41. Callum
callum
My Nan straightens out the tablecloth again, and I give her a raise of my brow.
“What? Excuse me for wanting this to be perfect. I mean, it’s not as if I knew all along that you should be with her or anything,” my Nan says and I sigh. “Oh, don’t you sigh at me. I’m letting you use my kitchen, am I not?”
“Yes, Nan.”
“She’s a good lass. You know I have all of Christmas booked because of her?”
“Christmas?” I ask, confused, and Nan gives me a small smile.
“A group of single Omegas who don’t want to be alone for the holidays. Maisie saw a post and suggested that they check out the Heather Beag for their Christmas holiday. My house is going to be full of Omegas who need a nurturing hand,” she says dreamily.
That’s my Nan for you, though. She loves to love people and taking care of them is her mission in life. I was a fool for thinking selling this place was best for her. She looks more spry than ever over the idea of having more guests.
“I’m here in whatever capacity you need me,” I tell her honestly and my Nan comes over and squeezes my shoulder.
“Well, I could use an extra set of hands for a Christmas feast. Perhaps we can invite everyone and hold it at Greer’s for the space.”
The old me would complain about how far ahead of herself she’s getting, but I know she’s not.
Maisie and I will be bonded, eventually.
Our two packs alone make eight, ten with my grandparents, and then who knows how many Omegas she’ll be hosting?
It’s still nearly three months away, but the idea has merit.
“I’ll talk to Greer about it.”
“Good lad,” she says, smacking my cheek lightly. “Don’t let your hollandaise separate.”
I turn down the heat as she leaves me in the kitchen alone. If there’s one way I know how to express myself, it’s through food. I hope Maisie can appreciate it; if she hates it, well then I’m fucked.
The weekend in Oban made me really see Maisie for the first time and made her impossible to ignore. Her being my scent match only magnified my obsession with her.
There was a lot of work I needed to put in to show her I was all in and I wanted to know her better and for her to know me.
More than anything, I needed her to understand that this wasn’t just because she was my scent match, nor was it a purely physical thing. I meant what I said during her heat: I want to prove myself.
She enters my Nan’s kitchen with a smile on her face. She’s wearing a dark blue dress that’s tight on the top but flares out at the hips.
“You look lovely,” I tell her as I make the final touches on the first course.
“Thank you,” she says softly, coming to sit at the small workspace in the kitchen. I figured if I was also doing something with my hands, I’d be less nervous.
“First course is a seafood bisque,” I say, placing the dish in front of her. Lain said she had devoured the last soup I made for her, so I thought this would be a good choice. Plus, she ordered seafood in Oban so I know she’s not adverse.
I stand while I eat, but I mostly watch her reaction.
“Callum, this is delicious,” she says, and I relax ever so slightly.
I shake my head at her as I finish my bisque. “How was your day?”
Maisie smiles, resting her elbows on the table as she speaks. “It was good. It’s nice to see my sister so happy and well, I’m happy too. What were you up to all day?”
Clearing my throat, I decide to go with honesty. “Prepping everything for tonight, mostly.”
Her cheeks turn a pretty shade of pink and she takes a sip from her wineglass, an aged white Rioja that goes perfectly with the first course. She agrees as she hums around the sip.
“So, are you also a sommelier?”
“Yes.” I nod as I sear the scallops for the next course, looking down at the food instead of at her. “I became certified when I was in France. Definitely not a master sommelier, but it’s something I enjoy, plus it goes hand in hand with what I do.”
We’ve already talked about why I work at Greer’s and not some pretentious high-end restaurant. I wanted to cook for real people and I wanted a life outside of work, too.
“Well, you’re quite good at it,” she says as I put the garnish on, sliding her the seared sea scallops with lime beurre blanc, this time with a glass full of Chablis.
When she digs in, she nearly makes the same sound of pleasure she did in heat, which has me clearing my throat and standing a little taller.
