Page 38 of They Love Me Knot (Starsfalls Omegaverse #2)

Sterling

K ieran moves the saltshaker away after I knock it over for the fourth time because I keep fiddling with it. He doesn’t comment, simply wiping away the spilled salt again.

I switch to twisting up the napkin in my lap, furling and unfurling the fabric to take my mind off the wait.

We got to I’m Just a Grill early to make sure we had the table ready for Daphne, but all that means for me is I’m making a mess of our table instead of pacing around anxiously at home or drumming my fingers on everything in reach on the ride over.

At least Kieran stopped me from running my hands through my hair and mussing it up.

So here I sit, hair perfectly straight and glossy, waiting for my omega to arrive.

Kieran is nervous too, but he’s keeping it together better than I am.

He was so confident when we asked Daphne out. Kieran was entranced by her, as I knew he would be, but unlike my messy introduction to Daphne, he was suave. She didn’t even try to run from him .

Daphne didn’t run from me either when we asked her out. And she was ecstatic about the cookies.

I tug at my pants to adjust things. It’s like I’m turning into Feliks with his fixation on food, though I’m sure he’s never been turned on by the thought of someone eating like this.

I need to get myself under control. Daphne isn’t even here yet, and I’m already acting like a horny idiot. She probably still thinks that’s all I am based on our first meeting. If my cock is hard every time I’m around her, she’ll…

Well, I’m not sure what she’ll think. Maybe she’ll like that once she gets to know me? I know people don’t want random dicks pointing at them all the time, but hopefully Daphne will think it’s a compliment that I’m so captivated by her?

First, I have to show her I care about more than just her body.

I need to be interesting and funny and charming to make up for my earlier fumbles.

That shouldn’t be difficult. I just have to make a few jokes.

But not too many.

And hope the jokes match her sense of humor.

I have to be interesting as well.

I know she likes my baking, but she probably expects me to have more interests than that.

Which I don’t. I do like using flowers and herbs in my baking, so we have a love of plants at least.

Isn’t that boring though? A guy who loves baking and plants?

What other hobbies do I have, watching movies, playing games? Those are generic too .

I spend most of my time baking or thinking about recipes, even when I’m at home.

I should’ve developed interesting hobbies before now, so Daphne won’t think I’m dull. Why didn’t I plan ahead for this??

There’s a tearing sound, and for no reason at all, I decide I should probably stop playing with my napkin.

Kieran watches as I calmly set my untorn napkin back on the table.

“So, are you ready for this?” he asks suddenly, making me jump.

“What?!” I clear my throat and lower my voice before continuing, hoping the other diners will stop staring at me if I’m quieter.

“Ready for what? What do you think is going to happen?” I lean forward intently.

“Ready for the date, Sterling. You’ve talked to Daphne several times now, and she’s interested in seeing you. You don’t need to be this worried,” Kieran says.

“I’ll remind you that the first time we met she ran away, and she didn’t see me again willingly!”

More heads turn in our direction. I feel my face heat. I really thought I had my voice modulated correctly.

Kieran muffles a laugh, although I’m not sure what’s so funny. This is serious business! The most serious thing we’ve ever done: trying to woo our omega!

And I didn’t mean to sound so stalkery again. Or kidnappery.

I would never do either, especially not to Daphne. Except for finding out who she is and where she works so I could ask her, politely and civilly, to go out on a date.

There’s no one else I’d rather stalk and kidnap.

No. No kidnapping. We asked her on a nice normal date, like nice normal alphas.

And she agreed to go out with us of her own free will, no pressure from our side (cookies can’t be counted as bribery, they’re too delicious).

If Daphne decides she doesn’t want to see us again after this date, we’ll leave her alone.

I hope she shows up though. Shouldn’t she be here by now? Isn’t it a bad sign that she’s not?

I check my phone, but it’s still twenty minutes before she’s supposed to meet us. With a sigh, I put it away. Okay, so she’s not late. That’s good.

Not that I care if she is late, as long as she comes.

“Try to take deep breaths, Sterling. I’m sure she’s just as embarrassed about your first meeting as you are,” Kieran reassures me, squeezing my arm to distract me from my rapid inhales.

