Chapter Twenty-Three
Ava
A lot of emotions cross Mark’s face, but strangely, he doesn’t look nearly as shocked as I expected him to be.
He closes the door behind him and goes to approach me, but I hold up a hand.
“Not yet. We should talk first; I think I owe you that. And the closer you get, the more likely you are to lose control.”
“I know a good amount already,” he says roughly. “Though there are some questions I would appreciate answers to sooner rather than later.”
I frown. “How?”
“I just left your penthouse. I found Jack injured—”
“What? Is Jack okay?” I jump up and immediately regret it as a cramp seizes me, making me double over. Mark tries to move again, and I shake my head, breathing through it. “I’m okay. How’s Jack?”
“He’s fine. It’s a long story, but basically, he was trying to get you suppressants, ran from a police raid, and went headfirst into a dumpster. I left him with Mateo.”
I close my eyes. Goddamnit, Jack. “Allegedly,” I grit through my teeth. I’m still a lawyer, after all. Well, hopefully I can still be one after all of this.
A soft smile tips up the corner of his mouth. “Allegedly,” he agrees.
“Okay,” I say. “I can pretty well put the pieces together, and the rest, I’ll fill in later when I strangle my little brother. How much do you know?”
“I know you’re an omega. I know you’re in heat. I know you apparently had a seizure earlier. And I know you’re my mate. What I don’t know is how long you’ve known.”
I grimace. He does not sound thrilled with me, and I do not have the energy to fight him.
It’s taking most of what little I have left to stay planted on this couch and not present for him and beg for his knot.
Even that, I figure I only can do for a few more minutes.
As soon as I caught his scent, I could feel the edges of my mind going fuzzy.
“That I’m an omega? For the last couple decades.”
“You know what I’m fucking talking about, Ava, don’t be coy,” he snaps. I notice that he’s gripping the backrest of one of the dining chairs so hard that his knuckles are blanched.
“I didn’t accept it until the day before yesterday. I texted you that I wanted to talk, but you had me blocked, which is why I went to Harvey’s tonight. But you were on a fucking date—”
“I wasn’t,” he cuts me off. “She was trying to make you jealous. I brought her to introduce her to Adam, and it turns out they’re mates.”
“Oh,” I say, suddenly feeling embarrassed and small.
Mark releases the chair and takes a long step toward me. “We still have a lot to talk about, but I don’t know how much longer I can stand here without touching you,” he says earnestly.
I shiver at the heat in his voice, but I squeeze my eyes shut. Slick starts leaking from me, and I begin to perfume.
“Fuck, Ava,” he growls.
“Wait! I have two things left to say, and they’re important.” I have to take a deep breath between each word to get it out.
“Little cereus, you are fucking killing me here.”
I tuck that away to ask him what it means later. “First, um, my suppressants have been failing. That’s why I’m in heat. So if we do this, there is a solid chance that I will get pregnant. And I need you to know that I will want to keep it.”
“If you think the idea of you swollen with my baby and tied to me forever is a deterrent…” He moves again, hips rolling like a predator.
I swallow. “I just needed you to be informed. One last thing.” I hold up my hand again, trying to slow him down. “On the table. It’s an NDA, prenup, pre-bond contract I drew up.”
That gets him to stop. Mark blinks at me for a moment and then throws his head back, laughing so hard he ends up having to wipe away tears. He opens his coat, pulls out a pen from an interior pocket, and signs the papers with a flourish.
“You didn’t even read it,” I squeak.
“There is not a single goddamn thing you could have in there that would keep me from claiming you,” he says, voice impossibly deep. He’s close enough now that I can see when his pupils completely blow. “Are you going to finally let me take care of you, little omega?”
“Yes, alpha,” I say breathlessly.
He reaches the couch and tugs the blanket away from me. I whine low in the back of my throat, and he grips my pajama top, ripping it open and sending the buttons flying. The cool air is blissful against my feverish skin. I shimmy out of my shorts and lift my arms toward him.
He scoops me up. “I know I don’t have a nest. Where do you want to go?”
“Your bedroom,” I gasp, pressing my lips to his neck and pushing at his coat. “You’re wearing too many clothes,” I whine. “I need skin.”
“Shhh. Soon, little cereus.” He carries me to the bedroom, laying me on the bed before stripping.
A high-pitched, keening whine slips from my lips as I watch him. Another cramp hits me, worse now, like my body knows that what I need is right here but not inside me. I moan in pain. “Mark, please…”
He crawls over me. “What do you need?”
“Your knot. Lots and lots of cum.”
“I think I can make that happen,” he says with a grin. “But first, how about I take the edge off by eating this perfect little pussy, hmm? I need to see if I love it even more now with your slick.”
I nod eagerly, spreading my thighs, rational thought slipping away as the fog of my heat finally slides over me now that I’m safely with my mate.