Page 157 of Omega's Flight
“I’ll hold you to that.” They said good-bye, Cas shaking his head in disbelief.
Then he packed everything up and locked up the office, just in case he couldn’t run faster than Quin.
C H A P T E R 1 0 8
T he rest of November was hugely busy. Jesse Mutch found a publisher for our little book and we were to start on the second one right away. Things got so crazy that I even forgot to eat unless Cas reminded me. So it was Cas who noticed, long before I did. "You want me to go stay with Abel for the next week?"
I looked up from the rough sketch I was working on for mine and Ori's next book. "What? Why?"
He gave me that look, the one that said that it was an omega thing and why was he the one pointing it out?
"Shit, I wasn't ready for it quite yet." I was coming into heat, and now that he'd mentioned it, I could feel the slight differences that usually signaled it. I'd been so busy with the book stuff that I hadn't been paying attention.
"So, do I move out?" His question was oh-so-casual, and his body language was a near perfect acting job, reinforcing the complete unimportance of the question. But I knew better.
"I don't think so. But maybe you could wander up to Degan's later and see if he wants the pups for a couple of days? He can have the surprise bag." I'd picked up a few things in the city the last couple of times I'd been, some new movies, snacks, a few toys. Okay, it was a big bag, but I'd been preparing for this week. And, after reading the omega journals, I kind of thought that all mine and Degan's conception problems had come down to him not really being my alpha. Cas was the one I'd chosen, in a way similar to how omegas had chosen in the times before the Enclosure. I suspected this heat would be short, and there wouldn't be a second one.
"Sure," he said casually. "Don't suppose there's anything for alphas in that surprise bag?"
"Alphas have their own surprise bag," I said, equally casually. "But they have to be home on time to get it."
"I'll keep that in mind." Cas turned over another page in the book he was reading, something dry and full of figures and references to laws.
I settled back with a small smile on my face and picked up my charcoal again.
The pups came home for dinner, dropped off by their sire, and as soon as they were done, I sent back to their sire's with Cas, weighted down with the surprise bag. I waved cheerfully at them until they disappeared into the dark, then bolted back into the house to dig into Cas's version of the surprise bag.
New sheets for the bed, a soft jersey that Holland had mentioned he'd discovered by accident. A bottle of wine, some interesting nibbles I'd found down a little side street while killing time in the city one day, and then what I hoped would be the main attraction.
It was Bram who'd found the store, a tiny place tucked away in a corner even less noticeable than the one where I'd found the treats.
Romantic bedroom clothing.
Bram had helped me pick out something rich-looking, a dark blue robe and matching shorts in a silky, shiny material that felt good all on its own and amazing over warm skin. I stripped and threw my dirty clothes into the closet, slamming the door closed to hide them, then put on the pretty, sexy outfit. I really hoped Cas liked it.
I had the wine open and ready to pour, and the treats laid out on plates when he came back. I'd moved a small table into the living room a couple of days earlier for just this purpose and it made an inviting picture, if I did say so myself. The last thing to do was light the candles I'd bought at the dollar store on my last trip to the city.
Cas caught me in the middle of it, bent over the table to light the tall cinnamon scented one. A sharp whistle of appreciation made me jump and I dropped the match into the tiny pool of wax forming around the candle's wick.
"Now that's something to come home to," he said with a grin that would have looked entirely at home on his wolf. He sauntered forward and pulled me into his arms. "You sure you want this? Last chance to turn back."
I grinned and moved his hands from the middle of my back down to the curves of my ass. "No escaping me now, alpha. I've made my choice."
His hands squeezed as if testing the give of my muscles and leaned back slightly, so his hips pressed more urgently against mine. "The omega speaks, and the alpha obeys."
"I don't think it works like that," I told him.
"It does when the omega looks like you do right now." He leaned away and looked me up and down again. "Wow."
"I'm glad you like it. I have stuff to set the mood, too. But first—" I turned him and aimed him toward the bedroom. "Go get changed."
"Into what? I can't drink wine and seduce you in wolf form."
I gave him a little push. "I got you clothes too. Go."
He made a noise of dissatisfaction, but did as I'd commanded. While he was gone, I poured the wine and arranged myself on the couch as attractively as I could.
"This is nice," he said as he came out of the hallway, his hands running over the soft velour of the robe. "Soft and war—" He stuttered to a stop and stared. "Wow."
