Page 152 of Omega's Heart

“You miss it? Living in the country?”

“My family’s all back there,” he explained.

“I was born here,” she said, but if she was going to add anything more, it was cut off by the door opening and the senator gently ushering his visitor into the outer office with such skill that Kaden, who was watching for it, hardly noticed it happening. It was almost as if the other person had naturally decided to leave at that time, instead of the senator trying to stick to a schedule.

Someone else came in the door at the same time as the first person was leaving, then another staffer rushed in. The office was chaos.

But somehow the senator noticed Kaden in his chair and said, “Kaden? You need me?”

“Just for a minute.”

“Come on in.” The politician glanced over at the newcomer. “Arthur, I’ll be right with you. Grab a coffee while you’re waiting.” Then he beckoned Kaden into his office.

Kaden limped in, his knee twinging from too much time in one position.

“Sit down. Leg bothering you?”

“Just need to remember to get up and stretch every once in a while.” But he did take the chair the senator offered. “Do you need me in the office for the next couple of days?” He thought about it and amended the timeframe to, “Until Monday, anyway.”

“Has something happened in the pack?” The senator leaned back in his chair, but his eyes were as sharp as knives, watching for opportunity. Kaden had never doubted, right from their first meeting, that this man was as big a predator as any alpha in the pack.

Kaden waved him off casually. “No, it’s more personal. Nothing bad.” He debated whether to say anything, but realized that he would have to give a reason. And maybe the real reason was as good as anything else. And relatively harmless. “My mate and I are trying for a baby. It’s a…seasonal thing with us, so we only really have this one chance or we have to wait until next year to try again.” Not entirely true, but this wasn’t either the time or the place to get into detailed descriptions of shifter biology.

“Congratulations!” But Kaden saw the flash of calculation before the man could hide it. Everything’s political currency. “If you could have that health care report to me on Monday, I think that would be fine. And I want you to drop in on Andy Somers before you go today and find out why he’s changed his mind on the digital delivery levy. If you can convince him to change it back, so much the better. There’s no need for it to be that high.”

“Sure.” It would mean waiting until this evening to fly out, which could make things tight for getting back to the enclave. And the health care thing would have him working over the weekend, which was something Kaden did his best not to do. But he was asking for a favor, putting himself in the subordinate position, and in the senator’s place, he likely would have taken advantage of it too. “I’ll go see Andy and let you know what he says, then grab a plane.”

The senator nodded and picked up a pen, signaling the end of the interview.

C H A P T E R 8 3

I spent the rest of the day pacing around the apartment. I couldn’t settle down to anything, couldn’t finish a household task, couldn’t sew, couldn’t clean. I’d made and unmade the bed at least a half dozen times, trying to decide between being prepared and looking over-eager. But most of all, I was just killing time until Kaden arrived. I hoped he wouldn’t take too long.

At nearly ten at night, I heard a rattling at the doorknob. I bolted into the bedroom and held the door almost closed, peering out through the crack I left between the door and frame. By rights, the only person who should have been coming through that door at this time of night was Kaden, but I hadn’t heard anything from him since he’d texted me that he was getting on the plane. Usually, he messaged me when he was leaving Memphis, so I would know when to expect him, but tonight there’d been nothing.

So I hid and hoped he’d just forgotten.

My head spun with relief when I heard him in the living room. “Felix?”

“It’s you!” I let the door swing open again so he could see me, and I could see him. He was wearing his blue suit today, tie half undone, jacket hanging open, the fabric lying close and flat against the planes of his body. I shivered in anticipation. He didn’t even have his clothes off yet, but in my mind’s eye, I could already see him without them.

That’s just the hormones.

Smart hormones.

“Sorry, there was some stuff I needed to finish, and then the first plane was already full when I got to the airport and I ended up with two connections, but otherwise I wouldn’t have been here until tomorrow.” He left his suitcase by the door and walked into the middle of the living room. I watched as his lips parted and he scented the air, tasting it with the small organ in the roofs of our mouths, leftovers from a long-ago time. His eyes went dark and I, in turn, could taste his hunger in the air, but he was an alpha and he controlled himself. “I’m here now.”

“Are you hungry? Do you want some food?” I hoped not.

“No, I made sure I ate at the airport.” He walked toward me, a hunter’s walk, even with the false leg. “Why are you dressed?”

I laughed and went to him and he kissed me the way I wanted to be kissed at that moment, hard, brooking no resistance. “I’ve been waiting for my mate, who was supposed to text me when he got home.”

“Oops,” Kaden mumbled and kissed me again, squeezing my ass with both hands. “But now you know I’m here.” He sighed and nuzzled at the side of my neck, and my eyes closed as he set off tiny bombs of pleasure over my skin. “And, again—why are you dressed?”

“My mate’s lazy and won’t help me get undressed,” I whispered, stretching my neck up farther to give him more room to work.

The next thing I knew my jeans were around my ankles and his full hand was cupping my balls. “Come along, omega,” he said evenly. I choked and opened my eyes to find him watching me with a wicked glint in his. And then he said words that made the world disappear around me, except for him. “Let’s put a baby in here.” He slid his hand up until his fingers were splayed over the slight curve of my lower belly, over the bed of my womb.