He squeezes my arm rhythmically in time with my breaths, holding and releasing until I’m breathing normally again.

“I don’t want her to be embarrassed. I just want her to give us a chance,” I finally answer.

“I think she is. Don’t worry, we’ll all charm her. Even Ciro will eventually, when he pulls his head out of his ass.”

I laugh at that, a brief bark of noise. Ciro is a great person, and he’ll be a great partner when he isn’t tying himself in knots, tangled in the remains of his previous relationship.

I can’t blame him for that, even now. I know if I lost Daphne, I would be devastated for the rest of my life, pining after her.

But Ciro’s ex-omega wasn’t the right match for him, just like that pack wasn’t. We’re his pack, and I know he’ll see that Daphne is the mate for him.

The currents shift, and I catch her scent under the air purifiers.

I’m on my feet looking for Daphne without even thinking about it. Kieran and I must spot her at the same time because we take off together.

The hostess is just directing her to our table, and Kieran says we’ll take it from here, but I’m hardly listening, too busy staring at Daphne.

She’s beautiful, her cheeks flushed and eyes bright. Damp hair winds around her shoulders and down her dress. Some of the water soaked into the fabric, making it cling to her breasts and tight nipples.

My mouth salivates like I’m about to try a recipe I’ve been perfecting for weeks, and I think I’ve finally found the one.

I don’t want to embarrass myself in public, so I force my eyes away from her chest, following the lines of the otherwise flowy dress to where it ends just above her knees, and then down her muscular calves to her tiny feet in little strappy shoes that look like they’re barely doing anything at all.

I’m still staring at her feet as Kieran greets her. “You look gorgeous, Daphne. Thank you for meeting with us. We didn’t make you rush after work, did we?”

Am I into feet?

Kieran moves closer, like he’s open to hugging Daphne, but not too close like it’s an expectation. She could easily ignore his advance without it being awkward if she doesn’t want to hug.

I take mental notes on his stance. It’s smart of him to see if she’s interested in physical touch yet.

Daphne blushes and looks down, but she leans toward him. I watch as they go in for a hug, Daphne’s small body dwarfed by Kieran’s.

Seeing him wrap his arms around her makes my cock throb, and then Kieran’s surprised face is in mine as I join their hug, pressing up against Daphne, my hands around her hips and hard cock flush against her ass.

I grunt in surprise to find myself here, once again unaware of my body’s decision to get as close to Daphne as possible.

When I realize what I’ve done, I start to think about maybe perhaps moving away so she’s not overwhelmed, since I gave no indication I was going to hug her, but then Daphne wiggles between us, and all thought melts away.

Daphne whimpers and pushes her ass back into my cock, rolling her hips forward to rub against Kieran. Based on his low rumbling growl and the lust radiating from him in the bond, he’s enjoying this as much as I am. Daphne’s perfume is evident even under the descenters and air purifiers.

I growl too and press closer, her generous ass enveloping my cock as much as possible with the layers of cloth between us. I grip her hips more firmly and lift her up and down, grinding her against us. Kieran groans, stroking her stomach and the area just below her breasts.

Daphne whimpers, clutching Kieran’s biceps and reaching back to grab the lapel of my jacket. She tilts her head back, dilated eyes staring into mine, plush lips parted tantalizingly.

Just as I’m leaning down for a taste, a giggly voice says something nearby.

My head snaps up, a silent snarl on my face, annoyed that someone is so close to my omega, irritated they could be smelling her delectable arousal.

I can’t see who it is around Kieran, and he looks over his shoulder to say, “We can find the table on our own, thank you.”

“Are you ready to eat?” Kieran turns back to ask our omega in a cooing voice.

She nods enthusiastically.

“I want to go first,” I say, getting to my knees.

Kieran grabs my shoulder to keep me upright and pushes me away from Daphne.

I glare at him. Why is he trying to separate us?

“We’ll eat at the table ,” Kieran emphasizes.

I frown at him. Why do we need to put our omega on a table to eat her? I could be doing it already right here if he weren’t stopping me.

“Come on, Daphne, we ordered some charcuterie to start us off, it should be out soon,” Kieran says, taking her hand.

She nods and wraps herself around his arm.

