by Bonnar King
Sam was standing near the door, looking like he was still trying to absorb everything. His hair was styled like a Hollywood matinee star from the golden age of cinema, and his green eyes were emphasized by his bottle-green tuxedo that was the exact shade as his eyes, and it hugged his body like a man would caress his lover. He complimented the look with his naturally rosy cheeks and full pink lips.
Sam was a vision. He was stunning, and I found myself unable to breathe properly just at the sight of him. I grew hot under the collar as I ached for him, and I didn’t know how I could go any longer without being close to him and smelling him.
A few seconds later, our eyes met. He smiled instantly, and the way it transformed his face from nervous to brilliant had my body heating up. I took a step toward him, but a hand on my elbow stopped me.
“Justin, I found an old friend of mine who might be the answer to one of your investment needs. Do you want to meet him?”
I looked at Dario, who was looking back at me expectantly. I still wanted to go to Sam, but I knew this investor he was talking about was one of the biggest in the business and always impossible to track down, but he was here today. With one last glance in Sam’s direction, I reluctantly went with Dario.
Half an hour later, I was finally done chatting the boring investor up and knew it went well, as he made plans for golf, which I had zero interest in attending. Dario went with him to mingle some more, and I was finally left alone to look for Sam. To be near him, and finally smell him, and maybe even touch him. But what I saw stopped me in my tracks.
Sam was doing some mingling of his own, which was good for him. But what wasn’t good was he was mingling with one of the newest general managers—an alpha named Neil who was known for his charm and good looks, making him quite popular with the omegas. He was pretty much another version of me.
He was also known for sleeping with omegas for the sake of adding a notch to his bedpost.
I knew it was wrong to judge, but I couldn’t help it—no, not when he was obviously flirting with Sam and talking to him like they were old friends. There was no mistaking the intent in Neil’s gaze as he kept eyeing Sam up and down, then stopped to ogle his ass. Again, there was nothing wrong with an alpha appreciating such a sexy omega.
What bothered me was how Sam was flirting back.
He was using the same methods that I taught him back when we were discussing flirting techniques in the club—the coy smiles, the confident sparkle in his eyes and the hand touching Neil’s arm lightly. He laughed at something Neil said, and Neil leaned forward to whisper something in Sam’s ear, which made him smile wider.
What the fuck?
My gaze then went to how Neil’s hand kept traveling—from Sam’s wrist, up to his arm, then to his shoulder. It continued traveling while he kept whispering to Sam, going to his upper back before sliding back down again, lower and lower until it reached the very low of Sam’s back. Neil was pretty much sly-groping Sam in public and there was no protest from anyone.
Sam looked preoccupied with their conversation that I didn’t think he was aware of the touch, but now he was, and I watched surprise filter in his eyes and his words trail off. Then he attempted to take a step back—but Neil clamped his hand on Sam’s lower back, preventing him from moving.
Anger filled me, and I saw red.
In a few short steps, I was already standing beside Neil without even realizing it.
“I don’t think I’ve given you authority to touch my PR rep’s back like that.”
The words came out cold and short. Neil looked in my direction, surprise in his eyes. I didn’t like the man much even back when we were still in the hiring process for him, but he came from a competitive company with great recommendations and was the only alpha fit for the job—he was good at it, too, based on his performance this year.
But I was right in my instinct of not liking him.
“Good evening, Justin,” he said dryly. “I didn’t realize your PR rep was still on the clock even during a party.”
“He’s not,” I said.
“I’m not,” Sam said at the same time.
Neil shrugged. “Well, then, I can do whatever I want because I’m not on your pay check at this very moment, either.”
Neil’s tone was sly, and I knew he was trying to be smart and get under my skin. But all I could hear was the arrogance in his voice, and all I could see was the smug gleam in his eyes, confident he won this round. Before I knew it, my hand was balled into a fist beside me, then coming up with the intent of hurting.
A hand clamped on my wrist—small, but firm. I glanced at Sam, who was giving me a forced smile. Then he turned to Neil.
“You’re right, you know. That means I can also do whatever I want at this very moment, since I’m not on the clock. So, I’m going to say nice meeting you, Neil, and accompany Justin to meet some investors that would be very good for the company.”
Then Sam was dragging me forcefully—and I was letting him—away from Neil, who stared at us until we disappeared into the crowd. Once we were out of earshot, I turned to Sam, ready to pick a fight.
But he was looking at me with laser eyes.
“If you create a scene right now, all my hard work to clean up your image would be for nothing, and I’d be fired.”
They were the right words to say. Immediately, whatever redness I was seeing washed off, but there was still anger left—and jealousy, loads of it that had my body vibrating.
“Let’s get out of here,” I barked out. “I need to calm down.”
Sam didn’t even think twice, though his expression was far from understanding. He looked like he was ready to rip me one right here and now, but was just controlling himself. Without waiting, I stalked out of there, knowing he would follow.
Let him rip into me, then, because I also had some ripping to do of my own.
