Page 60 of Omega Artist
“I can’t believeyou dragged me here! What was I thinking?” Tig slings both of our weekend bags over one shoulder. His is a beat-up army green duffel bag. Mine is a multi-colored floral Louis Vuitton. I smile at the endearing sight; we make such an unlikely pair!
“Oh, come on! You’re dying to try this out.” He winces as he slams the trunk of the SUV that he borrowed from Graham. Standing next to him, my heart lurches when his face falls further. I know that I’ve unintentionally said something that upset him, but I’m not sure what. To make amends, I rub his forearm with my gloved hand and switch my tone from lighthearted to serious. “You okay?”
“Yeah, yeah… I’m so…” A timid smile settles on his face. “Damnit, John Wayne!”
“You’re John Wayne?” I know exactly what he means, but I enjoy teasing him.
His brow spikes up. “Sure, let’s watchTheNight Ridersall night long, baby.” And just like that, he chuckles deeply.
“You really know your John Wayne. I’m genuinely impressed.” He beams, puffing his muscular chest under his partially open winter coat. I couldn’t imagine unzipping my coat in this chilly April weather in upstate New York, but I can’t complain. I’m enjoying the view. “If you ask me nicely, maybe we’ll exploreNew Frontier.” As if on cue, his eyes betray his dirty mind. Thankfully, mine’s in the same boat.
“You care to elaborate?” he asks, sliding his free hand into his pants pocket to adjust himself.
“Nope.” I lick my lips, pretending that they’re dry. “My Omega Artist will have to wait and see…” I pause and swat his ass, which is covered by his coat.
A few weeks ago, I started calling him Omega Artist, which I believe is incredibly fitting, and he’s conceded that he does, too. Honestly, nicknaming a guy “my prince”—as I called him a couple of times because of his piercing—wouldn’t do.
To each their own. I’m not judging, but I don’t have a submissive bone in my body, andmy princeinsinuated that. Hence, the prince stayed on his amazingly magical cock, and the nickname got swapped for something more realistic. He’s a talented artist and definitely an omega, so it’s fitting.
“You’re such a tease!”
“We aim to please,” I reply, and he leans down to give me a sloppy kiss, his arm circling my lower back as if our bags weigh nothing. I can’t blame him for missing out on the50 Shades of Greyreference that Sophie would have chuckled at. I eventually break the kiss. “That’s why I brought you here. We’ll have fun, you’ll see,” I add to convince him. “And in case you hadn’t noticed, I’m more of a city girl myself, you know.” I reach to take my bag from him, but he shakes his head vehemently. His hair is growing, and his loose brown curls give him a ragged look that appeals to me. “But Eileen strongly recommended it.” We have kept in touch since our last encounter, andMikehas practicallyadopted me as his sister. “We can blame her later, if we hate it here.” That earns me another kiss, a blistering this time that tastes like a prelude for sex.
“Youcan blame it on Mike’s mom all you want,” he corrects me as we walk toward the distant entrance. “But I blame it on Claire and Soraya teaming up to convince me that your idea was brilliant. And now that I think about it, I wonder if you guys aren’t all in this together!”
Trying to keep pace with his long stride, I stifle a grin. “So you’re accusing your female friends of tricking you?”
“That’s not what I said.”
“You implied it. That’s more than enough, you know. I wasn’t under the impression that I forced you into anything.” I stop for a moment, frustrated. I’m replaying the events that led to this moment and can’t make sense of his reaction.
Tig’s art opening marked a turning point in our interactions. Our online relationship has always been easy and fun, while our real life one has been a little more complicated.
In the end, the chemistry transferred in the best of ways. The sex is off the charts! We are so compatible in bed—or anywhere else, for that matter—that it’salmost too good to be true. In addition to his hidden jewel, another novel perk is that his ink—which covers his neck, torso, back, and some of his thighs—now fascinates me. It’s a strange mix of admiration and repulsion.
My quest for Prince Charming is on hold. My plot involving the manwhore personified is on hold. My sampling of other specimens is on hold. We haven’t discussed being exclusive because neither of us is after something serious. Right from the start, he was pretty clear that he doesn’t do relationships—dating, marriage, or otherwise. So was I. If I’m being completely honest, I enjoy spending time with him.
I can’t believe that I haven’t slept with anyone else since meeting him in person… No, scratch that. I did fuck Eric that one time after meeting Tig. When the hot flight attendant reached out wondering what I was up to a few weeks later, I told him that I was still in New York and would be up for grabbing a coffee as friends. Period. We text occasionally, and he enjoys taunting me with a picture whenever he’s somewhere exotic.
The distance that I initially maintained around Tig has evolved, and the same is true for him. As open as I am sexually, I’m grateful that he respects my boundaries and never pushes them; from the moment I stopped him from touching my chest, he hasn’t made another attempt to slide under my tee-shirt. Respect is definitely a major turn-on for me!
Meeting Soraya, Graham, and his other friends did more to show me the person that Tig is than the image that I’d constructed inside my head. Eileen’s comment regarding how fabricated social media tends to be comes to mind.
Tig is a rather secretive, guarded guy who doesn’t have a large group of friends. When Tig introduced me to Marco, Lucas, and Leroy, I was wary. I remembered all too well that my sister overheard Tig’s male friends raucously praising his womanizing ways. I can’t imagine that Sybil would blow something like that out of proportion, but what I’ve witnessed so far are down-to-earth, sarcastic, and fun people, his business partner Claire included. They all welcomed me, no questions asked.
As for Soraya, she’s been supportive from the start, disclosing that her best friend has a lot of baggage because of something terrible that happened a couple of years back. She urged me to be patient with him, stressing that she could tell that I mattered to him like no one else had in a very long time. She concluded by saying that it wasn’t her story to tell, and I didn’t mean to intrude, but she guaranteed that he’d come around... But will I? So far, I’ve kept my life completely separate from Tig’s; he accidentally ended up talking to Greer on the phone once, but that’s about it.
I can’t help but smile when he trudges back my way. He comes to a halt with a smirk and captures my eyes. My heart somersaults and my eyes flutter shut for a second, taking in this man that I’d never expected to find attractive. I can't deny that he oozes sex appeal, and his raw sensuality and bad boy vibes are undeniably alluring.
“What’s with the smirk, Mr. de Luca?” The tip of my tongue travels across my lips. Damn, I want to lock him up and hold him hostage for a couple of hours. I file that thought away for later, considering that we’re out in the open and I’d rather ravage his body, or have him ravage mine, behind closed doors.
He shrugs. “I didn’t say anything.”
I stick my tongue out, and he whispers, grazing my earlobe, “You don’t get to do that like a spoiled brat. That lethal weapon can be shoved inside my mouth or used on my dick, but that’s it!”
The images that flash inside my head make my mouth water, and I rub my thighs together. I bite the inside of my cheeks to regain my composure and elect to ignore his comment. “Anyway… if you didn’t want to go, you should’ve told me so before we drove all the way out here.”
“Nah, I’ll get over it. You’re right. You didn’t force me into anything.” His tone is determined and now turns playful. “Spending time alone with you was the right motivation. It’s the first time that we’re going away together and I…” He coughs lightly, stares intently, and I’m about to speak when he adds, “It’s cool that we were able to get away from the city for a couple of days. I needed some space from my everyday life.” He leans down and plants a tender kiss on my cheek.
