2. Luca
2
LUCA
I ’d never been as nervous about asking a potential rut companion as I was now.
Since the first moment I set my eyes on him, even through the layers of fog of my drunken brain, Onyx was like the pure moon breaking through the storm clouds.
Dark, mysterious, and unmatched beauty that captivated me.
He was the last thing I remembered before falling into a peaceful sleep.
I later learned of how disastrous that night was.
My vomiting all over the beautiful man was not the first impression I wanted to make.
Thankfully, Onyx wasn’t the type to hold grudges.
He was perfectly hospitable to me the few times we chatted at his bar.
Too hospitable if I was being honest.
Some nights while talking with the other patrons at his bar, I’d watch him from the corner of my eye and wish he’d rush over, get angry at me, do anything that might bridge this gap between us.
Which was why I couldn’t control my excitement when I encountered him outside of the bar for once and blurted out the question I’d been dying to ask since I was first enveloped in his scent.
Everything about him screamed he was mine.
I’d never felt this way with another person before.
This resounding desire to always bask in his presence or take him in my arms and hide him from the rest of the world, so no one else could covet him.
One of those options was illegal, so I settled by visiting his bar whenever I got a free chance.
I held my breath as I waited for Onyx’s reply.
Spending ruts and heats with casual acquaintances wasn’t a big deal.
Most were thrilled to accept an offer of a good time.
With the development of modern medicine, our cycles no longer turn us into mindless sex machines.
We retained our clarity, but the increased sex drive was unavoidable, which was why most people opted to find a partner to hole up with for those few days.
I wanted my partner to be Onyx.
It couldn’t be anyone else but him.
Onyx nibbled on his bottom lip; a nervous habit, perhaps?
A happy sort of excitement went through me at seeing it.
I wanted to learn all his little habits.
“You could have any one of the pretty omegas you chatted up at the bar this week. Why would you want”—he used a hand to gesture down his body—“me?”
My eyes followed the movement down his lean build.
I wondered how he saw himself, because the self-depreciating tone he used to ask that question told me it definitely wasn’t the same way I saw him.
Long legs that went on for miles, and a slim frame that reminded me of someone from the feline family.
So hauntingly beautiful that he’d graced my dreams more than once this week.
And that beauty mark on the upper left part of his lips?
I wanted to suck on it and taste him until his lips were swollen from my loving.
I blinked and shook myself from being distracted by the man once again.
This wasn’t the time for that.
He asked me a question.
I stepped closer until the tips of our shoes were touching.
I reached out my hand for his, slow and steady, like I was showing a timid animal that I wasn’t a danger to them.
Onyx’s twilight eyes watched the movement.
His pupils dilated until they blended in with the rest of his dark irises.
His eyes were so dark they were almost black.
The sun shone against them and made them sparkle captivatingly.
It reminded me of his name.
He glanced down at our joined hands curiously.
His brow wrinkled in a cute little frown, but he didn’t break contact.
I smiled and lifted his hand up to my lips for a soft kiss on the inside of his palm.
If he’d let me, I’d tease every inch of his skin with my lips.
Worship his body until all his senses only knew me.
“It can’t be anyone but you,” I replied softly.
Onyx’s eyes rounded with apparent surprise, then he did his cute little frown again.
Unable to stop myself this time, I reached out to smooth the crease between his eyebrows.
My thumb gently slid across his soft skin, lingering even after accomplishing its goal.
“Do you believe in fated mates?” I asked, mesmerized by the way his dark eyes sparkled as he stared wide-eyed at me.
Only in darkness can the light shine its brightest .
If I thought his eyes couldn’t get any bigger, I was clearly wrong.
The shock turned them into almost full circles.
He had to be part of the feline family.
“That’s a fairy tale told to kids. Finding the other half of your soul and living happily ever after? Nobody actually believes that,” he said with a laugh that turned unsure as he added, “Right?”
I smiled and let my hand ghost down his face until I was cupping his cheek.
I loved the way his lids fluttered closed for the briefest second, like he was enjoying the feel of me.
“My parents are fated mates,” I simply stated.
Onyx blinked rapidly, trying to comprehend my words perhaps?
I let my hand drop and instantly craved the feeling of him again.
I didn’t miss the way he leaned forward at the disappearance of my touch.
He quickly straightened, pretending like it hadn’t happened at all.
I wrapped a protective arm around him to block him from some rowdy teens playing as they passed us.
I didn’t know if Onyx was even aware of the way he melted in my arms.
He might still be processing our connection, but his body already knew we fit together like two halves of the same soul.
“They knew the moment they saw each other,” I explained as I guided us to the café’s outdoor seating area.
I helped him into a chair before taking my own.
As much as I wanted to keep him in my arms, it was impossible to think clearly with him so close.
“Society has normalized suppressing our animal instincts, like it’s something to be ashamed of, but they forget how our ancestors came to be. We’ve evolved and gained human intellect, but that doesn’t erase the natural instincts we’re born with.”
“And what? Your instincts tell you we’re supposed to be together?” he asked with a brow raised.
And then there was that cute little frown again.
He was pulling out all his nervous habits, nibbling on his bottom lip as well.
I was doing a terrible job at explaining this to him, but I never dreamed of being lucky enough to meet my fated mate.
They were rare; most believed it to be a fairy tale.
If my parents weren’t living proof, I might have believed that, too.
Taking his hand again, I let our bodies do the talking.
The air seemed to come alive when we connected.
Warm tingles shot up my arm from our palms, sending a pleasant shiver to the rest of my body.
And even though we were only holding hands, it felt like a warm hug.
Our pheromones mingled, cautiously at first, but then blended together until it was impossible to tell they were separate entities to begin with.