Daphne moves away, cold air rushing in to replace her warmth. The cold caressing my cock jolts my system, and I vaguely recall that there is a reason I shouldn’t be eating my omega right here, right now.

I hurry to follow as they walk away, remembering we’re in a restaurant with dozens of people around. The hostess lets us pass without further comment or giggles, though she has a smile on her face as she studiously avoids looking at us.

I stay close to Daphne and Kieran not just because they’re hopefully blocking my erection from sight, but also because I don’t want to leave my omega’s side.

We make it to our table without incident and help Daphne into her seat. I drag my chair over next to hers. Kieran’s eyes crinkle in amusement as he watches me. He leaves his chair where it is on the other side of the table.

The server takes our drink orders, but I barely notice, too busy watching Daphne. I make sure to memorize what she gets, wisteria cordial, and play with the ends of her damp hair while I listen.

Daphne leans into me.

Kieran clears his throat, distracting me from trying to kiss her, and stop myself from going any further than hair fondling.

“Sorry about the…overly enthusiastic greeting. We’ve missed you. I hope we didn’t come on too strong,” Kieran says after the server leaves.

“No, you didn’t come on me too much. I mean, come on me too strong. Or too much. It’s fine,” Daphne stutters, blushing so hard I feel the heat against my chest where she’s almost lying on me.

Kieran chuckles, and I grin, happy she enjoyed it. It’s a stark change from our first meeting, when she didn’t want to be near me. I intended to be casual and cool on this date, getting to know Daphne before purposefully trying to get her on my lap again.

Of course, my best-laid plans have already gone to waste.

I’ve never acted like this before, but with Daphne sitting so close, her scent sneaking out, it’s making me want to act like a stereotypical rutting alpha.

I need to keep myself in check, no matter how irresistible Daphne is.

I want to show her who I am, even though I may not have many hobbies outside of work, I’m more than just my knot.

I’d really love to show her that. She was interested a few minutes ago.

I want to do things to make her feel good.

Just rubbing up against my omega got her excited, imagine how good I could make her feel with a concentrated effort using my hands and lips and tongue and eventually cock when she’s ready for it.

Then I’d lock my omega to me so she can’t escape the pleasure while I fill her with my come and brand her as mine.

I growl against my omega’s lips, and she opens them for me to push my tongue inside, tasting her warm vanilla, almost like caramel. Her little hands clutch and claw at the front of my shirt as I deepen the kiss, tilting her head back with my fist in her hair.

Kieran buzzes in my ear, saying something, but I’m not sure why he’s wasting his breath when he could be using that energy to make our omega feel good.

I guess he could be dirty talking her, I’m too out of it to tell.

Kieran grabs the back of my neck, pulling me away from my omega. I release her lips to glare at him. If he wanted a turn, he should’ve been patient and waited or kissed her somewhere else until I was done.

He’s pushing at me in the bond too, trying to get my attention. My omega has her face buried in my neck, and I wrap my arm around her to hold her close.

“We’re in the middle of a restaurant, Sterling, you can’t do this here. I doubt everyone wants to watch a live sex show,” Kieran says quietly.

I glare harder at him. He’s making no sense. The only one here is my omega, and she needs me, I can tell.

Her little tongue licks across my collarbone, and my cock jerks like she licked it instead, making my whole body twitch.

I try to get back to kissing her, but Kieran still has ahold of me. He glances down at Daphne, nostrils flaring, and even if I couldn’t see the lust tightening his face, his feelings in the bond make it obvious he’s barely restraining himself from stripping our omega down right now .

And I don’t know why.

Kieran sees my confusion and pushes at me in the bond, a puzzling mix of warning thoughts and images of strangers, neither of which I can make sense of. I don’t want to think about other people right now, and I don’t understand how Kieran could be thinking about them.

A bite on my chest and nails raking over my ribs push his thoughts out of my head.

I grab Kieran’s wrist and twist his hand off my neck. If he doesn’t want to join in, then he can watch.

I pull my omega up for another kiss, pressing my lips hard against hers for teasing me like that.

She’s even more impatient than I am.

I like that.

Her slick tongue against mine.

Soft, pliant skin under my hands.

Vanilla flower scent in my nose.

Need more.

More .