Page 17 of Such a Tempting Omega (His Alpha Desires #7)

Liam

We went from zero to a hundred miles an hour, relationship wise, so fast my head was spinning.

The omega had been reluctant, with good reason.

As we spent time together over the next few weeks, he told me more and more about his relationship with his ex, and although he insisted he didn’t want anything said to club management, I couldn’t help myself.

After all, I was club management. Right after I signed the contract to do the landscaping, I signed a second one for an ownership interest in Cuffed.

It was a solid investment and one that excited me.

The other owners were so exciting to work with, enthusiastic about all the expansion plans and quick to step in and work if we were shorthanded.

I’d been behind the bar more than once and worn the dungeon monitor shirt a few times. All very enjoyable.

My company was doing well, the gardens were beginning to come together at Cuffed, and the little side as well as the small native gardens on the outside of the property were looking good.

But of course, nothing compared to the time I spent with my omega, the man of my dreams and the submissive of my fantasies.

We were so suited to one another. While I was nothing like a shibari expert, I had mastered some styles of bondage, and my omega loved watching what I did to him in a mirror or two.

On my way home from an afternoon of supervising erotic garden installation, I was so excited to share my day with Hirsch.

He spent more time at my house than his own these days, and I hoped that when his lease ended—which was coming soon—he’d make the decision to move in permanently.

He was already on my membership for Cuffed, a necessity since Kyle’s had been canceled with no refund.

He’d violated so many rules, we’d had no choice, and I hadn’t minded one bit.

In fact, I’d begged to be the one to inform him, but Andreas pointed out that it might be seen as problematic if he sued to get his money back.

I wasn’t sure he didn’t just want the pleasure of doing it himself.

The lights were all on at my house when I pulled into the garage.

So many, I was surprised that my thrifty omega was running up the energy bill because he was the thriftiest person I’d ever met.

When I started out on my own, I didn’t have much money or good sense at first and survival had been as much luck as skill.

But Hirsch was the one who turned off lights when we left a room, who put a couple of tablespoons of chili left from dinner in the fridge because it was “perfectly good,” and my house’s glow visible from a satellite chilled me to the bones. Who was there?

Had his ex tracked him down? He’d mentioned that Kyle laughed at his care with money and would turn lights on for no reason other than to bother him.

Hell… I slammed the car door and made for the kitchen, prepared to deal with the repercussions of my actions at the club.

To all reports, he hadn’t been going lately anyway, but the notification of his revocation might have gotten him wound up.

Bronson and the others were angry that they hadn’t realized what he was up to and were holding a training with the DMs to work on their observation skills.

From my omega’s descriptions of what had gone on in full view on the main floor at Cuffed, they should have noticed.

But there was no going back to the past—we could only try to do better in future.

The kitchen was aglow with more lights than I realized existed there, including the one over the stove and one at the back of the pantry, but nobody was in the room.

Fingers itching to shut them off, I continued my search for my omega.

In the kitchen doorway, I paused, listening, but no sounds met my ears.

No TV or streaming music, no footsteps or voices. Was that good or bad?

The house felt off, as I checked each downstairs room before heading for the steps to the second floor.

So quiet. Hirsch usually had at least background music on when he was waiting for me to get home.

Most days, I’d find him curled up on a chair in the library with a book or cooking dinner in the kitchen.

Facing the upstairs hallway, I considered calling out.

But if someone was there who should not be, alerting them might be a bad idea.

I glanced over the railing, looking for signs of a problem, but nothing appeared to be out of place.

Pacing down the hallway, every door was open and, again, every light I could see blazing.

I couldn’t understand. Had something scared him?

The master bedroom was no different than the other rooms, with the exception that the bathroom door was closed. And no light emerged from underneath. Real fear curled up my spine. I approached and grasped the knob. Locked. My mouth dried.

“Omega, are you in there?”

At least a minute passed before his wobbly voice whispered, “Yes.”

“Are you alone?”

“Uh-huh.”

Hmm. “Are you all right?”

“Yes, no…I’m not sure.”

“Can I come in?” Because I wasn’t learning anything out here except that he was okay or not okay but couldn’t confirm which. “Please?”

