Page 42 of Rejected Pregnant Mate

"Nope," I doubled down. "It's probably why you two are so close. I've always been jealous of that relationship, you know. I'd have done anything to have some family left to be close with."

"I didn't know you were an orphan," Nayeli admitted. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be." I waved it off. "It was a long time ago."

We were quiet for some time, sharing an appetizer of fried food and having a second drink. I contemplated the strange, beautiful Omega across from me as we kept the rest of the conversation surface-level. Her explanation of those lost years, which I had no idea about, had finally completed the puzzle ofNayeli in my mind. Now all of her geeky hobbies made sense, and I couldn't help but be proud that she'd worked on her dreams and gone for it, even if her path had changed.

"Do you have a favorite game?" I asked her out of nowhere, but she didn't even need a second to process.

"Oh, I can't just pick one!" She giggled. "I love a lot of them."

"Give me your top three, then," I suggested. "Maybe you'll talk me into playing one of them."

"Well, the first is the original Pokémon," she started. "Then I love Stardew Valley, and maybe..." she tapped her chin as she thought. "Maybe Final Fantasy. The storyline is really good, and I love the combat. The characters are so interesting and diverse. Plus, there are a ton of mini-games and stuff. Like, there's a city—"

"Sounds like a great game," I interrupted, and she chuckled. "Do you think you'll go back to that sort of work?"

"Oh...maybe someday." Her smile was a little less bright. "I've got some things to get through first, though. Like this mess I've made with the bonding spell."

I opened my mouth to tell her I didn't regret the spell nearly as much as I had in the beginning, and that I was glad it had forced us to be close to each other when we otherwise never would have, but a tall figure walking in the bar door caught my eye.

It was Joe, and that same irrational jealousy that had hit me at the party started brewing. I was taken aback at first—having a negative reaction toward Joe was alien to me—but it was overwhelmed by the bond and the possession I felt toward Nayeli. She hadn't even seen him yet, and he hadn't seen us, butI was already drowning in the memory of how close he had been to her at the party, whispering in her ear, and I gripped the edge of the wooden table so hard I was sure it would crack.

Then he turned and saw us, gaze drifting down to Nayeli, and a slow smile crept across his face. Oh, that motherfucker. I'd kill him right here in this damn bar—

Nayeli had put down her drink, looking at me with worry. "Scott, what's wrong?"

I glanced at her, at the endless, deep blue of her eyes, and the impulse was undeniable. I sat up, reaching out my hand to cup her cheek, and before she could react, I kissed her.

It was ferocious, the kind of kiss that wasn't made to be gentle. It was a claiming, a way to stake my territory and show Joe and everyone else in that fucking bar that Nayeli was mine. I could smell her, the echo of her heat pheromones ratcheting everything higher and higher within me. I was dizzy with it. I pulled her close, needing her, wanting her. She tasted like sugary soda and the spiced bitterness of rum.

There was a gasp, and then her hands were on my chest, pushing me away. She looked shocked and breathless, her eyes wide and her lips red and swollen from the kiss.

"Scott," she murmured, shaking her head. "What was that?"

"Something I should have done a long time ago," I growled. My cock was rock-hard, and I wanted her so badly it hurt. I knew I was scaring her, and I hated it, but I couldn't stop myself. I dipped my head down to kiss her again, but she scrambled back.

Nayeli stumbled away from the table, the rest of the bar already stopping to look at us. Dammit! I'd done it again.Embarrassed her in front of everyone. Even Joe, who was sitting at the bar now, was chuckling to himself.

Even worse, I didn't regret it nearly as much as I should, even as I watched her build her walls back up around herself in real-time. I'd finally gotten through to the heart of her, and then immediately ruined it by acting like a Neanderthal.

"Take me home," she breathed, and the vulnerability in her eyes was almost too much to bear. "Please."

I stood, fishing out my wallet and dropping a few bills on the table. Then I followed her out to the parking lot in silence. She was shivering a little, her arms wrapped around her waist. It wasn't particularly cold out, making me realize it was an anxious tick. I'd been an idiot to push her, even if the bond demanded it.

She was a confounding mix of strong and fragile, and even when I knew more about her than ever before, I still somehow managed to fuck everything up.

Chapter 17 - Nayeli

I'd been a mess since we got back from the damn bar last night after Scott acted like the world's biggest asshole. The kiss had been hotter than I expected, but it'd felt like he was seconds away from sweeping everything off the table and fucking me right in front of the rest of the bar. I hadn't even known what set him off until I pushed him away and finally saw Joe having a drink, laughing but not even looking our way.

Scott's jealousy seemed to be the only thing strong enough to overcome his disdain for me. I'd never been so conflicted in my entire life. He'd kissed me, but he'd only done it to stake his claim on me. He'd never done it because he wanted to and only acted on the bond.

Right?

He was the king of mixed signals at the moment, but I'd given him a little grace since he was an Alpha and I was in heat. An Omega's heat can make Alphas act wild even in normal circumstances, but with our weird spell bond, Scott was downright unpredictable...and that's what was messing with me the most.

In any other circumstance, that kiss would have been a clear sign that he genuinely wanted me, but with magic involved, I couldn't shake the feeling that he'd been so possessive because of the spell and nothing more. He'd been kind and funny during the rest of the 'date', and that, combined with the earth-shaking sex we'd had the other night, I was starting to form feelings for Scott that were quite unwelcome.

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