Page 57 of Abel's Omega
Bax laughed and trailed his fingers across Abel’s chest as he entered, but he blushed and looked away as he did it. Abel didn’t know whether to be amused or troubled by Bax’s on-again, off-again flirtations as the man tried to find some balance between his own playful nature and the way he’d been raised and told an omega should behave. Abel rather preferred the flirtatious Bax, and he hoped his plan tonight would bring this side of his future mate out some more.
At least he wasn’t waiting for Abel to turn into Patrick anymore.
Abel followed Bax into the apartment. He loved the way Bax moved, like water flowing over stones. The other shifter stopped in the middle of the apartment and spun slowly, taking everything in.
Finally, he turned to Abel. “It’s lovely,” he said in that low, musical voice.
“I was told I needed something impressive, as the Alpha.”
“You were told?” Bax moved about the room, touching the furniture, peering out the windows.
“We built this place about four years ago. Right here is where the first buildings in the enclave were built.” Abel walked over to stand next to Bax at the window. “Big warehouse for our supplies, bunch of shitty barracks filled with bunks. No privacy, no chance to get away from other shifters. They lived like that for years while they cut down the trees and started making the place better. We used those buildings right up until I signed the order to tear them all down. I wasn’t sure about it—it is our history after all. But maybe it’s better to move past that history. I don’t know. I hope it was the right choice.”
Bax put a hand against the glass and leaned close, squinting as if he could see the gate in the darkness. “Much better not to have walls in the first place.”
“You’re right.” Abel leaned close and Bax looked up at him.
The wariness in his gaze had been replaced with the desire to trust. He reached up to touch Abel’s face, fingertips dancing lightly over Abel’s cheeks, his jaw, his lips. “No more walls.” To Abel’s surprise, Bax leaned in to kiss him, a kiss like the one full moon night, full of promise and desire. Bax’s arms wound around Abel’s neck and when Abel kissed him back, he made a small sound of pleasure and pressed the length of him against Abel’s body.
Abel ended the kiss. “I promised you slow. This isn’t slow.”
The tips of Bax’s fingertips played in Abel’s hair, a delicious sparkle of touch that made his hair stand on end. “I’ve been thinking about this. I know you want to spend more time getting to know each other, but I want to do this too.” Color rose in his cheeks and he looked away. “I’m sorry. I’m just…feeling very omega today. We can go sit on the couch and talk, if that’s what you want.”
The wistfulness in his voice struck Abel hard. On impulse, he picked Bax up and carried him to the couch. Abel had no plans to go farther than that, but it would be more comfortable. And Bax had mentioned sitting on the couch and talking.
Bax yipped when his feet left the floor, but then he laughed. Abel sat down with Bax beside him and pulled him close. “How about we talk in between kisses?”
In answer, Bax cupped Abel’s face in his hands and kissed him greedily, his hands sliding to clasp the back of Abel’s head.
There was more muscle in Bax than his slim build had led Abel to believe. He ran his hands up Bax’s spine, fingers detailing the sweep of his back, and cupped his hand over the smooth curve of deltoid at Bax’s shoulder.
Bax moaned and clutched at him, half climbing into his lap. “Please,” he whispered and dug between them for the buttons of his shirt.
Abel grabbed his hand. “No. Slow, right?” He nipped at Bax’s lips, feathered kisses along his jaw to the tender patch of skin under his ear. “We have all sorts of time. And I promised you.”
“I know,” Bax said. “But maybe now is the time?”
Abel put a gentle finger against his lips. “I don’t want to screw this up. What if it is too soon?” He took his finger away and brushed the dark curls away from Bax’s eyes. “I’m afraid I’ll lose you.”
“Oh.” The startled expression on Bax’s face gradually faded to comprehension. “I never thought you might be afraid of anything.”
“Where you’re concerned, I’m always afraid. So lets take this slow, okay?”
Bax nodded and let his head rest on Abel’s shoulder. “Does that mean we have to stop?”
Abel smiled and kissed his head. “Only when my heart does.”
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
Abel seemed determined to give me until forever to get over whatever psychological twitch it was I had about sex, but I wasn’t that patient. Roland had agreed to Abel adopting my pups after some negotiation on Abel’s part that involved the solar panels he’d shown me my first day, and training one of the Jackson-Jellystone youngsters in how to maintain them. We were supposed to travel down to interview them in January, and I was determined that Abel would be honestly capable of claiming carnal knowledge of me before then.
We’d done a lot of kissing since Harvest Moon. Lots and lots. It had helped a little to erase my memories of Patrick. And, not only had it given me new memories to lay over those of my late mate, it had stoked the fires of my own desire, until I was almost mad with it. My own solo explorations of what I could bear and what I couldn’t had continued. Slowly, leaning heavily on my memories of Abel and his touch, I’d pushed Patrick away, breaking those memories into shards that I swept out with all the other trash I was determined to rid myself of.
We’d planned to spend Christmas Day together as a family, news that on the morning of Christmas Eve had sent the pups into paroxysms of joy.
But tonight? Tonight was for us.
I’d hired Bram to come watch the pups while I stole over to Abel’s apartment. Abel thought I was coming over for a drink and another session of frustrating kisses on his couch; I had something else entirely in mind. The last couple of days I’d been obsessively reading and re-reading all my romance novels, and any new ones I could get from the pack’s tiny library. I was ready.
