Chapter 51
Fifty-One
DOMINIC
I run my thumb over the seam of the ring box tucked into the pocket of my slacks as I lean against the threshold of Violet’s open bedroom door. It’s already lost the smells of our foursome from the other night, the sheets changed and one of the windows open on the far wall. The rest of the room is messier though, small items strewn about like she couldn’t bring herself to put them away.
A small collection of porcelain elephants catches my attention where they rest on a simple bookshelf against the wall opposite her bed. They’re white with painted designs, each elephant a different highlighting color. They’re the exact opposite of Violet, and I almost laugh at the irony. She is anything but fragile and dainty.
I force myself to focus on why I’m actually standing in her door like some deranged lunatic.
She sits on the sofa, tucked into the corner, her legs crossed and her hair pulled back in a messy clip. A smattering of papers surround her as well as an unassuming though expensive laptop that’s resting on the cushion in front of her, the screen turned away from my viewpoint at the door. The late afternoon sun reflects off the ocean, gilding her in light, making her seem ethereal.
She glances up as I tap my knuckles against the door, her eyebrows drawn low, her lips bracketed with tension.
“Everything all right?” I ask, my gift for her momentarily forgotten.
She nods, her gaze growing shy. “Just sorting through the last couple graduate applications. These ones are more involved because they offer accommodations for Omegas. I have to submit my blood work and confirmation from the Council as well as the match finalization.”
“You have what you need?”
I haven’t actually seen the finalization paperwork since signing it Wednesday while she was still in the depths of her heat. Not beyond watching her sign it Thursday night.
When she nods, I ask, “May I come in?”
She tilts her head. “What would you do if I said no?”
There’s a bit of sass in her voice, and I raise an eyebrow.
“Suppose I’d try to lure you to my room with the promise of Kung Pao chicken,” I murmur. “Though Mamma would be disappointed to learn that her own food would not be as alluring to you.”
Her cheeks darken. “Where’d you learn I like Kung Pao?” she asks, her voice as soft and unsure as it had been when she’d realized we’d gotten her the customary stacking rings.
“Can I come in?” I raise an eyebrow.
She swallows hard and bites her lip for a moment before nodding.
“Will you tell me where you learned that now?” she asks as I cross the space.
She gathers the papers and sets them on top of her laptop, moving both to the floor on the other side of the sofa, leaning over the edge to manage the reach. Her shorts ride up, revealing the line where her thighs meet her ass, and fuck if my dick doesn’t get hard at the sight.
I stretch my neck and breathe through my nose, reminding my body that we didn’t come here to fuck her. Not that she’d even be interested, and I don’t blame her. The ring box sits heavier in my pocket at the reminder of my own selfishness. Her lips are pursed as she resettles into the corner cushion, her expectation clear.
“I’ve been trying to make up for the last month,” I say. “I’m not sure you want to actually know my information sources, though.”
She tilts her head again before nodding once. “Yeah, I probably don’t want to know just how easy it is to find out things like my preferred foods.” Her eyes narrow. “Unless you have some in with the Council. Then that type of info would make sense.”
I smirk. “Not me. Victor.”
“That… makes a lot of sense, actually,” she murmurs. She pulls the clip from her hair and runs her hands through it, frowning.
While she’s distracted, I pull the ring box from my pocket and perch on the coffee table, letting my elbows rest on my knees as I lean toward her. Her hazel eyes are bright but guarded when she focuses on me again, her hands held limp in her lap and her legs crossed.
“I’m aware that this doesn’t fix what I did to you, Sirena ,” I say, twisting the ring box around in my hands. “And I have no expectation that you’ll actually choose to wear it. But in my family, you put your money where your mouth is. It’s not often I am the one paying, but I’m willing to get used to it if it means I have a chance to build something with you.”
Her heart flutters in her throat, but her breathing is steady.
I continue, not dropping my eyes from hers, making it as clear as possible just how serious I am about all of this. “I wasn’t lying when I said I resent just how out of control my designation makes me. I often feel captive to desires that aren’t wholly my own.”
She nods. “I can understand that.”
“I imagine you can.”
A nearly-there smirk, and she messes with her industrial piercing.
“I won’t get it right.” Admitting the weakness tastes like ash, but I don’t back down from the reality. “There will be more times when I offer you something like this. I’m sorry for those, too. For every time I will inevitably hurt you.” She nods. I lay out the rest of my truth. “You are the only Omega I’ve ever wanted to figure this out between. No other has made me want to learn the balancing act between these instincts and my life as I would like to live it. I’m not expecting it to be easy. But I hope you will give me enough of a chance to build something that will weather whatever our lives throw at it.”
