Page 8 of Love in Excess

I nod, touching my cheek where his fingers were. “Yeah, just a bruise.”

“Do you have a few minutes?” Hunter asks, tilting his head to one of the booths. “I can at the very least buy you another coffee.”

I hesitate for a moment and then nod again because what do I have to lose?

HUNTER

Sitting across from Lincoln in the cramped booth, I can finally observe the man who saved my Omega and then stood up for her. His roast beef sandwich sits untouched on the table, and a fresh iced coffee hangs inches from his fingers. The Beta is gorgeous even with that fresh bruise blooming on his cheek from Carter’s punch.

However, he looks lost, almost apologetic, like he’s carrying the weight of stepping into a fight that wasn’t his. It’s endearing, this quiet strength mixed with uncertainty which makes me even more intrigued by him now than when I was at the hospital.

I don’t have long before Celeste wakes up again and finds me still gone. I made sure she knew I’d be at the café and she murmured some gibberish at me before falling back asleep. But I don’t need more than a few minutes.

Lincoln manages a small grin, his fingers tapping the edge of his cup. “I’m sorry I got involved but he was lying about what happened with Celeste. Thanks for stepping in over there, but I think I should go.” He starts to slide out of the booth, his sweatshirt shifting over his broad shoulders.

I lean forward, resting my elbows on the table. “I just have one question.” Lincoln’s eyes go wide as he promptly sits back down into the booth. “Do you feel it?”

Lincoln’s nostrils flare, his eyes meeting mine, desire swirling in those hazel depths, but also confusion, a flicker of uncertainty, and something else. His jaw tightens, and he looks away, then back, like he’s wrestling with the truth. “Yes, I feel it,” he says, his voice barely above a whisper. “But I swear I wasn’t…”

I shake my head, cutting him off. Unlike most of the Betas that have been attracted to Celeste, Lincoln is different. He doesn’t want anything from us or from her. And truthfully, I really just want to know where his heart is. “Hey, Doc, that’s not what this is.” I keep my tone gentle as I can, trying to ease the tension in his shoulders. “This is me trying to figure out where we go from here.”

Lincoln frowns, his fingers stilling on the cup. “I don’t understand.”

I lean back, folding my arms across my chest and let out a heavy sigh. “Biology is a fickle thing and it’s even worse when my Omega has latched onto you and doesn’t even know it.” I pause, watching his reaction. “She was murmuring your name in her sleep before I left and she couldn’t keep her eyes off you in the hospital. Subconsciously, she knows you’re hers, but I want to give it to her straight so she’s not disappointed when she tries to show up at your door.”

Lincoln’s eyes widen with a mix of shock and something like fear. “How the fuck would she know where I live?” The smile that follows is half-amused, half-worried but it’s the sharp spike inhis scent that tells me moving too fast might end whatever this is before it even starts.

Still, Lincoln needs to know justwhohe’s caught the eye of. I throw my hand out from over the table, waiting for Lincoln to clasp it and then I explain. “We haven’t been formally introduced. I work for the city police and my lovely Omega likes to get in trouble. It’s how we met, and she’s especially good at digging up information.” I lean forward again, my voice dropping a little lower. “Celeste is a hacker, orwas, before I pulled her away from that life. If she wants to find you, she will.”

It's one of many reasons we don’t have a computer at home because she’ll get herself in trouble.

Lincoln blinks, processing my words, then lets out a short laugh as he rubs the back of his neck. “Right, of course. Sure. Um, I never thought about mates. Well, not after… it’s not important. It’s just not something I thought about. I’m not against it, but I’m also not ready to just jump in, I guess? I don’t know how any of this works and I don’t know what you need from me.”

I tilt my head, confused by his choice of words. “What do you mean, need? Relationships aren’t built on need.” His eyes flicker with something raw, a hurt that makes my chest tighten. I see it now, the weight he’s carrying from a past relationship or maybe multiple ones. “Lincoln, have you only had people need something from you?”

He falls silent, his jaw tightening further as he pulls his sandwich and coffee close. “Maybe it’s time I go back to my apartment,” he says, avoiding my gaze. “This is weird. You’re asking me for permission to court your Omega.”

“No, not exactly. I’m asking for permission for my Omega to court you.” His frown deepens and I can see the gears turning in his head, so I push a little further. “Be straight with me. What would you do if I told you I’d like to see you again?” There’sa mixture of desire and fear in his expression, which is exactly what I thought I’d see. “And that’s why I didn’t offer it. Now, what am I going home to tell Celeste?”

He hesitates, his fingers tapping the coffee cup, then meets my gaze. “Yeah, I… I wouldn’t mind. I’d like that.”

I pull out my phone and we exchange numbers, his fingers brushing mine as he hands it back. The contact sends a jolt through me, but I keep my expression neutral. He starts to slide out of the booth, ready to leave, but I stop him to say one last thing. “I want you to understand that we don’t expect anything from you. If it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work. If it does, we figure it out from there, but this isn’t just about Celeste. It’s also about what you want and if that changes, I’m okay with that.”

Lincoln doesn’t seem completely sure of my words but trying to explain further might just make this moment more uncomfortable. I just hope that he’s truly open to seeing Celeste and that he didn’t feel forced to say yes. Because in the end, selfishly, I’m hoping that he’ll let me court him too.

CELESTE

I wake up, mostly refreshed, Hunter’s shirt casing me in. The faint ache in my body mixed with the warmth lingering beneath my skin makes me feel alive. I kind of forgot about my heat, the calendar in the kitchen is more for Hunter than it is for me. I just exist these days in the best way possible, although I’d be happier if there was a computer in here.

Part of my probation was that I couldn’t be anywhere near technology. We just kinda continued that when it ended.

My phone doesn’t even have internet capabilities on it.

Which sucks ass but it’s for the best. I don’t really want to spend time in jail, not that Hunter would let that happen. However, then he’d be in jail, I’d be in this house, and then I’d get in more trouble. Awonderfulcircle of life.

Sitting up to stretch, I let out a little happy moan as my back cracks in the exact perfect way. My scent blooms with my mood, the memories from yesterday souring what little excitement I had this morning.Fucking Carter.

I had been so fucking excited to go out with him and then he manhandled me. For what reason? My stomach grumbles, angry at me for eating so many oysters. I hadn’t planned on that either but I stuff my face when I’m nervous. And then there was that beautiful Beta, the one that was in my dreams, his name on my lips when Hunter left last night. I don’t entirely remember what he was doing but I know that I had this perfect fantasy of being in a Lincoln-Hunter sandwich that then morphed into putting Lincoln in the middle.

---