Page 48 of Abel's Omega
“You looked like you were having fun with Fan this morning at the daycare. I thought you might enjoy a slightly taller partner tonight.”
Bax laughed and Abel fiercely shoved away the urge to whisk him away somewhere private.
The dance came to an end and they were back in their original places, grinning at each other like fools.
A different song came on, something human, and the groups of dancers dispersed, to be replaced by couples bumping and grinding to a heavy bass beat. Bax started to walk off, but Abel caught him by the hand. “You don’t have to leave.”
Bax threw a glance at the shifters all around them, their bodies pressed close in public intimacy. “I’m not sure I should…” His voice trailed off, and Abel could see the longing in his face.
“I’m the Alpha. Who’s going to say anything?”
Bax looked him straight in the eye. “I don’t want to give the wrong impression.”
“I know.” And Abel held his breath, waiting for Bax’s answer.
The moment stretched, then Bax moved back into Abel’s arms. “Okay.” He seemed troubled, but Abel planned to fix that tonight. For now, he kept some distance between their bodies, the only contact where their fingers were laced together.
Slowly, Bax’s movements became more fluid. It was obvious to Abel when Bax finally lost himself in the song; his eyes closed and he seemed to forget where he was, his body moving in perfect unison with the rhythm of the music. Even after the last few beats had stopped, he continued to sway, then slowly his eyes opened and he blushed.
“I’m sorry. It’s been a while.”
Abel squeezed his fingers. “You should get to dance more often.”
“Oh, well.” Bax ducked his head and disentangled himself from Abel’s grasp. “I suppose I should get back to Jim.”
“Why?”
“Because he seemed nice, and I abandoned him to come dance with you.”
“He is nice.” They were setting up for another pack dance, the Red-Tailed Deer. “Are you sure you want to miss this one?”
Bax narrowed his eyes and a surprising glint of mischief shone in them. “I don’t know. I usually dance the wolf’s part.”
Do you now?“I can be the deer.”
That set Bax back. “You can’t dance the deer, you’re Alpha. I’ve only ever danced this with other omegas, that’s why I danced the wolf.”
Abel laughed and slung his arm around Bax’s waist. “It’ll shock them all, and they’ll be so off-balance I’ll have no trouble with them for at least a week.”
Bax stared up at him uncertainly.
Abel dipped his head close to Bax’s. “If it makes you uncomfortable, we can go. But I think you should know—I absolutely would not mind being hunted by you.” He heard the tiny gasp and turned his head to catch Bax’s expression, hope and pain and fear, of all things.What’s up with that?He thought they’d become easier with each other the past couple of weeks. Abel waited, giving Bax the time he seemed to need to make up his mind.
Bax glanced around to where the other dancers had set themselves up, waiting impatiently for the first notes of the song to soar out into the night air. He looked back up at Abel, his eyes searching Abel’s face for what? Then he nodded slowly and moved into position. Abel noted that Bax was still twitchy over the speculative glances, which meant he probably understood the implications of this dance. This wasn’t a dance for lovers, but it was close. More of adeclaring-your-intentionsdance. And if Bax remained in the wolf’s part, it essentially declared his intentions toward Abel, which was what Abel had been working toward. Bax had some block in place against admitting he was interested, some fear that drove him in the opposite direction. Let him play the aggressor, and perhaps he’s feel easier about what was between them.
Bax rubbed his hands over his arms, the light from the patio lanterns glinting off the stone in his necklace, so similar to his eyes. “Maybe we shouldn’t do this,” he said in a small voice.
“We can trade places if you’d rather. Or we can leave.”
“No, I mean—” And then the music started, cutting off his protests. Bax shook his head, as if realizing that fate was running the show, and stepped out into dance, playing his role as if he were an alpha, and reached for Abel. Abel grinned at him and danced out of his grasp, making Bax ‘chase’ him.
The dance itself was one long flirtation, where the ‘wolf’ hunted his prey and the prey teased back. Abel had danced it before with previous lovers, but he’d never before taken the role of the deer. It was fun to be on the other side of the chase. He slid in and out of the pattern, being ‘caught’ and escaping, over and over for ever lengthening periods, until at the end of the dance they were spinning in a circle, wrapped tightly around each other. The song ended with them face to face, no more than a breath’s distance between their lips. Bax looked exhilarated and a touch frightened, as if he were conflicted about something, but the enjoyment of the dance had overwhelmed the anxiety for a moment.
“Can I get you another cider?” Abel asked.
Bax stared at him for a moment, wide-eyed. “I think that might be a good idea.” Something moved in the depth of his eyes, a spark of green like a forest at midnight, and he stepped back. “Thank you for the dance.”
“I enjoyed it. I usually ended up organizing this, but I made sure I’d be free this year.” Abel place Bax’s hand in the crook of his elbow and began leading him toward the cider.
