Page 61 of The Runaway
He set off along the river, in the opposite direction from the one they’d gone yesterday. The forest was thicker here, though there was a path along the water’s edge where previous floods had left the ground relatively clear of vegetation. He wandered for about half an hour, letting his gaze roam over wildflower beds and trailing clumps of lichen, small birds flitting in and out of the undergrowth and the ever-present ripple of the water. Finally, he found an outcrop of rock and he climbed on top of it, sitting down to let his thoughts catch up to him. But the first thought to pop into his mind only served to increase his frustration; a low throbbing in his trousers gave him the idea that he should have brought his bandage with him, to relieve the persistent ache in his groin. Too bad he was half an hour too late to make use of that particular idea.
He splayed his legs out on the rock, leaning back to try and ease the pressure on his cock. The swimming lessons had clearly been a bad idea, putting so much of Connor’s naked flesh on display. He had another two, maybe three days before they needed to head back to the estate, and he was accomplishing absolutely nothing except driving himself even more up the wall with this obscene obsession with Connor. He’d never felt anything close to this level of desire for an omega before, and for the life of him, he couldn’t figure out why Connor had made such an impression now.
???
It was beginning to get dark when Connor heard footsteps, and he looked up to see Gabriel’s tall, lanky figure strolling out of the forest. Connor smiled up at him, aware that he’d been in a tense mood when he’d left and hoping he was feeling better now. But a brief half-smile was the only greeting he received, so he looked away, going back to his task of lighting the fire. He wished there was some way he could help, something he could say to make Gabriel understand that he wasn’t responsible for the entire world.
Once the fire was going, he pulled out the bag of food, rummaging through it for something suitable for dinner. There was another loaf of bread. Two more large potatoes, though those would be more interesting to eat if they could catch some more fish. Maybe tomorrow. There was also more dried fruit, but Connor would prefer to eat that for breakfast. But there was still something heavy in the bottom of the bag, and he rooted around to see what it was. A fist-sized package came out next, wrapped in wax cloth, and he unwrapped it…
“Holy shit!” he said, staring down at the pale yellow lump. “We have cheese!” The estate made a hard cheese from cows’ milk, thanks to the two jersey cows who were milked all through the summer, and once pressed and matured, it would last for months if it was stored in a cool place. Thankfully, the spring temperatures hadn’t warmed up enough to have spoiled it.
“Where the hell did you get that?” Gabriel asked, coming over to have a closer look.
“It was in the bottom of the food bag. Didn’t you have a look yesterday?”
“Yeah, but I stopped halfway down. I assumed it was just more of the same. What else is in there?”
Connor reached in again, this time pulling out a long, narrow package that looked suspiciously like…
“Dry-cured pork sausage,” he said triumphantly, setting it beside the bread and cheese. There was one last item in the bag, wrapped snugly in a thick, woollen cloth, and Connor unwrapped it to discover…
“Fuck me, they gave us a bottle of wine!” Gabriel blurted out, as he stared at the item.
“Wow,” Connor said. Although, to be fair, this had been packed when Adalene had believed it would only be Gabriel going on the journey. It had likely never been intended for Connor to eat any of this.
Gabriel grinned, putting the rest of the food away, but leaving out the bread, cheese, sausage and the wine. “Looks like we’re all set for dinner, then.”
We.Weare set for dinner, he’d said. But maybe he just meant for Connor to eat the bread, while Gabriel had the cheese and sausage? Such things were too expensive to be given to omegas.
Not wanting an answer to the question just yet, lest it be too disappointing, Connor took out their plates and cut neat slices of bread from the loaf. It was something to do with his hands while he worried about what to say about the rest of the food.
Gabriel was fussing about with something while he worked, and then he heard the loud pop of a cork coming out of the wine bottle. The slosh of liquid into a cup followed, and Connor kept his head down, focusing on his task.
But then a cup appeared in front of him. “Here you go,” Gabriel said, when he didn’t immediately take it.
Connor stared back at him in bafflement. “I can’t drink that,” he said, still not taking the cup from him.
Gabriel frowned. “You don’t like it?”
“No, it’s not that. It’s just… I’m an omega.”
“So?”
“Omegas don’t drink wine.” According to most people, it was like feeding caviar to a dog – a complete waste of time and money. The cheese and meat was already pushing it, but wine? It was preposterous.
Gabriel shrugged and set the cup down on the log beside Connor. “I wouldn’t recommend you drink too much of it, if you’re not used to it. But if it’s merely a question of what you’reallowedto do, then I think between you and me, we’ve well and truly rewritten the rules on that one.” It was true; there was almost nothing they’d done in the last few days that fitted into the traditional roles of alphas and omegas. Connor hadn’t been expected to wait on Gabriel or do all the menial work. They slept in the same tent, they ate the same food, and Gabriel had spent his time teaching Connor to swim – something that was usually considered to be beneath the notice of an alpha and too elevated for an omega.
“But…”
“But?”
“But youownme,” Connor said. It didn’t really explain anything, but at the same time, it was the crux of the problem. Connor was too lowly to be given such a gift.
Gabriel blinked at him. “Then as your owner, I am formally giving you permission to drink some of the wine.” He said it so casually, like he was simply discussing the weather.
Connor gaped at him for a moment, then gave up and just laughed. “Fine,” he said, picking up the cup and taking a small sip. “Far be it for me to refuse my master.”
He’d meant the comment as a joke. But Gabriel’s smile faded. He poured a second cup of wine and set the bottle down. “You could, you know,” he said, looking at Connor seriously.