by Bonnar King
In fact, right now in his new outfit, his body was so damn good that I couldn’t stop looking at his legs, ass, crotch and chest. He wasn’t wearing anything too revealing by any means, but Sam had this aura of innocent sensuality that only added to the appeal—and I didn’t think he realized it at all.
“I totally agree,” he said, grinning at me.
“Although you really should work on your flirting skills,” I suggested dryly.
He shot me a look that was part incredulous, part confused. With a slow grin, I explained to him what I witnessed back during our first bar visit, when he had multiple alphas flirting with him and he pretty much became a ball of dissolving mess. When I was done, Sam was bright red and covering his face with his hands.
“I really liked that last alpha, you know,” he groaned. “He seemed nice.”
“He was okay.” I shrugged. “Why are you so uncomfortable and stiff around alphas, anyway?”
“I’m not,” he said defensively. “Well…I try not to be. I can’t help it if I don’t have experience.”
“Experience shouldn’t matter,” I said. The music got louder, so I leaned over near his ear to speak over it. “It’s all about the confidence. Try it on me.”
He shot me a scathing look. I chuckled and leaned even closer. “I’m offering as a friend. Don’t tell me you don’t want to learn how to handle alphas in the future? This is a one-time offer, by the way.”
Sam thought it over before reluctantly agreeing, then warning me not to get any bright ideas. I stifled a laugh and began to discuss with him what omegas usually did with me. Some were classy, while most were so raunchy and dirty that he turned red all over again. But there was no denying he was fascinated as I explained which ones I, as an alpha, appreciated the most.
“Hard-to-get, simple and sincere is always the way to go,” I emphasized. “Whether it’s classy or raunchy, as long as you’re sincere about it and know what you’re working with, and don’t come on too strong, let us alphas work for it… it gets us every time.”
“I can do that,” Sam said. Silence filled the space after, and I watched as he ate more ice cream. Then he looked up, and his expression changing, filling with something deep and dark. He crossed his legs, the tight slacks he was wearing became tighter in that pose, making his ass look even more amazing.
Heat stirred inside me—a dangerous attraction that I could no longer deny.
“Justin?” he murmured, his voice soft and sweet. It was the kind of sweet that made me…want to explore him with my fingers. My mouth. I fought the urge and affected a casual stance.
“Yes?”
“I think you’re…” His finger came up and touched my sweater, and he might have touched my skin for all the lust that shot up in me. It was so sudden and so shocking that I couldn’t speak, feeling my cock stir beneath my pants. This had never happened before. “…full of it.”
His words took hold, sinking in my mind. I burst out laughing, now torn between being amused and being aroused.
But he wasn’t done yet.
Sam’s hand traveled to the side toward my arm, where he held me lightly. He leaned in even closer, making me smell the scent of faint honey. I realized it was his natural scent, sweet and light, yet so intoxicating. He closed his eyes. He sighed. When he opened them, those greens were swimming in emotion, mesmerizing me.
“I also think you’re far kinder than you let people believe. I’m sorry for calling you selfish when you’ve spent all your life living to the standards of other people in the public eye. You should be happy and live your life, so long as you’re not hurting anyone.”
The words slid all over me like a warm caress. I could hear the sincerity from him loud and clear, and it made something in me swell—and no, it wasn’t just my cock. Omegas have complimented me on my looks, my techniques in bed, my smarts…but no omega had ever complimented me on my character before. For being true to myself. That was a first.
And in that moment, I realized Sam’s words mattered to me a lot more than he’d ever know.
We looked at each other for a long time, just taking each other in. The dim lighting highlighted Sam’s red hair and green eyes, and I become aware of just how beautiful he was. He was the type of person who grew more beautiful the more you looked at him, and his quiet way of dealing with it was refreshing. This beautiful omega had no idea how alluring he was.
He was certainly different from any omega I’d ever known before.
It was then I realized what I’d been fighting all along: an attraction that had been blooming from the very start, one I tried to dismiss as a glitch. It wasn’t a glitch, and it was growing stronger every day. If I wasn’t careful, it was going to consume me—consume us, and do something to our friendship that I wasn’t sure I was ready for.
His friendship mattered to me more than what he had done for my public image as my PR rep. His opinions mattered, too. I didn’t know how it happened, or why, but it just was. It existed there between us, and it had become one of the most precious things in my life. Imagine that. For someone who often thought of omegas as a fleeting thing, I was punched in the face with one who became a friend and I was having the hots for at the same time. And I hadn’t even slept with him!
Life was ironic that way.
I was the first to break the gaze—because had I not, I didn’t think I would have been able to control myself from hauling him into my lap and kissing the hell out of him. Shit. I knew I wanted to do more than just kiss his soft lips. I downed a tall glass of cold water, suddenly thirsty. Then I turned back to him.
“Good job,” I said. “That was a great start.”
He looked at me one last time before smiling. “Great.”
