Chapter 6
Ileft Allie alone to change and started to prepare dinner for us in the kitchen. I usually had more notice for clients, but I had enough to manage at least one pretty hearty dinner before I could put in an order. I had a stockpile of pre-cooked frozen rice in the freezer so I got that thawing while I chopped the meat and vegetables.
I could hear her rustling around in the bedroom, and as much as I wanted to watch her, she needed space right now to settle in. I needed her to be comfortable around me and hovering was not the way to do that.
The marinade soaked into the chicken while I added some onion and carrots to the pan. Soon the chicken and sauce were sizzling away and I added the rice to it, getting everything crisp and delicious.
Allie appeared in flannel pants and a black tank top. I could tell by the slope of her chest that she had abandoned her bra and I couldn’t help but smile, thinking about how much a monumental task that must have been for her to do knowing she was coming out to see me afterward.
I soaked in the simple beauty of her and her perfume flooded the space the longer my gaze held hers.
“Snuggle up and pick something to watch while I finish dinner.”
“You got it.”
She flipped through the options and eventually settled on a romcom. I dished up our food and passed her a bowl of fried rice before sitting next to her, dragging a blanket over both of our laps. Allie looked at me curiously. It wasn’t cold enough for a blanket, but I knew she would need it soon. The more fabric I could get both of our scents on the better before her heat started.
She ate her rice with impressive gusto. Her attention wavered from the movie every time I shifted. It was a bit of a power trip, knowing she was so tuned to me already. I kept catching her staring at me, the wheels of her brain turning behind her eyes, her resolve breaking a half dozen times before she finally spoke.
“Question.”
“Hmm?” I turned to her, curious what she’d been turning over in that head of hers.
“What happens if someone wants to do stuff before the heat starts?”
Goddamn, the universe was blessing me. I could work with the curiosity phase.
“Then we’d do stuff before the heat starts. Is something specific prompting this question or are you horny?”
Her cheeks were flaming pink and she struggled to maintain eye contact with me, that fucking delicious perfume filling my nose.
“I’m not super comfortable not having a choice for my first time. I’d rather go into that knowing it’s because I want to and not because the hormones are pushing me.”
I stared at her for a long moment, trying to temper my own scent so I didn’t overwhelm her as my body kicked into gear over the idea, desire pulsing through me.
Be cool.
Do not spook the omega virgin.
“If you want to, we can have sex beforehand.”
“Wait. Really?”
It was honestly getting ridiculous how many times I had to stifle my scent around her. I couldn’t control it that well for how easily I responded to her, but I didn’t want her to feel pressure to know how I was excited about the idea. She could know I was into it, but I worried about freaking her out if she knew I wanted to bend her over the couch right now.
“My job is to make sure you’re as safe and comfortable as possible through this process. If having sex on your terms beforehand would make you feel better, then we can do that.”
“Part of me wishes you hadn’t said that because now I have to actually choose.”
“Isn’t that what you wanted?”
“Yes. But I’m also chicken-shit and I’m only good at making academic choices, not life ones.”
“I’d say take your time, but you’re on a bit of a deadline.”
“Ugh. Don’t remind me.” Allie inched away and took a deep breath.
I had to check every instinct to follow after her.
Calm down. For fuck’s sake. I was a professional and I’d handled plenty of omegas. I needed to get a goddamn grip or I was going to screw something up.
“I want to do things on my terms,” she said quietly, “and I’m trying very hard to not panic, so I need you to cooperate with me. I need to go slow, and I need you to keep me from freaking out.”
She was going to break me before the end of this. I could already tell.
I soaked in the look of her—the sweep of her dark hair, the pleading in those beautiful brown eyes, the soft pout on her lips, the goosebumps decorating her skin—and forced myself to stay in control.
“Understood. Why don’t you lead each step? I’ll respond from there, and you choose when we move ahead.”
“Okay.” Allie sucked in a breath. “Okay. I can do that.”
“I’m here when you’re ready. No rush.”
She stared at me like she was uniquely terrified of what was about to happen. I had been the same at my first time, and the first time I had taken an omega to bed for their heat. The pressure sat on my shoulders like an anvil. I was going to be her first everything. I had already been her first kiss and I was determined as hell to make her first time something she could look back on without regret.
I could practically hear the racing of her heart in the silence that stretched between us.
Her gaze flickered out of focus and I caught her quiet mumble.
“You can do this. It’s just sex. You gotta push through and do this.”
I was pretty sure those words weren’t meant for my ears, but I heard them nonetheless.
Allie whined softly and nudged the blanket away, sliding over to sit on my lap, knees on each side of my hips. She moved like a startled deer in need of gentling. I suspected the position she chose had as much to do with an escape route as it was to get close to me.
“Remember to breathe.” I let my scent loose then. If that was what she needed to help her relax, then I could give her that.
Allie gasped softly and went stock-still. Her eyes closed, her hands bracing on my shoulders, fingers curling into the fabric of my shirt as she struggled against her own basest desires.
She was so fucking beautiful, like a firework about to go off. I was going to light that fuse.
Allie’s stillness slipped away, replaced by a shiver, her teeth grinding to stifle her whine.
“Can I touch you at all? Or would you prefer I stay totally still?”
“Touch something non-sexy.”
I laughed softly and set my palms onto her calves. The fabric of her pajama pants still separated us, but the moment I touched her, her eyes snapped open and she stared at me like she was the maiden before the dragon’s maw. I supposed that was appropriate, considering how eager I was to devour her.
