3. Onyx
3
ONYX
“ Y ou kissed the puppy?” Asher practically squealed later that afternoon at the bar.
Asher had ambushed me to grill me for deets as soon as he arrived.
I told him about how Luca asked me to spend his rut with him, and Asher hadn’t stopped squealing since.
He sat on the barstool, head resting on his hands as he watched me wipe away the water stains on the glasses that’d been washed last night.
“How was it? Is he a good kisser? He looks like a good kisser.”
I frowned at my friend’s statement.
Even though I was sure every single omega who’d shot lustful eyes at him this past week had imagined being intimate with Luca in one way or another, that didn’t mean I had to like it.
Maybe fated mates were real, and that was why this illogical jealousy kept popping up.
I’d never been this possessive before, even with my past partners.
But with Luca?
I didn’t know how to describe it, but he was mine, and I didn’t want to share.
Asher took one look at my face and laughed.
“Oh, man. You have it bad,” he said with a shake of his head.
My hand paused on the glass before setting it down and going around the bar to take a seat beside my best friend.
“He says we’re fated mates,” I admitted.
Asher’s eyes went as wide as mine probably did when Luca had told me the same thing.
Seeing the shock on someone else’s face shifted something inside of me, and suddenly I was laughing so hard I almost fell off my stool.
Asher gave me a funny look.
“Do people just turn weird once you find your fated mate?” He shot a cautious look my way.
He sighed and rested his head on his hands again.
“Fated mates, huh? Your ‘ perfect someone who’ll always be with you ,’” he said ruefully.
My laughter calmed into a soft smile as I pulled him into a half-hug.
Being a chinchilla shifter, Asher was tiny.
The top of his head barely reached my chin, so his head was basically nestled into my armpit in this position.
He didn’t seem to care and snuggled closer.
I knew it was his childhood that made him love any and all affection, which was why, even if I wasn’t the most touchy-feely person, hugs with Asher had become a part of our daily routine.
“I’m not sure I believe the whole thing yet, but I can’t deny that I’m attracted to him in a way I’ve never been with any other alpha. A crazy part of me is screaming he’s mine,” I admitted out loud for the first time.
“Must have made you stupidly jealous seeing all the omegas lusting after him this week,” Asher teased, head raised to look at me.
“You don’t even know the half of it,” I muttered.
I didn’t tell him I’d had half a mind to kick all the starry-eyed customers out.
But I didn’t, because I was a professional business owner, dammit.
“I’ve seen the way he looks at you, you know?” Asher mentioned.
I frowned down at him.
“And how could you see that from all the way inside the kitchen?”
He rolled his eyes and pushed himself out of the hug.
“You make it sound like you keep me trapped in the kitchen, slaving away.”
“Your words, not mine,” I muttered with a grin.
Asher just shook his head.
He glanced over my shoulder, a sly smile appearing on his face at whatever it was he saw.
“Looks like your puppy’s a tad bit impatient,” he commented and stood.
I flipped around, and through the long, vertical glass panels on either side of the door, I saw Luca leaning against the wall opposite it.
He’d changed since we ran into each other this afternoon.
He looked dashing in a dress shirt the same blue as his eyes, and tight jeans that left nothing to the imagination.
I told myself that was the reason my heart rate kicked up, and not because of the flowers he had with him.
Or the way he glowed when he saw me looking his way.
His doggy ears popping out from the top of his head left a ticklish feeling inside my chest.
I now knew his lack of control over them was because he was close to his rut, making all his emotions stronger than usual, but fuck if it didn’t make me blush to see him so excited to see me.
Chuckling sounded from beside me as a hand landed on my shoulder.
“You look happy, and if anyone deserves that, it’s you. I’ll be prepping in the kitchen,” Asher said, looking amused.
He turned to leave but twisted around one last time to say, “Don’t forget we open in half an hour, so no fooling around out here! Now, go get your man!”
To say the ground was clouds as I walked to open the front door was an understatement.
I was so giddy at hearing Asher call him ‘ my man, ’ I was practically floating.
Not that I’d admit that to anyone.
“You’re here,” I said, letting Luca inside.
“I was excited to see you again. I got you these,” he replied, handing me the bouquet of red roses.
“Thank you. It’s my first time receiving a bouquet,” I said, bringing the roses to my nose to smell them—and to cover the blush that’d crept up from receiving this gift.
My cheeks were probably the same color as the roses.
