“That makes sense.”
“But not Canada.”
“Oh?” Jace leaned forward. “What does Canada do?”
I leaned forward as well. “They split the map through the Pacific Ocean, making sure not to go through the middle of any islands. They don’t want to make anyone feel disregarded or left out.”
Jace made a disbelieving face. “Prove it.”
I wanted to kiss him. “Right now?”
“Well, maybe not right now. I’m willing to table the topic until you have a chance to get a Canadian map.”
I laughed again. I don’t know the last time I had ever laughed this much. “Alright then. Next time I go up to Canada, or one of the cousins comes down, I’ll get you a Canadian map that proves it.”
Jace nodded in satisfaction and leaned back in his seat, leaving me with a sense of loss. Ridiculous. It’s not like he’d gone anywhere. I forced myself to lean back too, just as the waiter came for our food order.
“What about the real Jace?” I asked when we were alone again. “Tell me about him.”
“Well,” Jace began, “I, my parents, my school and my sisters all thought I was going to be an alpha.”
I nodded in agreement. “I can absolutely see that.”
“It really turned my life topsy-turvy when that test result came back.”
I couldn’t imagine. What would I have done if my result had come back omega? My status had been pretty clear from birth, much to my parents’ chagrin, I imagined. “What did you do?” I asked.
“First,” he said, “I yelled. A lot. My parents were awesome about it. My omega dad tried convincing me to go to scream therapy, said I was doing it so much at home it might do me some good to see if I was doing it right.”
I cracked up. “He sounds like a pretty neat guy.”
“He is.” Jace sipped his wine. “He’s never put up with my crap at any stage of life.”
“My dad was the same. Us kids could talk circles around Pop, but Dad always knew what we were up to and how to handle us.”
“Sounds very similar to my family.”
“And now?” I asked. “How do you feel being an omega now?”
Jace shrugged. “I still would rather be an alpha. Most days, I still feel more like an alpha. But,” his eyes bored into mine, “being an omega definitely has its perks.”
I wasn’t imagining the flirtation now. It was different, he was different from any other omega I had met, and working at the House I’d come across a lot of different omega personalities. But never one so confident, so intense as Jace. My earlier fantasy of pushing him against the wall and claiming his mouth, claiming him, was morphing. Jace would claim back. There was nothing passive about this man in front of me. He would give as well as he could take.
I tried to distract and calm myself with a sip of wine, but it turned into a gulp, and it went down wrong, leaving me sputtering like a fool. Jace quickly slid over to my side of the table, worry crossing his face. I waved him off, but he still sat close, next to me. As my coughing slowed, he asked, “Are you okay?”
“Just swallowed wrong,” I croaked, sipping at a glass of water. His nearness was burning me from the inside out. I could feel the heat of his skin, his scent filled my lungs and I started to feel lightheaded. I’m not sure if I leaned in first, or if he did, but suddenly my lips were on his and his on mine. He tasted of the dark red wine we’d been drinking, and sweet. His scent was fresh and herbal. A hint of basil, perhaps. The edges of his beard brushed my lips, drawing even more heat to them. I stopped and pulled back a minuscule distance. “I want to do this right,” I whispered.
“What is right?” he asked. “What’s right for other people might not be right for us. But perhaps you’re right. We’ve already ordered dinner. Let’s at least finish that.” He nipped my lower lip and my legs trembled with suppressed desire.
I let out a whoosh of air as he returned to his seat. “I can already tell you’re going to be the death of me, Jace.”
“I hope not,” Jace returned. “Life is so much more fun.”
7
Jace
My heart was pounding in my chest so loudly, I was pretty confident the waitress heard it as she refilled my water glass. Naheed excused himself shortly after our kiss. Was it because I had been too forward? It was a challenge for me to rein in my alpha tendencies when it came to men, which was pretty much why I avoided dates, hook-ups, or whatever you want to call them.
