Chapter 27
"That's... pretty romantic of you, actually," I said slowly, the irritation—or, more accurately, jealousy—from sharing the alpha's attention with his phone making my voice tighter than I wanted, even if it was totally misplaced.
This was our date, the first time we were spending any real time together. And yet he was letting himself be distracted by something or someone else. Okay, fine, I knew it was me and Cameo's little movie that had the alpha hot under the collar, but still!
We might've only been a contract to each other, but the least he could do was pretend like I was more than an incubator and politely wait until our date was over to watch me suck off his packmate.
A shiver went down my spine at the thought of the unusual alpha.
I couldn't tell if I was more than a toy to him.
Something he could take out of the box to play with until he got bored.
.. But there was something in the way he'd taught me to use the knife carefully nestled in my stylishly small purse.
Something more than the way he'd used it on me, inflicting pain so that he could replace it with pleasure. Or how he'd made me cum while I held it behind my back, poised like I could strike him at any time.
There was a real lesson tucked in between the whispered praises and curses. Like he cared, if I squinted.
The strain in Marcus was obvious in the tight line of his broad shoulders as he tried to refocus on our conversation.
And, just like that, my irritation was gone.
It was flattering, the way that the alpha's sweet creamy scent reached me in a wave, stoking my arousal to life as I watched him struggle to keep his composure.
I crossed one leg over the other, pressing my thighs together under the table in an effort to stop myself from leaving a snail trail on Marcus' stupidly expensive chairs.
Fucking Cameo.
My panties were still in the alpha's back pocket, not that they'd do me any good after he'd cut the sides. But I was sorely missing them now, the dampness between my thighs a mix of my renewed arousal at Marcus' obvious interest and Cameo's cum still leaking from my abused pussy.
"We aren't all knife happy assholes," Marcus muttered as our first course arrived, a beautiful lobster tail sitting on a bed of risotto. This, at least, was a dish I recognized from my brief obsession with watching the Food and Drink channel. "I want you to feel welcome with us."
"I think you're a little hard on Cameo," I said, using my fork to bring a bite of the risotto to my mouth.
Fireworks. A ten piece band. Lightning.
It was the most delicious plate of food I'd ever eaten in my entire life.
A little groan escaped me as I took another bite... and then another, losing track of the conversation I'd had in favor of chasing the bliss that the subtle, earthy flavors the dish provided.
Okay, was Marcus' restaurant star chasing bullshit? Yes.
Was it also delicious? Yes.
Marcus watched me devour half of my plate, a soft smile playing at his lips, before he decided it was time to bring me back from heaven and back to the table. "I'm hard on Cameo? He used you like a knife sharpener."
"I asked him to," I said, a little more hotly than I'd meant.
After his little quiz, Cameo had softened in a way I never would've expected of the alpha.
Carefully cleaning each of my cuts and assessing if they needed a bandage.
Luckily, he'd been pretty careful, and more of the cuts were more like scratches.
Meaning that after a bit of antiseptic, I was good to re-do my makeup while the alpha brushed and re-styled my hair.
I don't know what I was more surprised by—that the moody, mouthy alpha liked to cuddle after he came, or that he wasn't half bad with a curling iron.
"Contrary to popular belief, an alpha doesn't need to comply with your every request, little omega," Marcus said dryly. "You look like the survivor at the end of a horror movie."
"Do you like scary movies?" I asked instinctually, mimicking the tone of the famous slasher villain as I finished the rest of my plate, genuinely considering licking the dish. The dining room was empty anyway...
Marcus' lips ticked up into a half smile again, an expression that was quickly becoming my favorite on the alpha. It meant that I was doing something right... at least that's what it seemed like.
"I love them, actually. I have a big collection of VHS tapes in my room... Well, and some DVDs. Eventually they stopped making the tapes, so—"
I let Marcus ramble, soaking in the fact that he really was nervous. And that it was my fault.
Me. The omega that was supposed to be nothing but a baby factory.
Yet… This date didn't feel like the half-hearted, 'here, damn!' of an alpha looking to placate his future baby mom.
It felt real.
"I want to open a game studio," I finally said, interrupting Marcus halfway through an explanation about the differences between a DVD and a Blu-Ray that I absolutely wasn't listening to.
"Huh?"
"I'm answering your question about why I took the deal," I said, twirling a lock of candyfloss hair around my finger.
"I want to make horror games, and Cameo was really generous in his offer.
I'd have enough to hire a couple of people, a budget for premises, hardware, servers.
.. you know, everything I need to really dig in on this thing. "
"That’s cool, like the stuff Indi plays?" Marcus asked, and a knot that I hadn't noticed in my stomach loosened.
I didn't realize it until now, but I guess a part of me had expected him to laugh. Or, I don't know... make it seem like the whole thing was stupid. Marcus had such a normal job, it just made sense somewhere in my subconscious that he'd think game design was a joke.
"Kind of. I'd like to make a cooperative story-based game that plays a bit like a movie.
But the ending, and how much you learn about the lore and what's going on is based on the decisions and discoveries you make in game.
Oh, and like, the coolest fucking cosmetics.
Cozy horror is like, a totally underserved niche, so… "
He nodded thoughtfully. "I've always liked the formula behind horror, it’s like a recipe. All of these little pieces added together becomes something new. Add a little more or less of something, and it totally changes the outcome."
I smiled.
Somehow, I'd expected a date with Marcus to be as quiet as he was with the rest of the pack, and it was a pleasant surprise to find that wasn't the case.
The conversation flowing easily between delicious plates that had me wanting to crawl into the alpha's lap to purr thank you into his ear.
I didn't though, letting the easy conversation pass as he told me about the first restaurants he'd worked at, and all the ways he'd fucked up searing a steak, while I shared about the giant pink stain on the tile in my shower from the last time I dyed my hair.
It was… normal. Surprisingly so.
All the way up until I was pushing my dessert plate away with a satisfied groan. "I couldn't eat another bite," I said, patting my stomach appreciatively. "God, this baby is going to eat so good."
The alpha chuckled, offering his hand across the table and I took it, letting him play with my fingers.
"Why did you agree to the deal?" I asked, suddenly curious.
Marcus was handsome, talented, and not a bad date. Honestly... The entire pack was lovely, Cameo included, most of the time. I couldn't see why they needed to pay a small fortune to have a baby. Surely their pack had a line down the block trying to get a shot.
"This is largely Cameo's doing, but I've always wanted children." He shrugged a shoulder, not quite meeting my eyes. "I thought, a while ago, that our pack had met its omega. Got myself really excited about the prospect of starting a family. It, uh... didn't work out, I guess."
It felt like he wasn't telling me the whole truth, but I'd picked up enough about Marcus to know better than to push.
Whatever happened with this omega before me, and whatever Joon's deal was with this pack and his inability, or maybe it was refusal, to commit, wasn't my business.
This was a job, a job that had incredibly weird specifications, but still.
I was here to give this pack a baby, not get into the middle of their business.
At least that's what I kept telling myself.
So why was it whenever I thought about any of them, I got butterflies?
And why did I want to climb into Marcus' lap to replace his frown with my lips?
I held off on the impulse, squeezing his fingers to draw his attention back to me. "Their loss," I said softly. "Now I get you all to myself."
Marcus' eyes met mine, and for a moment, I thought that it wasn't going to work. But then his lips ticked up at the corners, flooding me with a rush of pride.
This pack wanted a baby, and I was going to give it to them. I just hoped that by the time I did, they'd want the omega giving it to them as much as I wanted them.