A click preceded the twist of the knob, and the door glided inward.

To darkness. This was about as strange as anything I could imagine.

But I didn’t want to make whatever happened any worse than it already was.

So I entered the darkness carefully, not wanting to step on or bump into him.

Was he hurt? Upset? “Hirsch, where are you?”

“Here.” The voice came from the direction of the tub. “Hi, Liam.”

“Hi. Is there something you want to tell me? Like, why the house is lit up and you’re sitting here in pitch blackness?

” The en suite was in the middle of the house and only had a skylight—which didn’t do anything to brighten the space on a moonless night like tonight.

A glance up did show a few stars, but their light was too far away to help.

“It’s hard to explain.”

As I followed his voice, I could see the faint outline of his slumped form sitting on the edge of the tub. “Can I sit with you, and we’ll figure out how to fix whatever has you so spooked?”

“I guess.” He spoke so low, without shifter hearing, I’d never have been able to make it out.

When I was seated next to him, thighs touching, I reached for his hand and tucked it inside mine. “Now, tell your alpha what is going on. Who do I need to kill? Kyle? Has he been here?”

Despite his obvious unease, his fingers relaxed in my grasp. “No, although there was a time when I’d have been not too opposed to his demise. It’s not that.”

“Then what? I can’t fix anything if I don’t know what it is. I can’t do my job.” I kissed the top of his head and put my free arm around him. “What has my practical omega so upset that he’d spend five dollars in electricity for no good reason?”

He jerked, trying to get free. “I turned on all the lights. I don’t even know why except I was totally freaked out. I’ll pay you back. I need to go turn them off.”

I held him close, refusing to let him up until I learned what was going on.

Now that I knew nobody was here threatening him, that worry was going, but it didn’t resolve the real issue.

“No, what you need to do is let me in on the secret that has you huddled in the shadows of the bathroom before my imagination goes wild and I start looking for threats in the shower.”

“There’s nothing in the shower.” He chuckled then went silent. “But there is something I have to tell you.” He pressed a stick of some kind into my hand. “You can turn on the light.”

What on earth? But I wasn’t willing to wait another second to find out why Hirsch was so upset. So I let go of his hand, reached up, and hit the light switch over the sink and then everything came clear in a flash.

The stick had come from a box on the counter. And while I’d never had reason to use one before, I knew enough to recognize that two pluses could mean only a single thing. “You’re pregnant.”

“I’m sorry.”

I dropped to my knees in front of him and looked up at his face, eyes red and swollen, cheeks streaked with tearstains.

“Omega, why are you sorry to be having our child? Don’t you want young?

” We’d never talked about it, but I’d always assumed that we’d have children if the goddess was kind.

Maybe he would prefer not to. “I’m sorry I never asked.

I should have used protection if you would rather not have young.

I should have taken your wishes into account, or at least found out what they were. ”

“Aren’t you mad?” He sniffled and wiped the back of his hand over his nose. “It was my responsibility to make sure nothing happened.”

“I’m not sure why you feel that way.”

“Kyle said—”

“I should have known. Omega, Kyle is an asshole.” I didn’t even know him in person, but I knew that. “And I want to know your wishes, your dreams, and whether you want to have a baby with me.”

“It’s my choice?”

“It’s your body and our life together.”

“I-I want this baby. But what do you think?”

I scooped him up in my arms and swung him around. “I think you’re smart and handsome and going to make the best daddy ever.”

“I’ll do my best. You’re sure you’re happy?”

Carrying him to the bedroom, I flipped off a couple of lights on the way just to avoid being blinded.

“I never thought I could be happier than I was since meeting and mating you. But you just proved me wrong. I love you so much, omega, and this baby is the icing on the cake. Who shall we tell first? I want all our friends to share this job because it’s too much to contain. ”

“Maybe we can just know ourselves for tonight?”

“If that’s what you want to do, I’ll try hard, but tomorrow, all our friends are going to know how brilliant my omega is.”

His laughter was life to me. “It’s not like I came up with the concept, Liam. I love you so much.”

I peppered his face with kisses then added a few to his flat belly. “Love you, omega, and you, too, tiny baby. I can’t wait to meet you in person.”