Asher seemed pleased to have taken another one of my firsts.
His golden tail wagged frantically behind him, making a whoosh-whoosh sound in the silent room.
“I also wanted to give you this,” he said in a more serious tone.
It was only then that I noticed the brown paper bag he was carrying in his other hand.
Curious, I opened the bag to find a box of medicine, as well as an inhibitor shot.
Luca must have seen the confusion on my face because he coughed and explained, “It’s the rut inhibitor I was going to use to pass this rut before I met you. I want you to keep it in case you decide you don’t want to spend it with me after all.”
“Luca—” I started, but he pressed the bag into my hand.
“Keep it with you, please? I already started on the rut meds my doctor prescribed me, but with you, I’m not confident I can hold back during it. So, if you change your mind—and it’s okay if you do—or if my rut gets too much, I want you to use the shot on me. Okay?”
He was so earnest that I couldn’t do anything besides nod.
Luca perked up at my assent, pressing a happy smile-kiss onto my lips.
I sighed into the kiss, the ground suddenly feeling unsteady under my feet, but Luca’s hands wrapped around my waist and kept me upright.
The kiss ended much sooner than I would have liked, especially when I felt something large and hard pressed against me.
Shit.
He was fucking bigger than he looked inside those tight jeans.
And once his rut came, his giant dick was going to be inside me.
Probably reaching deeper than anyone had before.
Deep enough to cover my womb with his sperm, breeding me over and over again until my belly rounded, and I wasswollen with his kid.
“Fuck,” Luca cursed under his breath as he took a step back.
“You’re killing me, baby.”
“Yes, babies ,” I murmured in a daze, quickly realizing that I should not be fantasizing about having Luca’s children already.
Fated mates or not, it was entirely too soon to be thinking about that.
Luca smiled and reached out to cup the base of my neck where my pheromone glands were located.
He rubbed the sensitive area, causing more tingles to spread through my body.
“You smell so good,” he whispered, taking in a deep lungful of air.
I realized I’d unknowingly released mypheromones.
The entire place reeked of need and desire.
The smell was so dense, they were making me dizzy.
“Fuck.” I turned around so he couldn’t see how embarrassed I was.
Plus, not looking at him helped with the situation in my pants.
Soaking my underwear in slick right before my bar opened was not how a professional business owner should act.
“I’ll be right back,” I said quickly, then rushed to the back where the door leading up to my apartment was located.
Along the way, I turned on the central air purifier to the max.
The last thing I needed was for my customers to smell my arousal.
Good thing I paid top dollar for the best air purifier on the market, because shifters had really good noses.
After cleaning up and changing into a fresh pair of underwear, Ispritzed on some deodorizer to cover up the lingering hints of my desire.
The minty scent worked wonders to mask unintentional pheromone leakage.
Luca was perched on the same barstool he’d occupied all week.
He turned to face me when I reappeared.
The short time apart let us cool off.
His animal traits had been put away, and the massive tent in his pants wasn’t as strained as before, but he still couldn’t hide the naked desire in his eyes as he watched me approach.
“This seat really does have the best view of you,” he commented when I went around the bar to find a vase for the flowers.
Filling the vase up with water, I unwrapped the bouquet and placed it in the middle of the bar, then turned to him with a brow raised.
He didn’t need any prompting as he continued, “Did you know this seat has an unobstructed view of the entire bar? From here, I can see you through the tiny window when you’re in your office.”
I craned my neck into his angle, and yep, just as he’d said, it was the perfect vantage point to see me when I was sitting in my office chair.
It was no wonder I kept feeling his gaze on me whenever he was here.
I thought I’d cooled down, but my face burned again.
Luca grabbing my hand didn’t help matters either.
He had large hands, big enough to dwarf mine.
His long finger slid down my palm, lingering on my wrist.
I didn’t need him to tell me to know he felt how hard my pulse was drumming right now.
I snatched my hand back, my breath coming out in deep gulps, and the smell of my desire making the deodorizer useless.
Luca smiled, not looking offended by me suddenly pulling away, but amused instead.
He took his phone out of his pocket, tapped on it, then slid it across the bar for me.
“It seems silly to ask now, but can I have your number?” he said, looking up at me with puppy-dog eyes.
The imagery of this Golden Retriever shifter giving me puppy-dog eyes had me laughing.
“What?” Luca asked, a soft smile on his lips.
