Chapter 24 #2
“Isn’t it amazing? She’s been in recipe-testing mode as she finalizes her bakery menu, and I’ve definitely reaped the rewards. I’m organizing the grand opening. You should come.” She nudged my side in a touch that was so casual and perfect it made my heart ache.
“If her other baked goods taste like this, I’ll be there every day. By the way, was the whale movie you watched Dark Depths?”
“Yes! Have you seen it?”
I chuckled. “You could say that. I also watched it as a kid, and it kind of shaped the trajectory of my life. The first time I saw it, we were still living in Iran. My parents had just told me we were moving to the U.S. and I was furious about it, especially since Bibi couldn’t come with us.”
“She couldn’t? Why not?”
“Her husband, my grandpa, was a horrible man. He was barely home, but when he was, it was a nightmare.” My jaw clenched as old rage rushed through me. “My parents wanted to bring her with us, but she couldn’t leave the country without his permission, and he refused to give it.”
Lucy squeezed my hand. “That’s horrible.”
“My parents refused to leave her at first, but my mom is a midwife and was offered a fellowship in Maine to further her research into rural maternal health. It was an amazing opportunity for her, and they also wanted to ensure Parisa had access to whatever opportunities she wanted.” I swallowed hard.
“My mom was terrified of leaving my grandma behind. I don’t know what Bibi said to convince them to move, but she’s pretty impossible to say no to. ”
“How did she get over here? Did her husband change his mind?”
I shook my head. “No, we got lucky because he died like a month after we moved here. Maman was on the phone with our family in Iran the next day to arrange Bibi’s travel.”
“I’m so glad you have her.”
“Me, too. But anyway, when I found out we were moving, I was upset. I didn’t want to leave my friends or home, but Baba told me we were moving to a coastal town and promised we would go whale watching.”
“Did you?”
I grinned. “Oh yeah. I even convinced my entire family to go on an Alaskan cruise the summer after my senior year so we could see the whales. I toyed with being a marine biologist for a while, but I barely passed my science classes freshman year of college, so I went into Ocean Rescue instead. I figured it would keep me close to the sea.”
“I wanted to be a marine biologist for a while, too. Funny how things turn out.”
“Yeah, it is.” And for the first time in a long time, I thought my life had turned out okay if it brought me to this moment in time.
We were down to the last bite of cake.
“You finish it,” I said.
“I’m super full. You take it.” She leaned back and patted her stomach.
I shook my head. My upbringing would not allow me to take the last bite of cake. “It’s yours.” I nudged the box her way.
She sighed and speared the final bit of cake with her fork. But instead of eating it, she brought it to my lips. Now I was torn between the hospitality my Iranian culture demanded and the desire to do anything to please this omega.
After a moment of hesitation, I wrapped my hand around her wrist and took the last bite of cake off her fork.
My eyes had adjusted enough to the darkness to see the general outline of her features, but as her scent bloomed around us, bright and happy, I had the urge to aim the flashlight at her face to fully see her expression.
“Can I ask you a question?” she asked softly.
“Of course.”
“Is there anything that helps your knee pain? Not that you have to talk about it if you don’t want to,” she hurried to add.
I tightened my hold on her. “I’m sorry I snapped earlier.
I’m still getting used to needing a cane.
I thought it was temporary, and I recently found out it’s more of a long-term thing.
So that’s been hard.” She squeezed my hand and I let out a shuddering breath.
“My doctor keeps trying to refer me to pain management, but I haven’t decided yet if I’ll go. ”
“Why wouldn’t you?”
Because it feels like accepting defeat, like giving up.
“I guess I’ve been in denial.”
She hummed and I braced for her to tell me I was being silly and that, of course, I should go.
“If you change your mind, I’d be happy to go with you.”
My heart stuttered, and a slow smile split my cheeks. “I may take you up on that, azizam.”
We had swayed so close her face was inches from mine.
“What does that mean?”
My fingers trailed down her arm. I was lost in a haze, completely mesmerized by Lucy. She smelled like wildflowers and strawberries, like home.
“Sweetheart,” I murmured. “Is that okay?”
“Yes.” She brushed her lips along my jaw. “Call me that as often as you want.”
My hand tangled in her hair. She shivered and I drew her closer.
“Are you cold?”
She shook her head, her nose skimming against my short beard before she cupped my face. Our lips were a hairbreadth apart, so close I could practically taste her.
“Leo.” Her whispered murmur was sweet and soft and needy.
I closed the space between us, groaning as my lips pressed against hers. We moved together like we’d been doing this all our lives. I tugged her closer, closer, closer until she was straddling my lap.
“Your knee?” she asked, breathless between kisses.
“I’d rather chop it off than have you move.”
She laughed, but the sound was cut off as my hand went to her jaw, my tight hold urging her to open for me. My tongue dipped into her mouth, and she was sweeter than I’d even imagined, like the honey and rose of my favorite Persian cake.
“Fuck.” My hands gripped her hips. “You’re perfect.” I palmed her ass, pulling her flush against my hard-on.
She let out the most precious omega whine as she ran one hand through my hair and wrapped the other tightly around my neck. “You smell so good,” she said between kisses.
I puffed up, ridiculously proud that the sweetest omega in the world liked my scent. I hugged her tighter to me and wondered why the fuck I’d held myself back from her.
Lucy parked the golf cart in a space outside our shops, but neither of us moved.
We’d kissed at the top of the cliff for what felt like seconds, but was closer to an hour.
I wanted more—to dip my fingers into her heat and fuck her until she came, to lick up the slick coating her inner thighs, to sink my cock into her heat—but I held back.
Lucy deserved more than our first time being outside in the dark…
and I was pretty sure Stanley might actually lose his mind if we fucked in his golf cart.
When her teeth started chattering from the cold, I’d reluctantly moved her off my lap so we could head back to town.
She tangled her fingers with mine. “Thanks for giving me a second chance to have our date.”
“The first of many.”
The streetlights illuminated the pink of her cheeks and the brightness of her smile. I wanted to invite her inside, to pull her into my bed. We didn’t even have to do more than sleep. I’d be perfectly content to just hold her.
Reality crashed down on me. The pain in my knee, which had been easy to ignore when she was on my lap, was now so intense I knew I wouldn’t make it up the stairs. Our first night together would not be on my shitty storage room mattress as I alternated applying ice and heat to my knee.
I reluctantly walked her to her door. “Are you going to leave the golf cart here? It feels like we should hide it.”
“Good to know you’re willing to be an accessory to any crimes I commit,” she said with a toss of her hair.
“Of course. Although, if you need to dispose of any bodies, we might need some help lifting them.”
She grinned and leaned in for a kiss. “I might know some people who would help. But for now, it’ll be fine parked there.”
She unlocked her door and lingered for a moment before saying goodnight and slipping inside.