“Now since I taught you that method, how about you do me a favor?”
“What type of favor?” Sam asked.
I smirked. “It’s a surprise.”
It was time to distract myself from his…charms, while being around him.
And tomorrow, he was going to be in for the surprise of his life.
10
Sam
“This is the worst decision of my life.”
It was a declaration that I made with gusto, but I wasn’t sure if I fully believed it. I had made plenty of bad decisions in my twenty-four years of living, and I would have to say that dating an emotionally abusive bastard in college before getting the courage to break it off had to be one of the worse ones.
But this? This was definitely in the bad category.
I tried to calm my beating heart as the plane door was opened and the instructor checked on me and Justin one more time—or rather, as he checked on our gears. His thumbs up indicated that everything was good to go, but that wasn’t quite true, because I wasn’t that good to go yet. I couldn’t believe I even agreed to this. Was Justin just that appealing? Was his charm that compelling that I just couldn’t resist saying ‘yes’ to him? It was a good thing he hadn’t asked me to go run around the street naked, else I’d be in really big trouble.
For Justin’s part, he was already grinning as he adjusted the straps of his pack, his blue eyes twinkling like I’d never seen them twinkle before. I could tell he was in his element and had done this plenty of times before, but this was something he had so much fun doing that it didn’t fail to make him excited. My heart caught in my throat at the sight, despite my own nerves scrambling all over my stomach.
Justin glanced at me and finally noticed my reaction, and the grin eased off his face as he went to me and pulled me closer.
“Hey, are you okay?”
I looked down at our outfits and gulped—specifically, our skydiving outfits. In my head, the instructor’s words jumbled, even though I already memorized his quick lesson tips earlier.
“I’m fine,” I forced myself to say. My hand shook, and I tried to keep them in control.
Large, familiar hands covered my shaking ones, and I looked back up in surprise. Justin was looking at me seriously, all traces of
amusement gone from him.
“I hadn’t meant to scare you with my surprise,” he said, and I could hear the worry in his voice. “I’m sorry. I don’t want you to jump if you don’t want to, you hear me? I can jump on my own, and you can wait for me down there.”
But that would mean I wouldn’t get to live by my vow to be open to things. This was my chance—my only chance in this moment, to be honest.
I straightened my back. “No, I’m doing it. You only live once.”
He looked at me one more time. Then a grin broke out of his face, one so bright and beautiful that my breath caught in my throat for a different reason this time. He squeezed my hands before letting them go, then ushered me slowly toward the door plane. He winked once, playful and sexy. Then he got into position and gave out a shout before diving down and shooting toward the sky like some magnificent bird surrounded by clouds.
You had to be brave to do something this insane, and I was tired of being a coward. I looked at the other skydiving man, who’d begun strapping himself behind me since I was a beginner. When the instructor looked at me, I gave him a determined nod.
“Let’s do this,” I yelled over my shoulder at the two of them.
Then I kept yelling, both thrilled and shocked, when we dove down into a world that was unlike any other.
I made it. In fact, I made it so successfully down with the help of my skydiving partner that I couldn’t control the grin that broke from my face the moment I landed. My knees were shaking and my teeth were chattering from nerves and excitement as I just experienced the most thrilling adventure of my life. But the adrenaline was too strong, and now it was rushing all over my body as I walked over to where Justin was.
His hair was windblown, and there was a look of satisfaction on his face that told me how much he enjoyed that. When I approached him, he gave me a smile—one that was hopeful, expectant and my grin just grew wider. Before I knew it, I was running toward him, and he was placing his hands on my waist and lifting me up in the air. He twirled me around, adding to the euphoria until I was laughing out loud. Then he set me down and gave me a tight hug, and all I wanted to do was to stay in his embrace for a long, long time.
Knowing where my dangerous thoughts were going, I eased out of Justin’s hug and eyed him happily.
“That was the best thing ever,” I squealed.
Justin’s eyes were still twinkling, and he smirked. “I told you it would be fun. Want to try it again?”
“That was fun, but I’d be stupid to try it twice in one day,” I declared.
He chuckled, then shook his head. “Fine. One thing at a time.” He looked up at the sky, thinking. “Have you tried horses before?”
“I don’t eat horses,” I said, horrified.
Justin burst out laughing, causing me to glare at him.
“Jesus, calm down. Sorry, I should clarify, I meant horseback riding,” he said.
I admitted that I hadn’t yet, but it was one of the activities that I’d always been curious about. I had a friend in college who was born and bred in the South, but I never really got the opportunity to visit.
“It’s on my bucket list,” I admitted.
The twinkle was back as Justin announced our next activity, and soon we were thanking the diving team and driving out of there and into an area an hour away, where there was a modern farm located. Justin had many friends, it looked like, and said farm was the property of yet another friend—a middle-aged couple who welcomed us warmly, gave us wonderful food, then ushered us to their backyard stable where beautiful horses were housed.
