ONE #2
His lips part in a small sound of surprise, but when the softest smile in existence dawns on his face, I can only stare at it.
My voice is rough when I speak.
“Congratulations, by the way. On your—” Mating. Fuck no. “Baby. It’s – uh – here in your application.”
“Thank you.” He’s still smiling, and I’m still not breathing properly. “He’s—He’s perfect.”
I bet he is.
I nod, not knowing what else to do, forcing myself to go through his CV again.
It’s still goddamn immaculate.
Except for one fucking thing.
“Why are you here, applying for a job, when you should be on paid leave, Sam?”
His expression tightens immediately, and I know that I’m not going to like whatever comes out of his mouth next.
“There was a difference of opinion with my previous employer, and I was let go.”
I feel my eye twitch.
“I see. And I’m sure the difference of opinion had nothing to do with your pregnancy and the fact that you’d have to be off work for several months but still required to be paid for those months?”
His reluctance to answer is plain as day, and for the first time since he walked into my office, I see the tiredness he was talking about. It’s all there in his defeated gaze, in the almost-imperceptible nod he gives me.
He’s not angry at how unfairly he’s been treated. He’s sad.
He was happy just two minutes ago, smiling so sweetly, and now he’s so fucking sad I can almost taste it.
My heart thuds against my ribs, the earlier agitation rearing its head with a vengeance, only now it’s worse. So much worse. Because now it’s murderous. Now, it’s telling me to burn that company to the ground.
It would be so easy for me. Those nobody motherfuckers wouldn’t stand a chance.
I would do that for anyone, not just for Sam.
This has nothing to do with the crippling need to see him happy again, to watch his lips tip up into that soft smile. Absolutely nothing.
I wonder what Sam would do if I made those shitheads regret they’d ever treated him like that.
Maybe he’d shake my hand as a thank you. His skin would be warm and pink, and I would rub my thumb over his pulse, marking him with my scent.
Maybe I would give his hand a little tug, and he would melt into me, his arms going around my waist, his head resting on my chest.
Maybe I would lean down and nuzzle his temple, kiss him behind his ear, suck a bruise on his neck.
Would he sigh? Whimper? Moan for me?
The blood pumps hard in my veins, something primal screaming at me to do it. All of it.
Fuck.
Oh fuck, this is so bad.
“Devon?”
His voice draws me back to him, pulling me out of my spiraling thoughts.
“Yeah.”
“I—” He hesitates, his warm, brown eyes open, peering into me, locking me in place. “I really didn’t know I’d find you here. The last thing I’d want is to make things awkward, I hope you know that.” He gives me a shy smile that makes my chest hurt. “It was nice seeing you again.”
It’s a mistake for so many reasons. I know it. I fucking know it.
I know I shouldn’t even be considering it.
Having him here every day for long hours, being around him without being able to touch him is going to be pure torture.
And there are rules. Rules that are there for a reason. Rules I can never break.
But his words right now sounded like goodbye, and I can’t have that.
“The job is yours if you want it.”
His eyes widen, and the way he blinks at me almost comically has me biting back a smile.
“Are you sure?”
I can hear the underlying concern in his question. But I can also hear his budding hope, and it wraps around my fucking heart.
“I’m sure, Sam.”
His chest rises and falls with his deep breath, and my heartbeat goes ballistic when he nods, a playful smile curving his mouth.
“Does this mean I will now have to call you boss or sir?”
You can call me whatever the fuck you want.
Fuck, he remembers our conversation from that night. He remembers the stupid shit I told him while I could barely think just from standing close to him, watching him get adorably flustered, staring at how beautiful he looked in the low light.
It’d felt as easy as breathing—being with him.
“I mean, I wouldn’t object to that if you wanted to.”
He laughs, and his freckles dance.
“Then I will keep that in mind.”
I’m sure we talk some more, about general things he should know about the company.
Things that HR will inform him about anyway and that I’m just recounting now so that I can keep him here a bit longer.
But eventually he stands up to leave, so I stand too.
For just a split second, I think he’s going to extend his hand for a handshake, but then the second is gone and he’s clutching his messenger bag in front of him.
He doesn’t want to touch me.
The thought feels like a punch in the gut. But then he’s smiling at me, his eyes sparkling, and it feels like I can breathe again.
“See you on Monday, Mr. Kingston.”
I could eat him whole.
“See you on Monday, Mr. Hartwell.”
The door clicks shut behind him, the sound quiet but somehow deafening.
I bet this was exactly how he shut the door to my hotel room after he left my bed.
I remember everything, every single moment from that night.
How he looked. How he felt.
What it was like—waking up and finding him gone. What I almost did afterwards. How I almost forgot myself.
A low growl of frustration tears from me and I push my chair further back, pacing my office.
It was just a hot night with a stranger. That’s what it was.
A hot, soft fuck with a strange omega who smelled like strawberries and cream.
That’s all it was supposed to be.
That’s all it was.
My instincts are just confused because he felt different. Because he gave himself to me completely, surrendered everything he had in the most vulnerable way possible and held nothing back.
And it brought me to my knees.
I inhale deeply, letting his lingering scent seep into my pores, saturate my skin.
It’ll pass. It was just my surprise at seeing him again, that’s why I’m reacting like this. Nothing more.
It’ll pass, and he’ll work here and be here, and I’ll be able to take care of him even indirectly. Keep an eye on him, and make sure he’s alright. Like an employer would do.
Him being someone else’s is actually good. It’ll help me keep my head straight. Remind me that this is for the best.
Yes. It will pass.