A silence descends between the two of us, her eyes roving my face, like she’s trying to see into the depths of me. I do my best to let her see it all, the vulnerability chafing. I’m ready to crawl out of my skin and lick my metaphorical wounds in my own room away from her searching gaze when she nods once.
She drops her legs, letting her feet settle onto the fluffy gray rug under the furniture.
“I’m approaching this pretty damn blind myself,” she admits, her voice softer than I’ve heard before, the vulnerability weaving through it twisting my heart and settling that instinctive need to take care of her. “My parents’ match is… Well, my dads only stayed because they didn’t want to lose their kids. They love each other but tolerate my mother. And she does even less for them. I’m sure I will also need to apologize from time to time. I’ve just wanted the chance to try.”
I offer my hand, and she presses her palm into mine, her fingers wrapping around my wrist. I run my thumb over her knuckles. The purr kicks to life nearly immediately. She tenses, her eyes widening in her sudden fear. My stomach clenches, and I tighten my hold on her even as I let the purr grow louder.
She swallows, and I watch the movement ripple through her throat. My scent explodes around us, stronger than I’ve grown accustomed to from the lack of suppressors.
“I’ve gone off the suppressors,” I murmur.
Her eyebrow rises, and her hand flexes in my hold.
”Why?” she asks.
I shrug, and she purses her lips.
“Another place to put my money where my mouth is,” I explain. “If I’m truly done fighting, then there’s no reason for me to suppress the instincts.”
“All right,” she says.
I squeeze her hand and then open the ring box, twisting it so she can see the ring nestled between the black velvet.
“Holy shit,” she breathes, and I can’t help but smirk. “It’s beautiful.”
She takes the ring, adjusting the stacking set to her other hand and sliding the large emerald cut solitaire diamond onto her left hand like it’s an engagement ring in truth. It’s fucking perfect nestled against her golden skin, the yellow gold blending beautifully just like her other jewelry. Too much of me settles in the knowledge that there’s such a clear mark that she’s mine where everyone will see.
Her eyebrow cocks as she takes me in, her gaze seeing more than I’d honestly like.
“You like seeing me claimed?” she asks. There’s no coy undertone, just open curiosity. When I nod, she hums. “Is it you that likes it or the instincts?”
I shrug and set the ring box behind me on the coffee table. “Both. I like it. A lot. In the same way I like making sure the world knows Jasper is mine. How much of that is me being a selfish asshole and how much is the instincts? I’m not sure they’re all that separable at this point.” She twists her hand, letting the diamond catch the light. “It’s the same with wanting to bond.”
She freezes, her gaze snapping to mine. I hold back my flinch. Didn’t mean to actually bring up the thought I’ve had since fucking her in the back of the car on our way home from the fundraising event a week ago.
“I always assumed I wouldn’t bond,” she says. “Escape hatch and all that.”
“Makes sense.” I run my hands through my hair, closing my eyes to keep from making an even bigger fool of myself. I came in here to apologize, not ask for her to put out and then form an unbreakable link with me. “I always assumed the same. Don’t worry about it.”
Silence stretches between us until even I can’t stand the awkward feel of it. When I focus on her, her head is tilted, a thoughtful furrow to her eyebrows, and her hands are twisting into the hem of her simple black shirt.
“I’m not so scared anymore,” she whispers. “I had an escape hatch. I was ready to use it. I think… I don’t think I need it anymore.”
I don’t dare breathe.
Cavolo , this is not what I planned on happening, but I can’t find it in myself to be regretful.
She adjusts again, spreading her legs wider and leaning toward me, letting one hand land on my knee. Her gentle tracing of my slacks’ seam is nearly unnoticeable, it’s so light.
I palm her cheeks and run my thumb over her cheekbone, breathing in her explosion of perfume around us.
“I don’t want to hurt you again,” I murmur. “I don’t trust myself to not lose control.”
I cringe away from the admission. I’m supposed to be the one that protects, that knows what I’m doing. But I’ve never fucked an Omega off the suppressors before. And fucking with possibly bonding? My cock aches, and I feel the haze of the rut fluttering around the edges of my mind.
Her eyes are wide as she nods.
“Let’s just… see what happens,” she whispers.
I press my lips to hers, keeping the kiss soft and exploratory until she shifts in her seat and whines in the back of her throat. Her voice washes over me, and that haze grows stronger.
“More.”