As he brushed past me, his cinnamon scent causing an involuntary shiver, the real reason for his departure became evident. He was just as affected by me as I was by him if the bulge in his pants were any indication. Heck, my cock was still pressing uncomfortably against my zipper, and I was grateful I wasn’t wearing my jeans. I knew I shouldn’t have looked him up and down, the side effect putting me in a very uncomfortable state.
There was something about Naheed, though, that had my hormones doing my decision making. If I weren’t careful, I was going to end up making some bad life choices. I could see it: pregnant, abandoned, unemployed. It was one thing for me to get all hot and heavy with a beta once in a while, especially when I was in need thanks to heat suppressants not working the way they should on me due to my “high alpha hormone levels” or whatever flaky excuse the doctor decided to throw at me that visit. Betas were generally fine with me not fulfilling my omega role. Honestly, many of them assumed I was an alpha. Since I never planned for there to be more than one night, I didn’t correct them.
Naheed, though, he was different. He was all alpha. All sexy alpha, and it was a feat to keep my body from touching his in any small way. As hard as I tried to keep a bubble of personal space, I was drawn to him. I mean, I had kissed him, or he had kissed me, right there in front of everyone. He felt it too. I wasn’t even sure who initiated the kiss, just that it needed to occur. And it felt so right. His scent surrounding me as I tasted his lips for the first time, hoping there would be a second and many more.
Even with his arousal, I worried I might scare him away with my forwardness. It was one thing to possibly initiate a kiss, but alphas tended to like their omegas good and submissive in the bedroom. That was not something I would ever be. An image of me topping Naheed flashed through my mind. Like that would happen. Alphas didn’t allow that. That would be my role.
My omega dad had assured me when I found my alpha, everything would fall into place and that I would accept the role nature gave me. I still wasn’t so sure about that, though if the only way I could get Naheed naked was to be a bottom for the first time, I was willing to give it a go. Only for Naheed. What had that man done to me in such a short time?
“Deep in thought?” His husky voice caressed my ears as he approached my side of the table.
“Naw,” I lied. It left a bitter taste in my mouth and I quickly added, “Actually, kind of.” My cheeks were burning as the image of me entering Naheed flashed across my brain uninvited.
“Want to talk about it?” He placed his hand on my shoulder and the very last thing I wanted in that moment was to talk about anything.
“Maybe later.” I squirmed slightly, trying unsuccessfully to relieve some of the pressure the zipper was inflicting upon me. “It was kind of personal.” I shrugged hoping that would be that. If he pushed, I knew I would cave and tell him. It would probably be the end of our date, which was the last thing I wanted right now.
He leaned down. For a brief moment, I thought he was going to kiss me again and I sucked in a small breath. I’d never wanted a man the way I wanted this one. My need was practically palpable. Instead of the kiss my body wanted and my head knew was a bad idea, Naheed leaned in close to my ear to whisper, “You mean personal like me not being able to forget your lips on mine?”
I will not jump him, I will not jump him, I will not jump him, I told myself over and over again, willing it to be true.
“Actually…” I stumbled over my words as I spoke, “exactly that kind of personal.” I refrained from
describing the naked images playing in my head.
“Yet you appeared worried.”
I nodded shortly as he pulled his chair around to mine before asking permission, “May I?”
“Yeah,” I said, knowing that unlike most alphas he would’ve taken no for an answer, not that I wanted to say no. I very much wanted him as close to me as possible. “Worried is a good word for it.” He took my hand and wove our fingers together. I looked down at our clasped hands and let out a sigh. “This is nice.”
“It is.” He gave my hand a squeeze before placing our hands gently on our laps, our thighs touching and forming the perfect perch. Neither one of us held sole custody. There was some relief and comfort in that. “What are you worried about?”
His concern sounded sincere, and I felt another rush of hormones from him, soothing me, relaxing me and the words tumbled from my mouth.
“I’m not a typical omega.”
“So I’ve noticed. I like that about you.” Something must have crossed my face because he added, “But that’s not what you mean.”
