22. Grace
“You’re staying,” I say quietly. Part of me wants it so much, yet I can’t forget he is an alpha and with that comes threats I can’t ignore.
“I am.”
I twist away from him and grab my toothbrush, slide the paste across, and brush my teeth.
Our proximity to each other in the bathroom suddenly makes it feel claustrophobic, causing my breath to catch in my throat as he watches me in the mirror ahead.
His eyes roam over my face, searching for something before our gazes connect. It’s intense, never wavers, causing a shiver to run down my spine.
Why does he make me feel this way?
Crouching down, I grab the spare toothbrush from the cupboard below and hand it to him with the paste.
He smiles. “Thanks.”
He steps forward. His body touches mine. Only the smallest touch, but my breath still catches in my throat.
“Relax,” he murmurs, his voice rough and gravelly.
We stand in charged silence for a few seconds before I swallow and nod. “I am.” I lie.
How can I relax when I’m sure my perfume is coating the air? Yet he keeps silent about it. He doesn’t seem affected by it. Maybe he doesn’t really like it—or me.
I know I can like an alpha’s scent, but it doesn’t make us a match.
I contemplate that as I stare at my reflection while taking the hairbrush and brushing my hair.
“You good?” His chest is rising and falling. It’s like being this close to an omega is testing his restraint. Does that mean he feels something?
“I need to put my pajamas on,” I breathe.
His lips stretch into a smirk. “Do you need me to help?”
I laugh. Happy he broke the weirdness between us. “Just a bit of privacy is fine.”
Breaking our eye contact, I spin on my heels and dash away from him.
I grab my pajamas from my overnight bag and shove the pants up my legs, shimmying the dress up to my hips before I push the straps down my arms.
Feeling his gaze burning into my neck, I glance over my shoulder to see him standing at the bathroom door, looking like a lion eyeing his prey.
“Do you need my help?” he asks, stepping forward.
I grab my pajama top and push it over my head. “Could you unzip me?”
He doesn’t respond.
I do when I moan as his finger slides along my flesh as he slowly unravels my dress—and me; it seems.
His touch is feather light, yet every brush of his fingertips sends a jolt of electricity through my veins and worryingly every nerve ending in my clit. My body trembles.
“I promise I don’t bite.” His deep voice is making me feel and want all sorts of weird things. “Unless you ask me nicely.”
I chuckle at his words as his warm breath ghosts over my neck, eliciting another visible shiver from me.
Does he want me more than what he claims?
I swallow hard, trying to keep my composure as his fingers hold the zipper of my dress, and his heat radiates off his body as he stands so close behind me.
When the zipper finally comes undone, a rush of cool air kisses my skin, but it does little to soothe the flames that his proximity has ignited within me.
He leans in closer, his lips just a hair’s breadth away from my ear, and he whispers, “Let’s get you into bed.”
My heart thunders in my chest, and I find myself paralyzed, unsure of what to do next. The air between us crackles with tension, and I can’t ignore the magnetic pull drawing me towards him.
This is much more than his scent.
I can’t do this.
I can’t do this.
I can.
“You can sleep beside me as long as you keep your clothes on,” I say, surprising myself.
With a nervous laugh, I turn to face him, my heart pounding in my chest. His eyes are dark and intense, boring into mine with a hunger that sends a thrill down my spine, igniting those pesky nerve endings again.
“Are you sure about that?” he asks, taking a step closer until there is no space between us.
His gaze drops to my lips.
I know I should pull away, put some distance between us, but something holds me in place. The electricity between us is magnetizing, making it impossible to move away.
Remember his reputation. The voice in my head warns me.
I step back. “We’re both adults. I’m sure we can sleep in the same bed, despite our designations.”
He laughs. “You’re scared you won’t be able to resist me?”
I smile at him. “Let’s sleep, Romeo.”
I slowly open my eyes, feeling warmth radiating from the body next to me. My cheek is pressed against his bare chest, and a wet spot on his skin tells me I must have drooled in my sleep. I try to move away without waking him, but his arm tightens around my waist, pulling me closer.
I feel safe here in his arms, but the nausea that I’ve kept at bay until now is now churning in my stomach.
I need to get away.
“I need the bathroom,” I whisper against his neck as I lift the arm wrapped around my waist.
As the pressure in my stomach builds, I break free from the tangled sheets and race to the bathroom. I barely make it to the toilet before retching violently into the porcelain bowl. My body trembles as I hold the bowl while struggling to catch my breath between each heave.
Strong arms wrap around my body, pulling my back close to his chest as he nuzzles his face into my neck. With one hand, he gently pushes my hair away from my face, and with the other, he rests it on my stomach.
“You should have woken me,” he whispers. His warm touch brings a sense of comfort as we kneel together in an embrace.
“Nobody needs to see or smell this,” I sob, gagging.
