Page 19 of Slow Heat
“Not really.”
“Write some poems. Publish them. Take the time to know your alpha and yourself. The world will wait for you.”
Vale hung up the call, grabbed a round, flat paperweight from his desk, and threw it at the wall across from him with a harsh yell. The paperweight left a round welt deep in the coral-colored paint and landed on the floor with a loud thud.
“The world will wait?” Vale yelled. “Fuck you! I had alife, for fuck’s sake.”
Jason stared at his omega, mesmerized by the red heat flaring above his collarbones showing above his open collar.
Vale swung around, eyes blazing and dark hair sticking up wildly at his temples like he’d been tugging at it. His startled gasp was beautiful, like a taste of the noises still to come, one day—hopefullynottwo years from now.
Valewasgoing gray, Xan was right. But he was lean and tall, beautiful and strong. His green, soft-looking shirt made his eyes seem an even deeper shade of moss, and his black pants echoed his dark hair. He was stunning.
“I’ll call the police,” Vale whispered, staring at Jason wide-eyed and inching close to his desk again.
With a start, Jason realized Vale was staring directly at him, talking to him, and that his breath trembled with fear.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” Jason said, putting his hands out. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“Stalking is illegal. Even betweenÉrosgápe.” His hand was outstretched toward his telephone.
Jason’s breath hitched in his throat. Wolf-god, he was this man’sÉrosgápe! It didn’t stop being stunning and breathtaking and screamingly surreal. “No,” he whispered. “I’m not stalking you.”
“Then what?”
“I…” Jason trailed off.
He’d come here to snoop. To try to figure out who Vale Aman was, but he hadn’t had a clear plan of action. He’d just known that he needed to see Vale again, to hear his voice, to see what his own senses and brain could tell him, and now he was so far in over his head, he didn’t know which way was up.
“Eavesdropping on private phone calls is also a crime.”
“I was…”
“You were?”
“I wanted to see you.”
“I’m sure you did.” Condescension poisoned the honey of his voice. “Your parents’ attorney called this morning already to make arrangements. That’s how it’s done, Jason.”
Jason.
He’d said his name. The shivering sibilance on the ‘S’ buzzed and burst at the base of Jason’s skull and filled him with sparks.
“Say my name again.”
Vale sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “We should call your parents to come get you before this gets out of hand.”
The internal sparking bliss fizzled out, fireworks dulling to cold, floating ash.
“You didn’t want to see me,” Jason said aloud, the understanding coming along with the words. “I thought…”
Whathadhe thought? He’d acted without much analysis, actually.
Vale let go of the bridge of his nose, and his arm fell limply at his side. “Of course I wanted to see you. I’m not immune to you, after all.” He lifted his hand to forestall any move on Jason’s part to crawl through the open window. “But this—coming here alone—is dangerous, Jason. And against protocol.”
“Protocol doesn’t tell us anything real about each other.”
“Real?”
