Page 86 of The Rejected Omega

My eyes slide to the floor.

Connor steps further into the room, forcing me to retreat to the rim of the tub. Then he’s on me, head to my neck and inhaling deep against my skin.

“You washed our scent off,” he growls. “Why?” He’s already lapping at my glands again, re-scenting me.

“I—I needed to clear my head.”

“I don't like it.”

He smells divine. A blending of sweat and sex and our bodies. Two scent profiles wound so tight they’re inextricable.

He rubs at his chest like it hurts. “What’s wrong? You feel…different.”

Is he feeling me through the bond? He wouldn't like that. None of the feelings I have to give right now are very nice.

He cups my face in both his big hands and curses. "You’re freezing. Come back to bed. You need rest.”

He’s right. I’m tired enough to sleep for the next week. But that isn’t an option.

“My heat’s over. You can go.”

“You’re shaking like a fuckin’ leaf, Birdy.” He starts rubbing the towel over me, drying me off.

“It’s okay, Connor. You can stop pretending. I appreciate your help, but it’s over now.”

"What the fuck are you on about?You’re my mate,” he growls. “Nothing’s over. We’re just bloody gettin’ started."

I swallow through the overwhelming tightness in my throat. “Cassandra will be wondering where you are. I'm sorry I bit you. The effect should fade in a few weeks...it's best we keep our distance until then.”

The hole in my chest is ripping back open. That tether between us that’s always reaching for him, begging him to reach back. It was long-withered, and now it’s pulsing with blood, bright and painful. A numb body part trying to wake back up.

“Cassandra? You think I’m worried about Cassandra? She's only in town for the holidays. I wasn’t expecting her.”

How did she know where he was staying, then?

“I can’t do this, Connor. Me and you…we were wrong from the start.”

“Me and younever had a proper chance! You ran then. You won't run from me now.”

“You didn’t bite me. You didn’t mate me back. That told me everything I needed to know.”

Connor snarls, his jaw ticking. “That’s what this is about? Do you know how hard it was for me not to sink my teeth into your flesh when I was buried inside you? When you were begging for it?

“I didn’t bite you because I wanted to give you a real choice—not one clouded by your heat. I didn’t want to force a matingbond if you weren’tsureyou were ready. We had all of five minutes to process this before my tongue was up your cunt."

I shiver at the reminder. His scent is stinking up the bathroom, made thicker by the steam hanging in the air.

I put my hand on his chest to push him away, but he only cedes a few inches.

“Then why did you let me mate you? This thing between us has been one-sided since the beginning. You think I want more of that?”

“It was never one-sided. You just kept me in the dark. You never gave me a chance.”

One of his hands comes to rest on my collarbone, and his thumb caresses my jaw. He looks like he wants to choke me and kiss me at the same time.

“I let you bite me because I’m selfish. Because I want to be bound to you, and I realized this might be my only chance to experience that.”

I shake my head. “You don't want this, Connor. You never did.”

---