12
Sam
My irritation at Justin’s caveman attitude only increased as he stalked out of the party, leaving me alone to the stares of dozens of curious gazes in attendance. Not wanting to answer any awkward questions, I slipped out of there as silently as I could and followed him before I could think about it, my mind working a mile a minute as my own temper began to rise.
I got that Neil was stepping over the line both with his actions with me and his response to Justin, the disrespect obvious. It was a wonder Justin didn’t fire him on the spot. But that didn’t mean that I had to be all grateful for him barging in on us like that and acting like some knight in shining armor when I could have perfectly handled it on my own.
He got to Justin’s car right away, his hands on the steering wheel and his jaw tight with tension. I got in the passenger’s seat and slammed the door shut.
“Fasten your seatbelt,” he instructed.
I glared at him but did as he asked, then whirled in his direction as he started the ignition and drove out of the parking lot. Then he drove right into the streets, not looking at me as he spoke first.
“I didn’t like how he was handling you,” Justin said. “Like he damn owned you.”
“He doesn’t own me,” I confirmed. “And I agree that he started out friendly but ended up being creepy. That doesn’t mean you have the right to interfere like that. And last time I checked, you don’t own me either.”
“So, you wanted him to keep touching you?” Justin snarled. “Is that it?”
Hurt lashed at me at his words, but I straightened my shoulders and tried to explain as best as I could. “He was fun to talk to in the beginning. Maybe I was interested—”
“He’s an asshole.”
“I said I was interested in the beginning—”
“And you were letting him salivate all over you,” Justin barked.
“Would you quit interrupting me?” I snapped out.
Great. So much for being calm. Fury rushed up in me at his snarky tone, and I pretty much had enough of it. I already had my heart up my throat earlier when he almost punched Neil
, and I rationalized it in relation to me losing my job—but in truth, I was more afraid of Justin losing the support of the board and his investors altogether and what it would mean for his future endeavors. That was the bad thing about living in this world: everyone ignored all the good things you did, but take one tiny step in the wrong direction and everyone would be up on your throat in an instant.
In response to me snapping out, Justin only pressed his lips more firmly and stepped harder on the pedal, making the car go faster. The anger dissipated a bit to let in nervousness, and I gripped at the sides and tried to calm my racing heart.
“Justin, can we talk about this like rational adults?”
“Maybe I don’t want to,” he shot back. “Maybe I just want to vent out my anger in the best way I know how.”
“How?”
“Like this.”
Before I knew it, the car went faster than before, taking twists and turns all over the streets until we were in an open area near the beach. All the anger was gone now as my nerves shot up to hell, making my body vibrate and my heart slide up in my throat, ready to get away from me.
“Slow down,” I yelled.
In response, Justin only went faster.
“Slow down,” I repeated.
He went faster.
It happened like it always did—images of me in the backseat as my father drove the car and my mother tried to entertain me from the front seat with a singing game. It had been snowing, and we were giggling like crazy while my father hummed a tune that would have scared animals away. He was looking up ahead, and I was just telling them about how I wanted some money for Christmas to get myself a new video camera when it happened—too fast for me to comprehend.
A truck came in our path, and my dad swerved to the side to avoid it. He braked too hard and skidded down the icy road, and our car tumbled down and rolled right into a tree. It crushed the car completely, with my parents’ dead in an instant and me blacking out. All I could remember back before I lost consciousness was hearing my mother’s neck snap at the impact, and my own screams gurgling in my throat.
The same feeling bubbled up inside me as Justin swerved too fast. Images of my parents’ dead body came back like snapshots, and fear rose and coated me. I was taken back to that moment, screaming as I knew my parents were gone and there was nothing I could do.
I was in my own mind, and there was no differentiating the then from the now. I was trapped, and there was no air coming in. Darkness started to consume me, and all I could do was beg for this to go away and block everything out at the same time.
Someone cursed. Then warm, strong hands were hauling me up and into a warm lap, and soothing words were being murmured in my ear. Dimly, I could hear myself still begging for everything to stop, but words reassuring me that everything was okay intertwined, and I could hear Justin loud and clear in my head now: I’m sorry, I’m so sorry…
I didn’t realize there was a storm within me just begging to be let out, and I let it out now, sobbing as if my life depended on it. It wracked my body with shivers, but Justin was there, holding on to me and giving me the anchor I needed. I cried and cried and buried my head on his chest, and his hands wrapped around me like a warm blanket.
Eventually, the tears died down. My rapidly beating heart slowed down, and the darkness in my vision cleared enough for me to realize that I really was sitting on Justin’s lap. I looked up and watched his face, where I saw the mixture of regret and worry as he kept rubbing his hands on my back in a soothing gesture.
“I’m sorry, Sam,” he kept murmuring. “I didn’t know…fuck, I’m so sorry…”
I must have said something while the panic had been in me. I must have blurted it out.
In response, I buried my head on his chest again and just inhaled his scent, that mixture of aftershave and alpha goodness. Somehow, it calmed me enough to stop gripping my hands on the lapels of his jacket, and then stop clenching my fists altogether. Immediately, he sought my hands out and intertwined them in his, and we just stayed there like that for who knew how long, silence surrounding us.
