Page 3 of His Pretty Omega
“Happy New Year!”
My lips captured his, tasting the berry flavor of the gloss he used on his lips. His arms wound around my neck, pulling me desperately closer to him. His mouth opened without me nudging, and my tongue swept inside, sliding against his eagerly waiting one.
Around us corks popped. Glasses clinked together. People shouted, and confetti fell to the floor in a cascade of bright colors.
Under my feet, my entire world shifted, breaking me apart and then putting me back together again. Better than I had been before.
Perfection.
Peace.
Home.
Forever.
And I knew with a clarity I had never possessed before what this was.
This cheeky man, who stole drinks from strangers without shame, who teased me with his wicked smile, who was going to bring trouble to my life, was my fated mate.
Mine!My wolf sighed, as if I hadn’t heard him previously growling the word over and over.
Ours, I agreed.
Chapter Two
Seth
When I’d cheekily stolen the very sexy alpha’s drink, I’d been nothing more than a brat. In my defense the man was smoking hot. And I’d been thirsty from all the dancing I had been partaking in. Besides, the drink prices were jacked up sky high. I couldn’t afford many more of them if I was paying for them. Though I had only paid for two myself, all the rest had been covered by helpful alphas looking to get laid.
I had noticed the hottie alpha as soon as I had strolled into the hotel ballroom that had been turned into a cross between Christmas and Mardi Gras for the New Year’s Eve party. He was hard to miss, and I hadn’t been able to keep my eyes off of him. He’d been casually leaning against the long bar, tucked into a quiet corner. His dark gaze hadbeen assessing all the people around him, while he sipped his drink, looking tall and cool, and all kinds of yummy.
As I made small talk with a small group of other single omegas, my eyes kept straying back to him. Dark brown hair that fell to his shoulders, a close-cropped beard, light brown skin that hinted at a Latino background. He looked like he was maybe ten years older than my twenty-nine, and he was a nice, tall drink of water. Maybe six-foot one or two? I was shit at judging height, especially since most alphas towered over my five-foot six frame.
Sometimes when I would peek at him, he would be staring directly at me, and an uncharacteristic shyness washed over me. His warm, amused gaze left me flushed and tingly, and a bit out of sorts, which was a new and unsettling feeling for me.
I tried to ignore the weird feeling, pushing it aside, and blaming it on the buzz of alcohol. But even when the lights had lowered and I had hit the dance floor with my newly acquainted friends, my eyes kept constantly falling on the alpha. Every time I looked at him, my stomach got the swirly swoops, and heat rushed through my body.
I told myself it was the alcohol I had already consumed and the swarm of bodies around me. Nothing at all to do with the tall, broad man I could see watching me from where I shook my booty to the beat.
How would his darker skin look next to my paler shade of white?
Was he that lovely shade of tan all over?
Shaking my head against my random, wayward thoughts, I turned my attention back to the music and the alphas already filling the space. Maybe I put a little extra shakity shake in my hips, when I realized those dark eyes of his were watching me. What can I say? I have middle child syndrome in spades, and I loved the attention. I especially loved the attention from a delicious looking alpha like him.
Deciding I had had enough of the eye fucking we were both doing from across the room, I’d sashayed up and taken his drink right out of his hand. Downing the very expensive, top-shelf whiskey without batting an eye. Flirting wildly, I’d then left him to head back to the dance floor. Hoping he would take the hint and make a move already. There were plenty of other options here tonight, available alphas, but I wanted him. It had been a very long time since an alpha had held my attention like this one, or made my stomach feel like it was spinning crazily when I looked at him.
Admittedly, I hadn’t planned to spend my New Year’s Eve alone when I had booked this package at the beginning of the year. I was supposed to be here with my bestie, Bennett. But this summer Bennett had met his fated mate, Shay, gotten unexpectedly knocked up, and had fallen in love. In that order.
I was happy for Bennett, I really was, even if babies and fated mates weren’t in my life plan. Until Bennetthad met Shay, I didn’t really believe all that fated mates nonsense. Having a front row seat to Bennett and Shay’s love story had me almost believing in fated mates. Almost. Still didn’t mean I completely believed that you could meet someone, and know in an instant that they were your be all, end all, soul mate.
And babies? Ew, no thank you. As a pediatric nurse, I worked with crotch goblins all day long. Don’t get me wrong, I loved it. Loved all my little patients. But as I explained to Bennett on more than one occasion, it was because I could give all those kids right back to their loving parents.
But diapers, and two a.m. feedings, were not for me. Goddess, being tied down to one alpha wasn’t for me either. I was having way too much fun doing who I wanted, when I wanted, and not being bound to any of them.
Though, I would admit only to myself, seeing the way Bennett and Shay were together, sometimes I got a little pang of…I would not call it jealousy! Because I wasn’t jealous of Bennett. I wasn’t! Bennett was like my brother, and he deserved ALL the happiness. But a part of me–a very tiny, well-hidden part–wondered what it felt like to have someone look at me the way Shay looked at Bennett. And Bennett looked at Shay. They were always making googly eyes at each other. Sharing soft, secret looks, or inside jokes that only they understood.
Now Bennett was literally about to pop a pup out in less than three weeks’ time. Nope, this was definitely not how I had planned on ringing in the new year. But Bennett had insisted I still come since I couldn’t get a refund. Especially when at his doctor’s appointment two days ago, his doctor had assured us both that this baby wasn’t coming anytime soon.
