Page 8 of Omega Chattel
Again, he ordered for me. Just what I would have ordered myself, if I’d known it was on the menu.
“Two hot fudge sundaes,” he said.
He winked at me when the waiter left. “You like hot fudge, don’t you?”
I nodded.
By the time the sundae came, I realized I could not stuff another bite into my stomach. But I lifted my spoon and took a taste. I didn’t want to show any weakness. Or have any food go to waste. So I forced it down.
It was wonderful. I’d eaten half the sundae before I realized it, and my stomach began to ache. I knew what that meant, and before I could give any warning, I got up and ran to the sign that saidRestrooms.
I barely got inside before I was throwing up in a stall. Luckily, I didn’t make too much of a mess. But damn, it was awful. I gagged until tears streaked my cheeks.
I wiped my face and when I came out of the stall, Tarin was standing by the sink holding my backpack.
“Too much too fast,” he said. It was not a question.
I nodded slowly. When I reached for my backpack, my hand was shaking.
He gave it over without a word, then turned and walked out. I followed. What else could I do?
At the car, I hesitated, miserable, my eyes still fogged with tears.
Tarin looked at me. Finally, he spoke. “Get in.”
“What?”
“Get in.” He opened the passenger door.
“I can walk back.”
“To the Trenches?” He shook his head. “No. You’re coming home with me. I’ve got a spare room for the night. You need real sleep. At the very least, you need soda crackers and ginger ale.”
Was he for real? He was going to take care of me? He didn’t even know me. Would he want more? Payment? I figured I could do it. I was planning on it anyway when I’d first decided to follow him. I could take it. I would demand payment from him for my virginity, too. I could do that. I had a big mouth and a bold spirit. Yeah, I could do it.
I took a deep breath, puffing out my chest, blinking away the haze of my nausea. “One night,” I agreed. My unspoken thought:And I’ll pay you back. Somehow.
Chapter Four
Tarin
To see his misbehavior—eating too much too fast. To see his tears. Why did that make my insides twist and my heart pound?
He didn’t remind me of Kee in any way. He was determined, but not so wild. He wanted to have his own way, but he wasn’t an addict.
I wanted to cuff him like an errant child. I wanted to pull him to me and hold him until he stopped shaking.
He had a desperation about him, and that had made him eat everything I’d ordered for him too fast and get sick.
A lot of Alphas would think:He’s an Omega; he doesn’t know better.
Not me. I knew Omegas had a lot going against them, but they weren’t stupid. They could think and reason and they didn’t have to act foolish and needy all the time. It was a trained role, an expectation put onto them by their upbringing, and by this world which in so many ways told them they were less than efficient, not whole without an Alpha around to complete them.
I wanted to coddle him at the same time I wanted to reprimand. The oddness of it made my stomach flutter in a way Kee never had. I cared about Kee, but Kee was his own boy and would never be mine even if I’d wanted that. Kee wasn’t the Omega for me, and never had been.
But damn it, this one affected me when my initial plan had been tonotget involved.
In the car, Alli sat very still, head down, clutching his backpack.