“Nan said you got her booked for Christmas,” I redirect the conversation to her and she smiles as she finishes the dish.
“Yes. I’m so excited. Effie and I are coming up with all-in-packages to offer for guests to take the guesswork out of their vacation.
Like partnering with Lain, the cow farm, and you and Greer, along with coming up with activities to do here at the Beag.
I really like the idea of promoting businesses that are Omega friendly,” she says as I take a sip of the citrusy wine.
“Is that what you think you’d like to do?”
“Maybe.” She puts down her fork and looks like she’s thinking hard.
“I’ve never been so up in the air about my career before.
I don’t want to go back into marketing for cosmetics and I definitely don’t want to go back to the hours I was working before.
It feels kind of strange enjoying working with Effie so much, keeping this place organized and coming up with new ways to promote the business. It’s hard to—sorry, I’m rambling.”
I shake my head, reaching out and grabbing her hand with mine. It’s so much smaller; her nails are painted a light pink and she surprisingly grabs my hand back.
“It’s not rambling. I want to know what you’re thinking.”
“It’s just hard to change my mindset. I think I was drinking the LinkedIn Kool-Aid for too long, ya know?”
“What exactly does that mean?” I say, blinking at her.
“Just that you need to keep climbing. The harder you work, the more successful you’ll be, having a productive mindset, that sort of stuff. So even though I know deep down that being happy is more important, along with not causing myself stress, it almost feels like I’m failing the old me.”
“I didn’t tell you the whole truth before,” I say, and she sits up straighter like I’m about to drop some bombshell.
“About never wanting to work at a high-end restaurant. I did, for a year. I won a few local awards, but it became my whole life. There was nothing for me outside of that kitchen and I became a shell of myself. I moved back home, Greer helped me get back on my feet and proposed buying the tavern and I was all in. There were moments I felt the same as you as if I was going backwards, but it wasn’t, not at all.
I would have never been happy if I stayed there.
You get this one life and I’m determined not to waste anymore time with meaningless bullshit. ”
I didn’t even realize she was getting closer to me while I spoke.
“How did you work through it?”
“Time, mostly, and having people who cared about me on my side. You have plenty of both of those things,” I say, turning my back to her so that I can sear the lamb. “You’re the only one who determines your success, not a dollar amount, not some corporation, only you.”
I hear the stool scrape against the floor, but I don’t expect her to come behind me and wrap her arms around my waist in a hug, resting her cheek against my back.
“I really needed to hear that, thank you,” she says.
“I want to always be here for you.”
She squeezes me tighter and comes to stand next to the stove with me. She sniffs. “So, what are you making now?”
The rest of the dinner goes better than I could have imagined. Maisie is easy to talk to and there isn’t any more awkwardness around those first weeks when she got here. We’re starting a new chapter, and I’m not about to fuck it up.
We’re sitting on the couch in the lounge, the fire only smoldering at this point, both of us with a glass of wine in hand.
“What was it like growing up here?”
“At the Heather Beag?”
“Yeah. Was it weird having people come in and out? Did you have a bunch of secret love affairs here when you were a teenager?”
“If anyone could sweep a tourist off their feet, that would be Graham. For a long time, it was hard. I wanted to be back at my old house with my parents. By the time I’d adjusted to living here, I was an older teen and spent most of my time either out with my friends or in the kitchen helping Nan.”
She scoots toward me a millimeter at a time.
“Callum, are you going to make a move soon?” she asks, and I just blink at her.
“I…yes?”
She grins at me, fisting my T-shirt and bringing my lips to hers. Her lips are sweet like wine and plush against my own.
Raspberry tarts are now my favorite dessert. I’d always been a fan of the berry, but now I realize it’s because it’s the major note of my Omega’s scent.
I lick my lips as she parts from the kiss.
“Are you going to take me home? Which is also your home?”
Her flirtation emboldens me as I slide my hand from the side of her face to her throat, not even squeezing, just holding her there.
“Is that what you want, Maisie?”