Justin chose a horse he knew the name of, a beautiful chestnut-colored thoroughbred named Smile. Then Justin surprised me by telling me that we could ride it together. He got up first, then hitched me at his front and whispered instructions in my ear on how to stir Smile properly. It amazed me how patient he was with me, easing my nervousness bit by bit until I was thoroughly comfortable and enjoying both the ride and the fantastic scenery.
Of course, that didn’t mean I wasn’t aware of the alpha behind me. I was always aware of him, and now his hard body molded against mine had me feeling so warm and tingly. Then there were his hands, which were against mine as I held the reins and directed Smile into a canter. Justin laughed when I stumbled on a step, then gave me sweet compliments when I did something remarkable. He also flirted a little bit, and for those few moments, it made me believe that I was special to Justin and this was beginning to feel like the best date I’d ever had.
Wait! Was this a date?
When we were done—or rather, when I couldn’t take a minute more being so close to Justin’s body and not being able to do anything—we went to the stables and offered to feed and clean the horses. I was surprised again to find out that this was something Justin was good at, having lived in a ranch for a few months after getting tired of city life. The horses loved the carrots and sugar cubes we offered them, and I watched another facet of Justin unfold as he whispered loving words to the horses, switching back and forth between funny and kind ones. He loved animals, that was for sure.
“You’re such a beautiful girl, aren’t you?” he said to Smile admiringly, his hand caressing the horse’s thick coat gently. “Such a good girl, too. You were so young when I last visited here, and look how much you’ve grown up. Now, don’t make babies too soon, you hear me? Enjoy your youth first.”
I laughed at how much like some sort of protective papa Justin sounded. At the same time, I couldn’t help but be mesmerized at how he had a way with people and animals. For a few minutes, I could practically see his hand stroking my skin, could practically hear his voice whispering soothing words to me in that low voice.
Dirty words.
The heat that had been in my belly since we hugged that day fluttered and increased, spreading tingles all throughout my body that led down to the spot between my legs. I was aroused beyond belief, and it was so hard not to go over to him right now and just…kiss him then and there. It was a need so deep and strong, making me stagger back inwardly as I realized how much I was already invested in this.
Invested in him.
Justin was still the thrill-seeker I knew, who had a sharp mouth and an even sharper mind. But there was a side to him that tempted me to step out of my comfort zone and just embrace myself…and in turn, it also made me want to face this intense attraction I was feeling toward him that just wouldn’t go away.
I wanted to kiss him, yes. But I also wanted him to kiss me back.
I wanted him to touch me until I was no longer resisting.
It was so wrong. It was also asking for trouble, because sleeping with the boss meant my job would be jeopardized.
My job was practically my life, and I’d worked so hard to get where I was. How was I going to survive without it?
It was the wake-up call I needed. I realized that in my internal rationalizing, I had been walking slowly toward him. I stopped, feeling a douse of cold water hit me in the face at what I almost destroyed.
Work. Our friendship.
The promotion.
“Is everything okay, Sam?”
Justin’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts. I looked back at him, watching the worry cloud his eyes again. Shaking off any semblance of my attraction for him out of my mind, I nodded my head. Then I gave him a smile that was purely friendly.
“Yes. Everything is perfect.”
And I was determined to make it last for as long as I was working for him.
11
Justin
The company party held every year was always grand and luxurious, giving employees the chance to kick off their office shoes and don the glitziest outfits they could find. It was something that I refused to skimp money on, knowing it was something everyone looked forward to other than the Christmas party that was just as grand. This year, the theme was Gatsby glam, and the results were fantastic as I walked in the building’s main event hall and found it decked to the max with gold lights, silver and gol
d balloons, and sparkling champagne at every table.
“This is pretty cool,” the omega voice beside me piped up. He was a model named Dario, one of the few that I could invite as a date and wouldn’t think there was something more to it. Dario preferred other omegas, though it was something he kept secret as his sweet image in the fashion world would make any revelation on the matter harsh for him. It was something we often disagreed on, as I always thought those who thought him different and disgusting for it should mind their own business and live in the modern times. After all, people can’t help who they fall for. Something I was becoming all too aware of myself.
Of course, I respected Dario’s wish to keep his sexual orientation quiet and helped him keep said secret as best as I could. In reality, he wasn’t supposed to be my date. There was someone else I wanted to ask out—Sam. However, he had to leave for an emergency that his agency contacted him about, and I assumed it had something to do with another client. He was supposed to be back this afternoon but hadn’t shown up, leaving me a voice message that said he would just catch up later.
As far as company parties went, this one started early, already in full swing by the time I got there. I was asked to give a speech and did so, keeping it brief and telling everyone to enjoy the night. Then I mingled with Dario beside me, and we were both amused as everyone speculated over us. Since I never invited media to events like this, I wondered who would actually pass the info over to them.
An hour into the party, I was having a conversation with one of the branch managers when something caught my attention. I looked in that direction.
I froze.