Page 45 of Omega Island
I tipped him aside so I could see his face. I ran my hand over the shining hair at his temple, fingers combing back until I could hold him to face me. “You need to know I more than enjoyed this. You told me this morning you were attracted to me. Well, I’m very attracted to you. And very intrigued.”
“You’re supposed to be—”
“Uh-uh. Stop. You. Raimi. I noticed you. I have been asking myself was it only because you were new and I was facing something unusual that I invited you to my home? But I like everything about you. And I asked you a question a minute ago you didn’t answer.”
“What? I’m sorry.”
“Shh. Don’t apologize. You are allowed to answer or not—or take your time. There are no rules between us.”
“What question?”
“Maybe I wasn’t clear. What’s happening here? Between us? You said you felt an attraction. But is it just physical?”
“Oh. I thought I did answer?” He tried to duck away again, but I held his hair in my fist now and he couldn’t move without me pulling it.
“Maybe, but we need to be sure we’re both on the same page.”
“Yes, there is more for me than just physical attraction.”
I let out a relieved sigh.
“But I still have questions inside me.”
My chest clenched. “What questions?”
“Would this be called a rebound for me and is that bad? And are my feelings real or just me trying to cling to stuff I missed or lost?”
He’d been thinkingabout this a lot. If he was the man I thought he was, I expected no less.
“Those are very fair questions.”
“I have more.”
“All right.” My body heated to his even as he spoke.
“Did I take advantage of you because you attracted me? And will you have regrets when the hormones go away? And, well, I’m nobody—I have nothing right now. I’m virtually penniless. I’m not a good match for you. I’m not even remotely in your league. There. Now you have it. All the things I’ve been thinking in between all the good stuff.”
All were valid thoughts from a man, an alpha, who had been pushed down and down until he had lost track of himself.
“Bottom line, Raimi? Can I be blunt?”
“Yes.” He closed his eyes. Maybe he couldn’t stand to look at me because he thought I was going to say something critical or harsh.
I was not that guy.
“There isn’t a black or white answer to any of your questions. We get to decide in the end. We make our world.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means you’re somebody and you get to feel whatever you feel. You get to be validated because you’re good. I could see it the moment I met you. You’re one of the good ones and that’s right in my league. In fact, I might have to work to keep up with you.”
He started to shake his head. “You don’t even know me well enough.”
“I do. We just shared everything with each other.”
“Our bodies for sure.”
“Our bodies are connected to our brains, our minds. Our hearts. Agreed?”
