Page 14 of Jacked-up Mate
“Maybe you should sit down.”
Chapter Eleven
Jack
The omega had been so understanding, accepting something I’d never even given anyone else the opportunity to. Not once had I appeared in public with my pumpkin head on. I used the excuse that it was heavy the few times Cole tried to convince me it would be fine. And it was. But that wasn’t the reason.
It wasn’t like Cole shared his full self with the world, or with me for that matter. And I was his bestie.
My curse wasn’t a secret. I wouldn’t have been sad if it was, but this was a small town and the trees in small towns tended to have lips. That didn’t change how I felt. My big old pumpkin head wasn’t something I planned to ever let the town experience firsthand. I didn’t want the rejection or pity or fear that would follow.
Not once did Foster give even so much as a hint of disgust or fear. There was some pity there, or maybe it was worry…concern. More than anything, he was curious.
I’d never told my story before, not in the details I shared with him. He listened intently, asking questions along the way. Foster tried to cover it up, but hearing I’d been on a date made him uncomfortable—more uncomfortable than my big, freaking pumpkin head.
Goddess help me, I liked that. I liked that he had a tinge of jealousy over the mage who had never stirred up any romantic feelings in me. That was all kinds of messed up, but I couldn’t help it. It affirmed that he wasn’t pretending to not be creeped out by my transformed body.
It was the spark of hope, the one that told me Foster might be the omega I’d been waiting for, the one that could break the curse. The curse that was suddenly not so bad becausehe accepted me despite having a huge pumpkin head. I never thought I’d see the day that I didn’t see my thirtieth birthday as something to fear, but with Foster by my side, here I was.
I sat on the steps as Foster removed his clothes. The polite thing would have been to look away, shield my eyes, give him some privacy. Yeah, the polite thing wasn’t in the room with me, because as the first inch of skin showed, my eyes were glued to his body.
Foster was physical perfection. His muscles were defined, his skin reflected the moonlight in a way that had him looking like he jumped out of a photo shoot, and his lower region? It had me wishing I had my normal mouth so I could have a little taste. Oh, the things I wanted to do to his body.
From the scent of his slick, he was feeling similarly. Stupid pumpkin head and injury.
“Are you with me, Jack?”
I snapped my head up to see him looking at me with a knowing smirk.
“Like what you see?”
I went to nod, momentarily forgetting I wasn’t wearing my human face and my current head was too heavy for that. “Very much.”
“I see that.” His eyes were now focused on my growing erection. “Maybe this wasn’t a good idea. Seems like we are both distracted.”
It was true, but it wasn’t like we could really do anything about it. I supposed technically, we could make some orgasmic magic happen, but I didn’t want that. Not with me like this. And not before Foster had time to really think about whether or not he was okay with me like this. It was a lot to come at him all at once, and I wouldn’t blame him if he woke up in the morning and decided all of this was a bad idea.
“No, please. Show me. I’ll try to keep my focus on your face.” I wasn’t going to give him a false promise and say I would. Try was the best I could do. It wasn’t my fault he was such a magnificent omega.
He let out a raw chuckle. “I’ll be interested to see that in action.”
I loved how playful he was being. Tonight could easily have turned into uncomfortable seriousness.
Foster tossed his clothes onto the porch beside me then took three steps back. I already lost my attempt to not take in the stunning view that was his body. Oops.
“See you on the flip side.” He gave a half wave and then, where he once stood, now stood a dog.
No. Not a dog. A wolf. A gorgeous, dark-gray wolf. I didn’t know much about them, didn’t know what the fancy name was for this particular type of wolf, but he was beautiful. And large. How I thought he was a dog for even a split second was beyond me.
“Hey, so…can you understand me when you’re like this?” I didn’t speak wolf, so I hoped so.
His wolf took a few steps closer and gave what I could only interpret as a nod.
“I thought so.” I leaned forward, wanting a closer look but not trusting myself to be able to get up from my spot. “You’re gorgeous. Am I allowed to touch you, or is that, like, creepy?” Did I just ask the guy I’ve been dating if I could pet him? Yikes. “I know you’re not a dog…a pet, I mean…I’m getting this all wrong.”
As I kept digging myself deeper into the hole of awkward, he came over and licked my pumpkin face. Suddenly it didn’t matter that I couldn’t express a complete thought. He was fine with my stumbling words, and my focus was now on him.
I wrapped my arms around him as best I could and gave him a hug.