She bites her lip and looks up at me from under her lashes. “Yes, Alpha, that’s exactly what I want.”
I don’t think I’ve moved so fast in my life. Maisie yelps as I pick her up and toss her over my shoulder. It quickly turns into laughter as I grab her coat and my keys and bring her out to the truck.
I’m hard the entire drive home, and Maisie only makes it worse, torturing me with her hand on my lap the whole way.
When we finally get home, of course, Lain and Greer are there.
“Nope. She’s mine for the night. No,” I say, dragging her into my room, a place she’s never been before. I can tell she wants to explore, but that will have to be for later.
She’s lucid, healed from her heat, and I’ve never been intimate with her under the right circumstances.
Our first kiss was because she was protecting me.
The first time I went down on her was because she figured out I was her scent match and I was none the wiser.
Then there was her heat. Right now Maisie is herself and she wants me and fuck, do I want her right back.
She tried to get a good look at my room, but I don't have the patience for it. Instead, I’m undressing her and myself as fast as I can.
Knowing she wants me for me this time has me feeling feral. Her scent is perfuming all over my room and I want it to smell this way forever. I gently put her glasses on the counter, grabbing the back of her neck and kissing her frantically.
We're a mix of panted breaths and bruised lips before I pick her up easily. She hums happily as I press her against the wall.
I like the feel of her in my arms, the reminder that I'm so much bigger than her and how she's mine to protect.
"You need my cock, baby? Cause I've been missing your sweet cunt."
"Yes, so bad."
I hold her with one arm as I line myself up with her entrance and thrust inside her. Maisie's nails dig into my shoulders as I fuck her, the softest little whimpers and moans slipping out of her.
Her breasts bounce with each thrust and I can't help but kiss every piece of skin I can reach, even Greer's mark. One day, when I've earned it, I'll put my mark there too.
"You're so fucking perfect," I whisper into her hair and she holds me tighter.
"I want to watch you knot and come inside me," she replies back.
Shite. I'm the luckiest bastard who ever lived.
The dresser at the end of my bed has a massive mirror. Thing is heavier than fucking hell, a solid piece of oak furniture.
"Then go present for me, baby," I say, lightly tapping her arse.
My cock is covered in slick as she gets up onto the bed, presenting for me. I'm a man possessed as I get behind her, ready to watch her take me from behind and watch as her tits bounce with each thrust.
"Wait," she says, and my heart sinks.
Has she changed her mind? I'll stop immediately if she has, but thankfully she just smirks at me and points to the end table.
"I can't really see us without my glasses."
I grab the thin, gold-framed glasses and place them on her face. My Omega has that sexy librarian look about her when she wears them, and it has my cock twitching.
Our eyes meet in the mirror, and I spread her wide, slipping back into her warm pussy. I look like a beast behind her, yet she takes me like she was made for me.
I must say the last words out loud, because she says some version back. Her pretty gaze goes from meeting mine in the mirror to watching herself get fucked, and loving every second of it.
We just go together and nothing will ever be as good as this. Nothing ever has been.
My hand glides up her spine, grabbing the back of her neck. Her pouty little lips go into a sexy little O shape as she watches me dominate her, my knot pressing closer and closer into her.
"You need my knot, don't you, baby?"
She just nods in the mirror. I get to watch her face, the way her tits bounce and glance down at where I finally press myself completely into her.
My thighs shake and my grip on her neck tightens as we both fall apart, watching each other intently in the mirror. My knot is deep inside her as spurts of cum shoot out of me and her slick coats my cock.
We're panting heavily as I very carefully adjust us so that my back is against the bedframe and her back rests against my chest.
I wrap my arms around her, so much of the reservation I had before gone and kiss the side of her face.
"That was—"
She blows a piece of hair out of her face. "Yeah. It was.”
We fuck all night long, like we can't get enough of each other, and I feel it in my chest.
Maybe I am worthy of this Omega after all, or at least I know I can be.