Page 75 of Abel's Omega
What the hell was I thinking when I agreed to talk to the reporter? I sat on my couch with my pups beside, stiffly uncomfortable. Well, I was. The pups were whining and restless. And the reporter was still trying to get a decent picture of us.
Finally, I lost my patience, and since Abel wasn’t there, I let fly. “You know, maybe we could do this some other time. I have work to get done, and the pups have been inside all morning.”
“That might be a good idea. I’m not sure this is the look I’m going for. You guys want to go outside?” he asked the pups.
“Ugh, yes.” Fan jumped down off the couch, and I grabbed him before he could run off.
“No. You don’t talk to people like that. Apologize.” Okay, maybe that was a better idea. I was too grumpy now to get much done in the office anyway.
He growled at me and crossed his arms.
I was acutely aware of the reporter watching this all with great interest.Fuck.I leaned down and said in a low voice, “Abel wants this man to like us. He isn’t going to if you growl.” Abel’s name was like the magic word with Fan now, and that was all I had to say to get him to come around. I didn’t like it that I had to do that, but Abel had told me that he had to do the same thing, using mine, so I didn’t really have anything to complain about. That didn’t make it any less frustrating.
Fan sighed loudly, but he turned to the reporter and asked, “Do you want to go play on the slide?”
“Sure,” the man said.
We put on coats and boots, and gloves to protect our hands from the cold metal. Well, all except for Noah, who heard the word ‘out’ and immediately began to change. I whisked him off to the bedroom he now shared with Fan to finish the job, then repeated the action with Teca. The reporter watched while I bundled the other two pups into their warm clothing, not helping. I think he took a picture, but I was too preoccupied with getting the pups dressed as quickly as possible I really didn’t pay attention. It would have been easier if I could have known what he was looking for—I would gladly have given it to him. But when I’d asked, he’d just said, “Be yourself.”
The whole thing was easier at the playground, with the pups to watch over. Fan climbed and slid and shouted with some of his friends while Beatrice played in the sandbox. I sat on a nearby bench and played fetch with Teca with one hand, and tug-of-war with Noah with the other.
“Dabi!” Fan yelled. “Catch me!” He climbed to the top of the bars and stood with his arms out.
“Don’t you move, Fan!” I yelled, and abandoned my other two pups to rush over.
Fan hardly waited for me to get there before he launched himself into the air. I caught him awkwardly and we tumbled to the ground.
“Dabi!” he scolded. “You’re not supposed to fall. Pap doesn’t.”
“Pap is--” I’d started to say, when I was interrupted.
“Pap is a lot bigger than Dabi,” Abel told him, picking him up by the back of his pants. He was shirtless, wearing a disreputable pair of old shorts, and had obviously just finished his morning run with the security crew, who milled around in the background.
Fan squealed with laughter. “Pick me up like a suitcase, Pap!”
“I already did.” He swung him around a little before offering me a hand up. “You really aren’t supposed to fall, Dabi,” he teased.
“You already said that,” I told him tartly, then fended him off. “No, you’re all sweaty and I’ll have to wash my jacket again.
He leaned in so Fan couldn’t hear and whispered, “You liked me sweaty last night.”
I went red and he laughed. “I’ll come out and play with you guys once we’re done,” he told the pups.
“What do you have left to do?” A tugging on my pantleg got my attention.
Abel nudged Teca away from my jeans. “Situps, pushups, lifts. You can watch, if you like.” He grinned cockily, and winked.
“Well, I wouldn’t want to miss that show.” Then, with a wink of my own, I added, “Duke’s really ripped.”
“You!” he complained, and swatted my ass, but it was all in fun. He already knew I couldn’t take my eyes off him.
I grinned and kissed him, then took Fan back. “Go show off for me then.” The freedom to tease and flirt—it was like being able to breathe again.
He scooped Beatrice out of the sandbox and said, “Absolutely. Come on, Fan, you can count.”
I settled back down on the bench while the men and women who worked security organized themselves into rows and dropped to the ground. Abel set Beatrice on his shoulders and had her grab his hair. Noah yipped at my feet and I picked him up and put him on my lap. I looked around for Teca, but she was fine, riding on Duke’s back in her wolf form. “Be careful with her, Duke,” I called. “She can’t grab with anything but teeth like that.”
“I’ve been gnawed by pups before,” he yelled back. “We’re good, right, Teca?”