The world had been upside down, and now everything was in balance again.
Like I’d found my sanctuary.
I knew Onyx wasn’t unaffected, either.
His features had smoothed out, and his poor, abused lip had formed a tiny ‘ O ’ shape.
Onyx abruptly broke our contact and slid his hand onto his lap.
Using his other hand, he lightly caressed the area I’d touched.
He looked at it almost in wonder, and at the same time, as if it were a foreign object.
“I have to admit,”he said slowly, his eyes finally meeting mine again, “the attraction is there, and usually that’s enough for me to agree to some rut fun, but with you...” As he waved between us, his eyes fell on his hand again, and he balled it up in his lap.
“Every part of me is screaming that spending more time with you is dangerous. You just got out of a relationship, and I’m the rebound. I need to run before I get hurt.”
I wanted to scoop him up and do everything possible to wipe the fear from his expression.
But I kept my hands to myself, because while my touch might soothe him physically, that wasn’t what he needed right now.
“I hate the circumstances that led to our paths crossing, but I can’t lie and say I regret it, because I got to meet you… even if our meeting was disastrous.”
That got a tiny smile out of him.
“It was my first time vomiting on someone,” I admitted.
“It was my first time being vomited on,” he replied, his smile growing bigger.
I smiled as well, entirely too thrilled we shared a first together, even if it was something less than desirable.
“And the getting wasted because of my ex... you’re not a rebound. I wasn’t in love with him. That’s not why I drank so much,” I said with a heavy sigh.
Onyx leaned over the table to land a hand on my shoulder.
It was the first time he’d initiated contact, and it made my heart soar.
I covered his hand with mine, then put our combined hands on the table between us.
“My ex and I grew up together. Our parents are part of the same circle, and when he presented as an omega, and I as an alpha, our parents had the dream of us getting married and officially tying our families together. I guess it felt like the most natural progression, so we started dating in college, but we weren’t in love with each other. I loved him, and I won’t lie and say that a part of me doesn’t still love him, but it’s the kind of love you have for a family member, for someone you shared most of your life with. Can you trust me when I say that?” I asked, searching his eyes for a hint of his current emotion.
His bottom lip slipped between his teeth again, but he nodded and gestured for me to continue.
“I caught him cheating on me,” I said with a shaky breath.
Onyx squeezed my hand and shot me a look of genuine concern.
It made me chuckle.
Here was my fated mate, comforting me over another guy.
I didn’t know if Onyx was just selfless or what, because I would be blinded by jealousy if I had to watch him hurt over someone else.
“I wasn’t upset over the breakup,” I quickly added in case he got the wrong idea.
“We probably would have broken up eventually, to be completely honest. We didn’t fit, and we both knew it, but neither of us was interested in anyone else, so we just stayed together. Or at least that’s what I thought,” I said with a huff.
Onyx gave my hand another comforting squeeze.
I brought my other hand into the mix so that his was in between both of mine.
Playing with his fingers while thinking about my childhood friend and ex soothed me more than the alcohol ever did.
“It was the betrayal that hurt more than anything. He was my best friend first and foremost, and it really fucking stung that he couldn’t give me the courtesy to end things before jumping in bed with someone else. I’m not upset things ended with him. It’s the betrayal by someone I thought I could trust that really got me,” I said, and brought his hand up to my lips for a kiss.
“Are you still friends with him?” he asked.
I didn’t sense jealousy in his tone, just concern, curiosity.
“Our lives still intersect,” I replied with a shrug.
“Our parents are good friends, and our social circle is only so big, so I can’t avoid him forever, but I don’t think we’ll ever go back to how we used to be. Are you okay with me seeing him around?”
“Why are you asking me?” he asked with genuine shock.
I laughed and kissed the back of his hand again.
“Because if I have it my way, we’re going to be together for a long time, and I never want to do anything to betray your trust.”
Onyx flapped his mouth open and closed for a second, but no words came out.
He settled by shutting them and nibbling his bottom lip.
It took everything in me not to lean over the table and suck on them myself.
Instead of answering my question, he asked softly, “Are you going to find someone else to spend your rut with if I say no?”
I shook my head.
My curls flopped over my eyes at the action.
Onyx’s smile was breathtaking as he tucked the stray strands behind my ear.
“I’d already planned on spending this rut alone—before I met you. Got the calming meds already prescribed and everything. Even if we don’t spend this rut together, that won’t stop me from pursuing you. I want to be with you,” I said, letting myself be vulnerable.
Being betrayed by someone I’d been close to for so long made it hard to want to trust anybody ever again, but this was Onyx.
My fated mate.
We might have just met, but his soul called out to mine on the most primal level.
We were two sides of the same coin.
Trusting him was like trusting myself.
“Okay,” Onyx said, with no hesitation.
“Okay?” I asked, needing to confirm I hadn’t imagined the answer.
Onyx nodded.
“I’m not sure I believe all this fated mate stuff. It sounds too fantastical to be real.” He tilted his head in an adorable way that made something inside me feel soft and warm.
“I can understand that,” I said with a chuckle.
“But there’s no denying there’s something between us,” he said, looking at our hands.
They danced together, every touch a magical tingle that made the world feel right.
“This is a first for me,” he murmured.
“Me too,” I said just as softly.
“It’ll be another first we share. One of many.”
Onyx’s lips tug upward, and before I could fully appreciate the way happiness looked dazzling on him, he leaned over and kissed me.
It never occurred to me I hadn’t once taken a real breath in my life.
Not until this moment, sharing oxygen with Onyx, our tongues crashing, and me, finally getting to suck on those delectable lips.
Air never tasted this sweet.