Page 110 of His Sassy Omega
They hadn’t shifted yet, and wouldn’t until they were about three, so we didn’t know what color they would be, or evenwhatthey would be. She’d explained she’d gone with gray since my wolf was silver, and Quinn’s cat black, and the two mixed made gray.
Quinn frowned at the weight he’d felt, then shook his nearly empty stocking. “What’d you put in here?”
I gave him my best innocent look. “Must have been Santa.”
He snorted. “Can I sit on Santa’s lap later?”
“If you’ve been a good boy.”
He shot me his sexiest grin, and said in a low, husky voice, “Oh I’m always good, even when I’m bad.”
I waggled my brows at him, and he broke into peals of laughter. I loved the sound of his laughter.
Looking around, for the first time I noticed the fire in the fireplace, the room lit only by the orange and red flames, and the lights of the Christmas tree. Twinkling, multi-colored strands, because Quinn had put his foot down on what colored lights would go on the tree.“I’m not having boringwhite lights, Lachlan, who are you?”The TV screen added to the shadows, and I had the strangest feeling of déjà vu come over me.
Then it slammed into me like a freight train. I’d dreamed of this night. The lights on the tree, the fire, the stockings, the ring box nestled in the bottom of Quinn’s stocking right now. That faceless person I’d dreamed of, but couldn’t ever quite see, had been Quinn. Peace filled me, and I looked at him softly, all the love I felt for him shining brightly on my face.
“What’s wrong with you? You look fucking weird right now.” He frowned at me. “Are you getting sick? You cannot getsickon Christmas, Lachlan, I won’t have it.”
“I’m not sick,” I assured him, smiling. “Why don’t you see what’s in your stocking, Sass Ass?”
He was still giving me his frowny face as he reached into the stocking, feeling around. I knew the minute he felt the velvety box. His face stilled, his eyes widened, and his top teeth came out to catch his plump, lower lip.
He slowly, ever so slowly, pulled out the black velvet ring box.
His green eyes shone, but I couldn’t tell if they were glassy from impending tears or the reflection of the lights from the tree in them. “Lachlan?”
His whisper was as loud as a gunshot in my ears, and I moved until I was on one knee in front of him. I took the box from him and opened it, revealing a wide silver band, surrounded by the clearest, greenest emeralds money could buy. They matched his eyes perfectly.
I took his hand in mine, feeling his tremble against my skin. “Quinn Rafferty, I love you. You are my everything. My mate, my partner, my omega. You make me laugh, you keep me on my toes, you exasperate me. You let me be me. I love your sassy mouth and your attitude, and…”
“And my baked goods,” he whispered roughly.
I laughed. “And your baked goods. Don’t interrupt.”
Quinn made a zipper motion over his mouth. Despite his joking, his hand was still trembling in mine.
“As I was saying, I love you. I never dreamed that a bad day, and being banned – “
“You were being hella rude that day,” he reminded me.
I rolled my eyes at him. “Can I finish?”
He waved his free hand at me, in a go-ahead sign. “Please, continue. You were having a bad day…”
I opened my mouth, then snapped it shut. “Damn it! I had a whole speech planned in my head, and now I’ve lost my train of thought. Give me a second.”
Quinn stared at the ring in my hand, then at me, then back at the ring. My stomach clenched because I can’t tell what he is thinking.
Not even with our mate bond.
He had gotten good at blocking me out when he chooses to.
One of his long, graceful fingers reached out and touched the cool metal of the band. His voice was low and quiet when he spoke, and I had to strain my wolf ears to hear him.
“I never wanted to be tied down. I thought it meant I’d have to give up parts of myself, give up my passion. I never wanted children for the same reason. I never dreamed there would be someone out there that would let me have both. That I would ever even want both. Until this big, rude alpha, who was having a very bad day,” he amended when I opened my mouth in protest.
“Cut to the front of the line in my bakery. You’ve given me everything I could ever ask for, and more. I never felt like I was missing something, until you. Because you complete me, Lachlan, and make me feel whole inside, without even trying. You make my soul peaceful, and don’t try to change me. You know when to put up with my shenanigans, and when to tell me toknock my shit off. You have always instinctively known what I’ve needed, maybe better than I did.” Quinn took the ring from the box and slid it onto the finger on his left hand.
