Page 11 of In Deep

“What?” he chuckles.

“It all sounds–”

“It’s good for you.”

“Broccoli smoothie is good for you?”

“Yep – as long as they don’t add loads of extra sugar.”

“Hmmm …”

“Want me to choose something for you?”

“As long as it has no broccoli or carrots in it, yes.”

He shakes his head and slides out of the booth, going to order at the counter.

I watch him chat with ease to the server, noting the way she looks up at him through her eyelashes and fiddles with her hair. I bet they know each other.

He smiles at me when he returns and my stomach does that uncontrollable flipping thing. It’s like magic. Like a magic switch. He smiles at me, my stomach responds. How is that possible?

“How often do you train?” I ask him when he’s back into his seat.

“Every day.”

“Every day? You don’t get a day off?”

He cocks his head and examines me. “You know it’s really competitive, right? If I’m not prepared to train every day, there’ll be someone else who is.”

I chew the inside of my cheek. Everybody else knows this stuff. But everyone else comes from a different world.

“Do you like it? The rowing, I mean?”

“Mostly,” he chuckles, “Sometimes I fucking hate it. It can be brutal out there on the river in winter. But this time of year, it’s really beautiful down there. You been out on the river?” I shake my head. “You never gave rowing a go? I thought everyone at least tried it in their Freshers’ week.”

“Not me.”

“I’ll take you.”

The waitress arrives with two large glasses filled to the brim with a pink, thick liquid, so I’m saved from responding.

Zane slides mine towards me. I give it a cautious sniff.

“I promise it’s not going to kill you.”

“It might give me indigestion for a week!”

He laughs. “Try it, Omega.”

My eyes leap to him at the sound of that name. He must see the shock on my face because he lifts a palm.

“I’m sorry, it just slipped out. It’s kind of hard to be around you and not be thinking about the fact you’re an omega. You smell so sweet.”

My cheeks burn furiously, and I dip my head and take a long gulp of the cold drink. Strawberries dominate the flavour and I lick some from my bottom lip.

“I use blockers,” I tell him. In fact, I’ve taken a whole fuck load before coming to meet him tonight.

He shrugs. “I’ve gotten good at picking up scents beneath blockers. It’s both a blessing and a curse,” he chuckles.