“I mean, I’m not a typical omega in all aspects.” This was not anything I ever shared, not with anyone but my omega dad and only then out of desperation and it was not a conversation I wanted to ever repeat again. Naheed might leave, and I hesitated to dwell on what that might do to my state of mind, but starting anything only to find out we couldn’t work would be worse. Exponentially worse.
“You mean sex,” he whispered, his tone not hiding his lust.
“Yeah.”
I had barely gotten the word out when the waitress appeared out of nowhere with our food. I couldn’t even tell if it was what I had ordered, my brain was so abuzz with where our conversation had been going. I was proud of myself for at least not telling her to get lost like I wanted.
“Thank you,” we both mumbled, Naheed looking every bit as frazzled as I felt.
“As much as I want to finish this conversation, we should really eat and talk about statistics or politics or anything that will get my cock to not be so…” His bluntness took my fears away. He knew what I was trying to say, even if not the depth of it, and yet he still wanted me.
“Painfully at attention,” I offered as I let go of his hand. Why did I have to order something needing two hands to eat? Surely I could’ve found something that only needed a fork. Next time. I was going to do everything in my power to make sure there was a next time.
“Yeah, that.” He shrugged reaching across the table to get his forgotten silverware, my eyes grateful for the glimpse his movement gave me of his delectable ass.
“I don’t think any change in the topic of conversation will help with you sitting beside me.” My engines were revving from his closeness alone. We could be talking about insects and I would still be hard as a rock.
“Do you want me to move?” He sat back down, silverware in hand, his voice telling me he would move the second I told him to. Which would be not at all.
“Please don’t.”
8
Naheed
Take it slow, take it slow, take it slow. The words were my mantra, what little good it did. But Jace seemed comfortable. With every step I took, he took one to match. All I wanted to do was abandon the food and get him someplace alone. Which meant that as hard as it was, that was the last thing I was going to do.
We'd both ordered steak. His was rare, while I preferred mine closer to medium. Jace's hands trembled as he lifted them to cut into his dinner.
"May I?" I asked.
He looked at me in confusion, and I slid my knife and fork over to his plate and carefully sawed off a bite. Jace let his utensils fall softly to the table, and I lifted the fork to his mouth. Without taking his eyes off mine, he leaned forward and placed his lips around the fork, sucking the meat off. My eyes were frozen on his lips and it took me a moment to realize he had picked up his spoon, dipped it into my mashed potatoes and lifted it to my mouth. I took care taking the bite.
The air sizzled between us as we took turns feeding each other. I had lost all awareness of the room.
I took a sip of wine and Jace leaned forward to steal another kiss, licking the taste of wine from my lips. "What do you say we call it good and get out of here?"
We'd finished half of our dinner. That was good enough for me. I threw a bill down on the table, enough to pay for the meal and then some. It was okay to do what I wanted if he suggested it, right? I held my hand out to Jace, and he took it with some amusement, allowing me to pull him to his feet, but as he did, he took a step closer, pressing his body against mine, the hard length of his erection burning into my thigh. My nostrils flared and my vision darkened as the blood rushed away from my head. His free hand drifted down to my ass. "I can't wait any longer," he said.
That was all it took to propel me out of the restaurant. As we passed through, the scents of food and other alphas swirled around me, polluting my sense of Jace. I breathed a sigh of relief as we stepped out into the cool night air, then pulled him just far enough out of the entryway that there was a dark corner then pulled him tight against me, burying my face in his neck. His scent was woodsy, with deep musk undertones, but underneath that was something I had missed before, a fire, a spice, a—
"Shit. You're going into heat," I said, the realization like a cold hand grabbing my junk. There was no way Jace was in his right mind. I couldn't trust that he truly wanted me to do anything when he was like this. I couldn't take advantage of him, not when we hadn't discussed anything. How long had his heat been influencing his decisions? If he hadn't been coming into his heat, would he have agreed to have dinner with me?
