Meanwhile, I’ve just been bumping around in the dark like an idiot, trying to explain everything I’ve felt toward him as nothing more than friendship.
But there’s so much more to it than that.
I can’t deny it any longer. But that doesn’t change the fact that I’m not interested in omegas...and it certainly doesn’t help my current situation.
I quickly rise from the sofa and straighten my rumpled clothing.
“Marius Lang, pleasure to meet you,” I say as I approach the reporter with the brightest smile I can manage.
“Leopold Vega.” The reporter reaches for my hand as he introduces himself. “I must say, Mr. Mayor, your assistant gave me the impression I was on the way over here so you could refute the rumors I’ve heard.”
“Yes, well...” I wet my lips with my tongue as I attempt to figure out an appropriate answer. “I believe you deserve to know the entire story before you write your article. What you’ve just walked in on is a somewhat new development.”
Leopold looks like he doesn’t believe me for an instant, but he doesn’t say so. “Alright then, why don’t we get started?” He strides into the room and makes himself at home on the sofa across from Rubin. “Do you mind if I record?” He looks at each of us as he pulls his phone out of his pocket.
“Not at all.” I return to my seat on the sofa beside Rubin, but this time, I maintain a comfortable distance between us. “I would appreciate an accurate record of everything I’m about to share with you.”
Jackie takes up position on the third sofa and pulls out her own phone.
“And since you’ll be recording us, I’m sure you don’t mind if we make a recording of our own.” I smile professionally.
Jackie and I have been doing this for a long time. It’s standard practice now for her to record every single interview I give, just in case my words wind up twisted or taken out of context.
“Of course, Mr.
Mayor, I wouldn’t expect anything else.” Leopold nods as if expecting the request. It seems my reputation in this matter precedes me.
“Now...why don’t we start with something everyone has been curious about? Who is this mysterious young omega, and how did you two come to meet?” Leopold jumps straight to the heart of the matter.
“I believe that part of the story would best be told by Rubin himself.” I glance at Rubin and give an encouraging smile.
Rubin hasn’t said a word since Leopold entered the room, and this is the first time I’ve looked at him since then. He seems a little overwhelmed, clearly still struggling to switch gears after our abrupt interruption.
I don’t blame him.
If I didn’t have so much practice at maintaining a professional persona, I probably would’ve gotten mental whiplash from the change too.
“I...I’m Rubin Smith.” He clears his throat and leans forward as if making sure the recording picks him up.
“Where are you from, Rubin Smith?” Leopold asks while making some notes.
Rubin looks at me a little uncertainly before continuing. I can tell he’s worried about making me look bad. He shouldn’t be worrying about that. I’ve already made myself look as bad as possible.
“I’ve lived in this city my whole life,” Rubin answers. “But...I live over at Omega House.”
“That’s the shelter for battered and abused omegas, correct?” Leopold prompts.
“Homeless ones too,” Rubin adds. “That’s the category I fit in. I came to Omega House at a really young age. So young that I don’t really remember much from before then. I’ve lived there ever since.”
“Until now, it seems.”
“Marius is just letting me stay here until I get better.” Rubin wrings his hands together in his lap, not making eye contact with anyone. “I haven’t actually moved in with him.”
