Page 308 of Labor of Love

Some nights while talking with the other patrons at his bar, I’d watch him from the corner of my eye and wish he’d rush over, get angry at me, do anything that might bridge this gap between us.

Which was why I couldn’t control my excitement when I encountered him outside of the bar for once and blurted out the question I’d been dying to ask since I was first enveloped in his scent.

Everything about him screamed he was mine.

I’d never felt this way with another person before. This resounding desire to always bask in his presence or take him in my arms and hide him from the rest of the world, so no one else could covet him.

One of those options was illegal, so I settled by visiting his bar whenever I got a free chance.

I held my breath as I waited for Onyx’s reply. Spending ruts and heats with casual acquaintances wasn’t a big deal. Most were thrilled to accept an offer of a good time.

With the development of modern medicine, our cycles no longer turn us into mindless sex machines. We retained our clarity, but the increased sex drive was unavoidable, which was why most people opted to find a partner to hole up with for those few days.

I wanted my partner to be Onyx.

It couldn’t be anyone else but him.

Onyx nibbled on his bottom lip; a nervous habit, perhaps? A happy sort of excitement went through me at seeing it. I wanted to learn all his little habits.

“You could have any one of the pretty omegas you chatted up at the bar this week. Why would you want”—he used a hand to gesture down his body—“me?”

My eyes followed the movement down his lean build. I wondered how he saw himself, because the self-depreciating tone he used to ask that question told me it definitely wasn’t the same way I saw him.

Long legs that went on for miles, and a slim frame that reminded me of someone from the feline family. So hauntingly beautiful that he’d graced my dreams more than once this week. And that beauty mark on the upper left part of his lips? I wanted to suck on it and taste him until his lips were swollen from my loving.

I blinked and shook myself from being distracted by the man once again. This wasn’t the time for that. He asked me a question.

I stepped closer until the tips of our shoes were touching. I reached out my hand for his, slow and steady, like I was showing a timid animal that I wasn’t a danger to them.

Onyx’s twilight eyes watched the movement. His pupils dilated until they blended in with the rest of his dark irises. His eyes were so dark they were almost black. The sun shone against them and made them sparkle captivatingly. It reminded me of his name.

He glanced down at our joined hands curiously. His brow wrinkled in a cute little frown, but he didn’t break contact.

I smiled and lifted his hand up to my lips for a soft kiss on the inside of his palm. If he’d let me, I’d tease every inch of his skin with my lips. Worship his body until all his senses only knew me.

“It can’t be anyone but you,” I replied softly.

Onyx’s eyes rounded with apparent surprise, then he did his cute little frown again.

Unable to stop myself this time, I reached out to smooth the crease between his eyebrows. My thumb gently slid across his soft skin, lingering even after accomplishing its goal.

“Do you believe in fated mates?” I asked, mesmerized by the way his dark eyes sparkled as he stared wide-eyed at me.

Only in darkness can the light shine its brightest.

If I thought his eyes couldn’t get any bigger, I was clearly wrong. The shock turned them into almost full circles. Hehadto be part of the feline family.

“That’s a fairy tale told to kids. Finding the other half of your soul and living happily ever after? Nobody actually believes that,” he said with a laugh that turned unsure as he added, “Right?”

I smiled and let my hand ghost down his face until I was cupping his cheek. I loved the way his lids fluttered closed for the briefest second, like he was enjoying the feel of me.

“My parents are fated mates,” I simply stated.

Onyx blinked rapidly, trying to comprehend my words perhaps? I let my hand drop and instantly craved the feeling of him again. I didn’t miss the way he leaned forward at the disappearance of my touch. He quickly straightened, pretending like it hadn’t happened at all.

I wrapped a protective arm around him to block him from some rowdy teens playing as they passed us. I didn’t know if Onyx was even aware of the way he melted in my arms. He might still be processing our connection, but his body already knew we fit together like two halves of the same soul.

“They knew the moment they saw each other,” I explained as I guided us to the café’s outdoor seating area. I helped him into a chair before taking my own. As much as I wanted to keep him in my arms, it was impossible to think clearly with him so close.

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