I finally came to enough to take in Jace's reaction, which was pure confusion.
"I'm— I'm not due for a few weeks."
"You may not be due, but it's come on early for some reason. I've got to get you out of here."
Jace pressed his body against me again. "Yes, let's get out of here."
I opened my mouth to reason with him. But not here. There were too many unknown variables. Not to mention his pheromones were hitting my lizard brain hard, telling me to get my mate out, safe. They were also telling me to knot him hard and fast, but that I could ignore. I had to ignore it.
Thankfully, I'd found a parking spot close to the door. We'd have to worry about Jace's car later. I guided him into my passenger seat, and once he realized I was going to join him, he detached from my arm and went willingly.
I sped around to the driver’s seat and breathed a deep sigh of relief once I closed the doors and locked them behind us. That was a bad idea. Out in the fresh air, his scent had been powerful enough. In here, it was inescapable.
"Uh," I muttered, staring at Jace's flushed face and wide, lust-filled eyes.
"I'm not an invalid just because I'm in heat, Naheed," he managed to pant.
"What?"
"I can see you're debating taking me home. Don't. I need you. I have enough mind about me to make that decision. I may not for much longer, but trust me right now. I want you."
"Th— that's not such a good idea," I stammered. Jace barely knew me. And as much as my brain was telling me to claim him, to make him mine over and over again, to fill him with little Naheeds and Jaces, we weren't ready for that kind of commitment having just met the day before.
Jace leaned across the console and let his hand brush down my chest, down my stomach, and against my aching cock.
"I have condoms," he said.
I grabbed the back of his head and pulled him in for a bruising kiss, then released him. "You're sure?"
He pulled a condom out of his pocket. "Scout's honor, always be prepared."
"No, I mean are you sure you want to do this? I can drop you off at home. Or— or if that's not such a good idea, I can drop you off at Café Om or call a friend."
Jace brushed my cheek then pulled me forward to nibble on my earlobe. "I want that big, hard alpha knot so deep inside me that I forget everything but the pleasure of you being one with m
e."
I let out a shuddering breath. "You're going to have to sit down, buckle up, and keep your hands to yourself for the next fifteen--no, make that ten--minutes, or I'm going to have a car crash."
He sat back and I turned on the car, then nearly had a heart attack when I looked back to Jace. He'd unbuttoned his pants and his cock was in his hand, his long fingers wrapped around it and gliding up and down its length. As I looked up at him, pain in my eyes from the difficulty of not jumping across the seat, he smirked and said, "Better hurry."
9
Jace
I was burning up. How had I not noticed my heat coming on? The drive to Naheed’s home felt like we were driving to the other side of the country and not the other side of town. I kept my hand on my cock, not to tease him, as I feared he believed, but to keep me from jumping him while we were driving. If I had wanted him before, being trapped in a car with him, his scent surrounding me, magnified it to a level I’d never experienced before. And this was only the beginning, not even full-blown heat.
I’d never wanted someone this badly before, and a tiny, scared voice was muttering that nothing good could come of this. When I had thought I was an alpha, I had ignored that voice with good result. What harm could come from ignoring it now that I knew I was an omega? I hadn’t changed, just my knowledge of myself. Besides, we were both adults and our wants were equal, if the bulge in his pants and darkening of his eyes were any indication. We both wanted this. Needed this.
My heat had never been early before and never so all of a sudden. Sure, there had been a few signs. But only around Naheed. The intense, immediate attraction when he’d walked into the coffee shop. The semi-boner I’d been sporting all day. The way I felt flushed any time he was near. But all that was no different than the effects of a crush. Could our attraction have forced an early heat? I had seen it in movies, sure, but could that be real? If it was, I was in for the night of my life because as good as heat sex was, and it was amazing, heat brought on by attraction to a potential mate was supposed to be out of this world. People had been trying to make recreational drugs simulate the experience for years. That had never ended well.
Embracing His Omega: Cafe Om Love #1 Page 4