I hate being sick.
“I’m your boyfriend. From now on, hide nothing from me.” His voice is hard, but his touch is soft.
He reaches up, presses the release button, flushing away the evidence.
I say nothing about the ‘boyfriend’ comment. The taste in my mouth overcomes any conversation right now. “I need to brush my teeth.”
With a quick tug, he hoists me up and sets me gently on the smooth, cold marble counter. My legs dangle over the edge as I look up at him with surprise. “You’re strong.”
He smiles as he spreads the paste on my toothbrush. “Open.”
“What?”
“Open your mouth.”
I obey, but he doesn’t hand me the toothbrush, instead he gently brushes my teeth for me.
The entire time, my eyes are locked on him.
Afterward, I swill my mouth as he dampens a cloth under the warm water and gently wipes it across my sweaty face. “Do you feel better?”
“Thank you.” I nod as tears coat my eyes.
Damn my hormones. That’s what my mom keeps telling me it is when I get weepy.
He glances at my tummy. An unspoken moment as my hand reaches to where his eyes look.
“Is the baby okay? Are you okay?”
“We’ll be fine.”
“You will.”
I nod. “Though I’ve never heard of a single parent omega before. You’d think he’d smell his baby inside me and pounce over the tables to protect me and his... the baby.”
Stanton gnaws on his lip for a moment before answering, “He probably wanted to, but was scared because of his father.”
“His father. The Senator?”
He nods. “He isn’t a nice man.”
“You mean I won’t be good enough for his precious son? Is that what you’re trying to tell me?”
“You’re good enough. But his father isn’t interested in anyone who won’t further his career.”
I gasp. “His? Not Lucas’ career?”
He nods. “Come here. You need to rest.” He holds out his muscular arms for me to fall into, and that’s what I do. Leaning against his chest as I hold on to him.
“Why are you doing this?” I ask quietly. “I mean, if his father won’t allow me into Lucas’ life anyway, you’re wasting your time. And then what do you get out of it?”
He looks startled, like he’s suddenly wondering why the fuck he offered the arrangement, but then surprises me by saying, “I get the honor of spending time with the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met.”
I groan as I look heavenward. “Hardly.”
He grabs my chin with his thumb and index finger, and stares me dead in the eyes. “You need to dig deep and find your confidence. I know it’s there. I saw glimpses of it tonight.”
My bottom lip quivers and I dig my teeth in to stop myself from crying.
“It’s your hormones.” His voice is a low rumble, and I’m sure he is trying to contain the alpha inside him.
My chest rises as a giggle bursts from my mouth. “You’re worse than my mother, and she’s an omega, but I like you can make me laugh.”
“That’s a nice compliment.”
I smile. “It is. My mother is amazing.”
His eyes close momentarily as he purses his lips and exhales. “You’re lucky.”
I nod as he turns in the bathroom and heads toward the bed. Laying me down on the mattress and covering me with blankets, before pushing in beside me.
I turn on my side so we are both facing each other.
“This is a little early in our relationship,” I joke, because I remember waking up in his arms and not hating it.
“Nothing is too early. I don’t want to regret anything,” he says.
I narrow my eyes. “What could you regret?”
“You ask a lot of questions,” he says.
I grin. “I work in a café. I’m always talking to customers, so talking is my thing. What’s your thing?”
He shrugs his shoulders. “Apart from hockey. Nothing?”
“Nothing?”
“Come on. Tell me one thing nobody can read about you.”
“I’ve been secretly depressed for seven weeks.”
Me too!
But as I don’t want to make this about me, I say, “Oh. I’m sorry. Are you getting help?”
His watery eyes stare into mine and just as his tears threaten to spill over, my omega instincts kick in. I pull him into a tight embrace. His head rests against my neck and I can’t help but purr softly, trying to offer some comfort in the only way I know how.
And then his body heaves as he sobs. My heart aches as his hot tears soak my neck.
“It’s okay. I’m here. You can talk to me.” Tears fall from my own eyes and down my cheeks as I whisper soothing words into his ear.
“I’m okay,” he mutters only minutes later.
I know he’s trying to be brave. “I’m here for you. If you want to talk or...” I’m not really sure what else to say.
“You’ve done enough. Thank you.” He tries to pull away.
“Alpha. Stay there.” I don’t quite know where my firmness came from. I certainly don’t know when I started caring about alphas. “When you’re ready to talk, I’m also an excellent listener.”
As his lips brush against my neck, a small sigh escapes him and I feel his warm breath dance across my skin, sending chills down my spine. I arch my body as it lands between my thighs.
Fuck!
“What happened?” he asks innocently.
Was it innocent? Did he know what he did? Did he do anything but breathe?
What I know is I’m screwed if I think I can pretend to be his fake date when he can so easily affect my body.