Page 9 of Omega's Forbidden Heat
Finn must hear his footsteps on the drive because he opens the door before Jack arrives at the doorstep and beckons him inside and through to the huge cavernous space of the lounge with its low hanging beams that Jack ducks beneath. Finn strolls to the open fireplace and pokes at the fire he’s lit, smoke spiralling into the air and sparks spitting upwards, briefly illuminating the blackened brickwork. The chimney needs to be swept, the smoke filling the room, but Jack likes the smell, it is earthy and blocks out the Omega’s scent.
There are three large sofas that the family seems to have owned for as long as Jack’s known them. The cushions have lost their plumpness and the springs died years ago, so that when he lies on the sofa, like they both do now, one on each, he falls deep into its belly. It is all so familiar. He could almost believe it hasn’t been five years since he last sunk into this sofa, the cushions seeming to mould around his body as if they remember him.
They start on Top Gun. They are about a third of the way through the movie when Finn’s phone beeps with a string of messages. He reaches for it, eyes still locked on the TV and glances down at the screen. His vision flickers left and right and he sits up straighter, leaning against the cushions and typing out a response. Jack watches him from the corner of his eye. Beep, type type, beep, type type. His friend is obviously engaged in a conversation. After several minutes of this, Finn huffs, and chucks the mobile back on the coffee table.
“Who was that?” Jack asks.
Finn burrows back into the sofa, his arms crossed across his chest. “No one.”
“No one?” Jack chuckles, raising his eyebrows.
“This girl I’ve been seeing.”
They’ve never been big talkers, him and Finn. Finn came to visit him inside and once or twice up in London, but they’re not the type to talk on the phone or send each other messages - as much as he’d have liked that sometimes. And since he’s moved back to the village, their conversations have revolved around his mum and the practicalities of what comes next. Still, he feels a stab of disappointment that Finn hasn’t mentioned this girl before.
“Who is she?”
“She’s called Rebecca. It’s not serious. I’m what you would call a friend with benefits.”
“Shit,” Jack smirks. “Was that a bootie call, man? I mean, go if you want. I don’t want to be responsible for cock-blocking you.”
Finn glares at the television and says nothing and Jack understands whatever it was, it’s pissed Finn off.
He changes the subject.
“Where are your parents?” he asks, plumping up a cushion behind his head.
“On some four month-long cruise. I think they’re somewhere in the Pacific at the moment.”
Jack lifts his head to look at his friend with a smile on his lips. “A cruise? I would not take your parents for the cruising type. Especially your dad.”
Finn seems less amused, his expression darkening. “Yeah, well, my mum inherited some money from my great uncle and said she was going. My dad had little choice in the matter.”
“You mean your mum dragged him? I guess they haven’t been on a holiday for years.”
Finn shakes his head, still staring straight ahead at the screen. “No, it wasn’t that. It’s sort of a last ditch attempt.”
“Attempt at what?”
“Attempt to save their marriage.”
Jack chokes on his beer, coughing twice and swiping his hand across his mouth. “What the fuck?”
Finn swings his gaze to him. “Like I told you, the Amy Omega thing has caused big problems.”
Jack rubs his temple, not following his reasoning. “To their marriage…”
“Yeah, Amy is the only Omega in our family. My dad started questioning things he shouldn’t have.” Finn’s jaw tenses and Jack can see he’s angry.
“Ahh…” Jack takes a slow drink, and watches as fighter jets shoot across the screen. “Your dad did always have the inability to keep his mouth shut. No filter that man, always says what’s on his mind.”
“You can guess that even entertaining that thought did not go down well with my mum.”
“Shit, man. I am sorry.”
Finn nods, continuing to stare at the screen. It certainly explains stuff. “It messed with Amy’s head too, you know. She started questioning things herself, wanting to understand why she’s the only Omega in the family. She started doing research into the family, trying to track back our roots — see if there were any Omegas or Alphas in our ancestry.”
“Were there?”
