Page 75 of His Gentle Omega
Gripping the edge of the cool porcelain vanity tightly, I told myself to stop thinking about him. Stop thinking about his hands, and lips, and tongue, and that thick, mouth-watering cock of his. So what if the man looked good enough to eat in his black board shorts? His long-tanned body on full display. His face finally glowing with health and his bruises gone. All that skin, and muscles, and…yep, nope, not going there.
And then there was that bandage on his neck, that signified so much. He had taken the first steps to truly severing his mate claim with Edward. Mate bonds couldn’t be dissolved without going through the sometimes long, and from what I had heard, very painful, process. It essentially amounted to having the other mate’s saliva, and what would best be described as venom, dug out from your tissue. Thinking about the entire process made me squeamish.
But Shay was doing it. He was putting himself through it to erase and break anything that tied him together with Edward. He was truly taking steps to move on with his life. Not that I hadn’t believed that he would, but I had worked with enough cases like Shay’s to know that intentions and actions didn’talways align. In many cases, victims often went back to their abusive partners.
Even knowing we were fated mates, knowing that Shay needed the time he had asked for, and understanding why he needed it, deep down there had still been a tiny part of me that didn’t believe he wouldn’t return to Edward. I hadn’t acknowledged it, hadn’t let it take root inside me, but the seeds were there, just waiting for the day to come.
According to the book on fated mates I had checked out from the library, being fated didn’t mean we would automatically end up together. The Goddess had basically written an out clause, so couples didn’t have to be tied together for a lifetime if they truly didn’t fit. Though my reading also made it clear that if a couple was taking too long to make a connection, the Goddess was known to move things along on her own. I wasn’t sure exactly what that meant, or what the time frame might be before the Goddess took fate into her hands.
One thing most of the firsthand accounts in the book did have in common was the majority of the couples hadn’t fallen into what they would describe as ‘insta-love’. Many did, however, liken it to ‘insta-lust’. That I could definitely relate to. Even with Shay lying battered, bruised, and ill in a hospital bed, I had wanted him. My body had more than responded to his.
Honestly, I really thought I had been handling the whole Shay needing space and time well. But seeing him today, being this close to him all afternoon, all the feelings I had pushed down, ignored, and refused to acknowledge the past few weeks, slammed into me like a tidal wave of need and desire.
I really had fooled myself into thinking I would be able to handle being this close to Shay, and act like we were nothing more than friends. Less than friends, really, more like acquaintances.Acquaintances who had fucked like rabbits, and had the best sex of my entire life.
I was a fucking idiot.
“Why did you think coming here was a good idea, Bennett?” I asked my reflection, splashing cool water over my face and neck. “It will be fine. No biggie. We are both grown-ups. People break up all the time. You didn’t even break up. You weren’t really ever together. You had sex. A lot of sex, in a very short amount of time. And, yes, itwasfreaking good sex. The best sex you’ve ever had. Doesn’t matter that you are fated, he’s got hella issues he needs to deal with first. And I get it, I do. I understand. I heard what he was saying. And he did the right thing, made the right choice. Then why does it feel so fucking wrong?”
My reflection just stared back at me, offering no answers or being helpful in the slightest.
“And you,” pulling my swim trunks away from my waist, I peered down at my half hard dick, “I really need you to go the fuck down. Shoo. Go away now. Nothing to be done for you until later. Much later. I have a dildo and my hand that have your name on it.”
Exhaling sharply, I yanked the door open, running smack dab into a hard, toned chest. One that smelled of suntan lotion, chlorine, delicious musk and the earth after a rainstorm.
Shay.
Because,of course, he would be standing right outside the door, and had probably heard every embarrassing word of my out loud ramblings.
Cheeks burning crimson–dear Goddess, please don’t let him have heard any of my ranting–I sidestepped, giving him room to enter the bathroom. “Sorry. I…sorry.” Stammering, I slid past him. “It’s all yours.”
Shay grabbed me lightly by the arm, sliding his hand down, until his fingers caressed my palm before they tangled with mine. Electricity and pureneedfrom his touch raced wildly across my skin, making me hot and cold and shaky. “Bennett, wait. I wanted to talk to you. I need to talk to you.”
Looking down at our entwined fingers, then up to his face, I shook my head. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea. You need time, and I need…” My shoulders sagged in defeat, and I whispered, “I didn’t think seeing you would be this hard. I thought I could handle it.”
“Please,” he pleaded, his eyes begging me, “just for a minute.”
There was no way I could say no to him. No way I could deny himanything.
Nodding, I tightened my fingers around his, loving the warmth that shot up my arm. “Okay.”
The kitchen door banged open, and voices drifted to us from the other room. Hurriedly, Shay pulled me into the tiny bathroom, shutting the door and locking it behind us. The room wasn’t big; I doubted Gabe fit in here comfortably, and the ceiling above the toilet was slanted at an angle because of the stairs.
Shay banged his head on the slanted ceiling, winced, then switched places with me so that he was leaning against the sink. When the voices finally faded, I peered up at him through my lashes. “What did you want to say?”
He took a deep breath, and I wondered if being near me was as hard for him as it was for me. Our scents mingled together in the tiny space, until all I could smell was him and me. Desire flared in me so fast I gasped, reaching out to grasp his arms to steady myself. Shaking my cloudy head, I let go of him, trying to step back, even though there was barely any room to move.
“How’s the job going?” my mouth blurted out randomly, before he had a chance to say whatever it was he wanted to say.
He blinked, before his mouth quirked up at the corners. “It’s really good. It’s only been a week, but Lo is a great boss. She’s been really understanding of me needing to take time off for therapy. Or if Alex calls needing something. And I love getting my hands dirty working on an engine again.”
Nodding, I looked down at our bare feet, our toes not quite touching. The swirl of the tile on the floor. Anywhere so that I wouldn’t have to look into the bright blue of his eyes. Because Goddess, Shay had the prettiest eyes I had ever seen on anyone, and I could easily get lost in them. “That’s good. I’m glad.”
Shay reached out and tilted my chin up with one finger, forcing me to meet his gaze. “I don’t want to talk about my job. I wanted to give you an update on the court case. Edward is causing a delay in it.”
Blowing out a breath, I whispered, “How?”
Shay’s eyes turned troubled. “Alex received word from Edward’s lawyers–because of course, he has more than one–that he has checked into a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center.”