I merely shook my head and took his phone to do as he requested.
Before handing it back to him, I texted myself so I had his number as well.
He entered something into his phone, slipped it back into his pocket, and stood.
“I think I need a little more time to cool off, so I’m heading home for the night,” Luca said, hands in his jeans pockets, looking like he didn’t want to leave at all.
I nodded, despite being equally reluctant to part.
He turned to leave, but twisted around at the last second and spoke in a soft voice just barely loud enough for me to hear, “My rut is scheduled to arrive in three days, so I’m not sure if I’ll be stable enough to visit before then. Maybe we could call? I’d really like to hear your voice. Or if that’s too much, texting is fine too...”
He was rambling, looking so different from the confident alpha leading around the love-struck omegas in my bar.
I liked seeing this side of him.
“Okay, I’ll text you tonight after the bar closes to see if you’re still awake.”
“I will be,” he said, then added, “Will it annoy you if I text you while the bar is open?”
“I might be too busy to reply.”
“I don’t care as long as you do eventually.”
“Okay,” I agreed with a nod.
He beamed, and even though we were inside a building, the bar lights dimmed to create ambiance, I swore he shone brighter than if I were staring at the sun.
I was in a daze long after he left.
It wasn’t until Asher returned from the kitchen to notify me it was opening time that I stopped staring at the space Luca had occupied, like I could still see him there if I really focused.
An hour later, I got the first text from Luca with a photo of a martini and a message saying he’d never had a martini as good as mine.
I preened at the message, not because it was from him—okay, maybe that was a tiny part of it—but mostly because I took pride in my work, and it was nice seeing others acknowledge that.
We texted for a few minutes in the lull between customers, chatting casually about our lives.
We both grew up in the city and had even frequented some of the same places before.
Never at the same time, or else I’d definitely would have remembered him.
Luca was pretty hard to forget.
By the time the bar was cleaned and closed, it was already pushing past two in the morning.
He said he’d wait up for me, but the last text I got from him was over an hour ago.
He was probably already asleep.
With his body preparing for his rut, he needed all the rest he could get.
I hopped in the shower and did my nighttime routine, planning on resting as well.
I’d finish the movie I started last night and get my beauty sleep for a bright and early morning.
Turning on the movie, I checked my phone and found another message from Luca saying he was waiting for my call and a GIF of a Golden Retriever begging.
All his GIFs so far had been of Golden Retrievers.
It was adorable.
He was adorable.
And I was in so much trouble.
I was calling him before my mind could process it.
Luca picked up on the first ring, his voice a little grumbly like he’d just woken from a nap.
The happiness in his greeting wasunmistakable and had me feeling all warm and fuzzy, much like conversing with him did.
The movie played in the background, but quite honestly, I wasn’t paying the least bit of attention.
I was far more interested in chatting with Luca about our favorite movies and TV shows.
It wasn’t until dawn broke that we ended the call.
It was a good thing I didn’t really need to be awake until the afternoon.
Luca didn’t visit the bar over the next couple of days, but he kept in constant contact, either with calls before and after work or texting throughout the day.
The calls helped with the strange longing that accompanied me these days.
It was like I was missing something …
missing Luca .
Which wasludicrous, since before last week, I hadn’t even known he existed, and now I couldn’t imagine not filling my days with little interactions with him.
On the second evening since I’d last seen Luca, I finished up the rest of the paperwork I’d put off all week while Lumi tended the bar.
It was easier to focus when my eyes weren’t constantly flicking to a certain puppy-like man.
Luca had texted to say he was going to take a nap, so I was surprised to get a call from him right as I turned off my computer.
“Onyx,” was all he said when the line connected.
My name came out breathy on his lips, almost a whisper, almost a plea.
A sweet tease of how he would sound moaning my name later.
“Can you… can you come over?” he asked in a shaky voice.
“Yeah, I will,” I replied, and he let out what sounded like a sigh of relief.
“Okay,” he said, his voice almost garbled.
“I can’t wait to see you.”
“Me too,” I replied honestly.
I was already packing up and grabbed the bag I’d prepared for my stay at his place.
Asher was shooing me out of the bar, telling me he’d take care of the place while I was away.
I gave my best friend a tight hug and a grateful thank you.
And then I was off to reunite with…
my mate.
I was still unsure of the whole fated mates’ thing, but I was coming to accept the fact that he was still mine, regardless.