“They died before Christmas,” I whispered. “Fast-speeding cars remind me of what happened and how...how fast our car was skidding before we crashed. It’s a nightmare I can’t get out of.”
Justin’s hand squeezed mine. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry for reminding you. I promise I won’t do it again. I never want to hurt you, Sam.”
I believed him. It was surreal, but I believed him with all my heart.
“It’s not your fault. It’s just a burden I need to overcome,” I whispered.
He shook his head. Then he waited until I looked up and met his eyes once more before he spoke again, and I could hear the sincerity in his voice.
“It’s not a burden. It’s an unfortunate event, and you got through it. You got stronger. Take your time in overcoming it. There’s no rush. We all have our personal demons. I’m here if you need someone to talk to. Or if you just want to sit on my lap like I’m Santa Claus ready to grant your wishes, go right ahead. Sit on my lap whenever you like. I’ll have hot chocolate and peppermint cookies ready in an instant. Or ice cream. Damn it, I’ll order a truckload of ice cream if you want.”
Oh, God. I laughed at his silly joke. I cried again. Both mixed up and made me a terrible mess all over again, but Justin was there, still holding onto me like he cared. Like he didn’t mind, because I mattered to him and that was that.
It was overwhelming. It was unexpected, but not entirely unwelcome. I realized that Justin had come to matter to me in such a short amount of time, too, and this…whatever this was, I needed to keep this. Our friendship mattered. It was unplanned, but it happened, and it would continue to matter.
And I didn’t want to ruin it.
So, I stayed sitting on his lap for a few moments more, taking in his smell and the feel of his hard body caressing me. I was almost certain I could feel his cock hardening and pressing against my ass, but he made no mention of it, so I tried my best to ignore it. I hugged him when the crying was done, telling Justin he was one of the best people I knew and he was such an idiot for hiding it from the world. In response, Justin merely hugged me back and buried his face on my hair.
“I’m glad you’re finally noticing I’m not such an asshole all of the time,” Justin murmured, jokingly.
I smiled and hoped he would just kiss me already.
The kiss never came.
13
Justin
Sometimes, seeing Sam lounging around in my house or running around in a panic had me forgetting what it was like before he arrived in my life. I felt like ages ago, and almost three months in his job felt like a lifetime for me as he was pretty much there at my every waking moment.
I didn’t dislike it. In fact, maybe I liked it a little too much, and was actively trying to find the advantages of living alone and getting to call this place the bachelor’s pad. But at the moment all the advantages just wouldn’t come to mind, and I wondered how everything had changed so much without me even realizing it or becoming aware of the transition. Before I knew it, I was so used to Sam, that it felt like this was just how things should be from now on.
It just felt right.
We shared breakfast, lunch and sometimes dinner together, at least when I wasn’t doing overtime at work. This was the longest time I’d ever spent with an omega, and shockingly I had not even slept with him.
We used our free time to watch movies and make fun of some of them, then argue about the ones we disagreed on to point out whose opinion was the best. We gorged on food, trying to one-up each other in the cooking department—because yes, we both could cook—and ending up being more impressed with our different but equally delicious styles. I finally managed to convince Sam to try jogging with me at least twice a week, and he retaliated by getting me used to more of the non-thrilling activities he had in mind, like a walk in the park, feeding the ducks or getting a huge aquarium with colorful fish. By the time it had
become instilled in my habit, I found that a walk in the park wasn’t so bad, and I’d begun naming the fish and actually taking responsibility for feeding them and cleaning the tank.
It was still not as close as I wanted, and we did have our limits as we were careful from staying too close to each other now on the couch, or staying up too late and talking about too many intimate subjects, such as discussing our previous lovers. It was like we both knew where it would lead to and just wanted to prevent it from happening. Maybe. But it didn’t work, and whatever attraction I felt for Sam kept growing and growing until it got to the point where the mere sight of him pretty much stirred my body and gave me raging hard erections, and I would often go to sleep with his cheeky smile embedded in my head. It resulted to dirty dreams where we were writhing in bed or I was taking him against the kitchen island, and I ended up having to avoid that part of the apartment because seeing it gave me an instant hard-on.
I’d often have to take matters into my own hands, quite literally—by masturbating at least 3 times per day just to get rid of my boner, because there was no way Sam wouldn’t have noticed I was pitching a tent in my pants when around him. It was of little use though, because the moment I was around that sexy little omega, and taking in his sweet scent, my cock was as hard a rock again.
When things got busy for both of us, and we barely saw each other again for about a week. It made me miss Sam’s presence, even when it was just to tease him and see how long he lasted until he started picking a fight with me about my thrill-seeking ways. Sam had to go see another old client who needed him help with some campaigns, which meant a week for me to be alone in my pad.
Instead of celebrating, I found myself trying to find activities that I knew Sam would approve of. He sometimes called to check up on me, and I’d tease him about all the “naughty” things I did—like feed some bread to ducks in the park or eat a whole three pints of ice cream by myself.