Her eyes flicked all over my face, taking in every detail. If I weren’t so self-confident I might’ve felt uncomfortable with the scrutiny, but I liked her looking at me. I already knew she liked what she saw.
After she had looked her fill, she asked, “Kiss?”
I abandoned her calves and sank my fingers into her hair, curling them to get a firm hold at the base of her skull, pressing her forward until our mouths met. Allie melted readily into it and dug her nails into me. It took her some time to adapt, but I could be patient. It was only her second time kissing ever, so I eased her into it until she caught the feel and rhythm. Her teeth scraped over my bottom lip and she jolted back like she was surprised at herself.
Too fucking cute.
I smiled at her, tracing my thumb over her cheek. “Doing okay?”
“Mhmm.” She took a deep breath, as if mentally preparing herself for this new battleground she’d stepped onto. “Again.”
Allie sank closer, plastering herself against my chest. The low growl building in her throat had shivers ricocheting through me. She shifted again and dipped her head to sweep her tongue over the scent gland of my throat. I barely kept a handle on myself, my first instinct being to buck up into her, but I needed this to be at her pace.
“Bite if you want to. You can’t bond me until you’re in full heat.”
The only way I was going to be able to show her how much fun being an omega could be was to encourage her to explore. If I could help her tap into that ancient, primal part of herself, she would probably be a lot more comfortable with the next steps. I wanted her to have that freedom.
She scraped her teeth against my throat, that perfect omega growl coming free. I groaned beneath her, my grip on her hips tightening with every nip she made against my skin. Allie locked her fingers in my hair and tugged my head to the side to give herself better access to my throat, nibbling along the length of it as she inhaled deeply. I fought to keep my breathing even while every instinct in me screamed to flip her onto that couch, strip off her pants, bury myself in her, and put my bite mark on her throat.
Omegas in heat were intoxicating, but she was like a high I had never experienced. I wanted all of her in a way I had never wanted a client before.
Allie bit down and an instinctual answering growl from me unfortunately snapped her back into reality. She shoved away so hard she tipped backwards. I caught her before she could hit the ground and hoisted her back into my lap, keeping my arms locked around her, my heart thundering. I wanted her to want this, not just her instincts driving her to accept care from an alpha.
I wanted her to want me.
The second time she pushed away was gentler and I let her rearrange herself so she could stare down at me. “What the fuck was that?”
“That was you getting out of your head.” I traced soft fingertips over her cheek and she responded so perfectly, relaxing into me under the attention. I knew what omegas craved, and I knew she had to be craving assurance and sweetness while she navigated this new threshold. I’d give her both in spades. “You don’t need a heat to feel that. It’s part of who you are now.”
“That sounds like a pile of lies, but I’m going to trust you.” Allie shook herself like a wet dog, her scent softening with the action. “I can do this. Focus.”
Allie snatched up both of my hands and set them on her chest so that I was cupping her breasts. She stared at them for a long moment until I moved my thumbs and she clamped down her teeth against the sound that rose in her throat, but she couldn’t stop her shudder.
I swept my thumbs over her peaked nipples again; her eyes squeezed shut as if she could stop her reaction to the sensation.
“Can I go under the shirt?”
She hesitated a moment and then nodded, decisive.
I took my sweet time with it, inching under the hem of her tank top, fanning my fingers over her back and sliding up slowly. She squirmed restlessly in my lap and I couldn’t help but smirk.
She wiggled and whined, trying to spur me on. “Hurry up.”
“Nope. You put me at this stage and I’ll go as fast or slow as I like.” I gave her an extremely self-satisfied grin. I was determined to ease her into this, and if turning her into a needy mess helped her acknowledge her desires, I was happy to do that too.
Her bare skin was hot against my hands. The combination of eager and nervous was potent and made me want to unravel her. My alpha instincts wanted to keep her, but she wasn’t mine and she couldn’t be. The sooner I could block that thought from my head, the better for both of us.
I brushed her nipples with no fabric in the way and she nearly leapt straight off my lap. At least this time I anticipated it and braced her in place so she didn’t fall. “I’m going to touch you again. Try not to fly away this time.”
Allie whimpered softly but held herself still.
I moved with a methodical slowness over her skin. My mouth on her throat drew out a low moan that was like a match to the powder keg of my instincts. Why did I want her so badly?
Watching her blossom was a rare treat and one that I knew I was unlikely to ever see again.
I took my time exploring the expanse of skin available to me before returning my hands where she had been subtly wiggling to get them again. I rolled her nipples between thumb and forefinger and she gasped into my ear, shifting her hips to grind against me.
“Jesus fuck,” Allie whispered.
I paused briefly and she bucked in my lap, trying to press closer.
“Why are you stopping?” Her hips rocked against me, demanding more.
“I was trying to give you a moment.”
“Don’t. Stop,” she growled.
Need roared through me and I knew she could see it, could smell it, could feel it pressing between her thighs. Her perfume flooded the space, even stronger than before. I pulled her closer by her hips and hoisted up her tank top before closing my mouth over the pointed peak awaiting me.
The sound she made wasn’t quite human and that only made me wonder what she would sound like the first time I got my tongue on her cunt. She clung to my head with both arms, panting and squirming, each lap of my tongue triggering a fresh burst of her perfume.
My blood sizzled, and my pulse pounded like a kettledrum in my ears at how beautifully she responded to me. I was going to lose myself to this omega and she didn’t even have a clue.