Page 18 of Knot Only For One Night

Well. Then we press on.

“...bouts of need. But no heat yet.”

“So we have time.” He smiles, and I feel my body calm a bit.

I nod and pop a small cookie piece into my mouth.

“You’ve never had one? Try one,” I say, trying to lighten the mood a bit. I gesture toward his untouched piece of heaven, and he takes the huge bite I wish I would have.

Well, take it, then!

Following his lead, I do. I ignore the part of my brain insisting I need to be “feminine” and “dainty” by taking a small bite. Like taking a big bite of food is a big deal. If he wants to be my heat partner, I have to feel comfortable with him.

“So, interior design? Tell me about that.”

Neven nibbles on his cookie while I spring off the launchpad, telling him all about my courses and my goals. The hope that one day I’ll be designing businesses and helping create spaces that offer comfort and sales.

Neven listens. His eyes don’t drift off, his body stays facing me the entire time, and he probably would let me prattle on all day. I’m almost tempted to, honestly. He’s just such a good listener and I can't seem to stop talking.

But I need to get to know him as much as he needs to know me.

“Okay, Neven, tell me about you. Computer programming is cool. Where do you want to go with that?”

“Ahh, well, I actually enjoy breaking things—programs. Finding what makes them tick. It’s quite interesting how strong—or how weak—systems can be.” His easygoing calm goes tense, all of a sudden. “But don’t worry. I didn’t hack the Seekers app. It is quite secure.” He laughs nervously, and I can’t help but smile and nod for him to keep going.

“What do you like to hack into?”

“Typically company mainframes. Their websites. It started off as an exercise in ‘could I do it,’ and now they pay me to break their systems. I enjoy my work a lot.”

“So you’re already being paid for it. That’s amazing.”

“Yeah,” he smiles, but this one is different. The corner of his lips don’t quite reach as far as his smile did before. He taps his thumb on the tabletop.

“So why college?”

“That is quite the loaded question, Omega.”

The nickname makes my stomach drop right to my pussy. Oh my God, that is so damn hot coming from his lips.

“That it is,” I say, taking another cookie. I shake my head a bit, trying not to let my scent give away how much I liked that nickname. “You might want to grab yours before I eat them all.”

“I got them all for you.”

I melt into the booth seat, trying not to perfume. Cookies aren’t… well, maybe they are panty-dropping, but the fact he bought them without a second thought. Every one they had. As natural as breathing. Wow. That is so damn hot.

“Are you sure—” Offering a cookie is on the tip of my tongue, but he raises an eyebrow and I stop. “Thank you.”

“Anytime.”

“So why college?”

“In this field it opens up more opportunities.” He shrugs. That makes sense. I could totally see that. “Why college for you?”

“I got a full ride,” I blurt. That earns me a chuckle. “Well, I applied because my dad—one of my dads, Col, wanted me to seek higher education. To have something to fall back onto. He says having a degree, regardless of what it’s in, will be helpful in any job market. I don’t know how much I believe that, but what I will say is that being surrounded by people with the same interests as me is really nice.”

“Fall back in case of?”

I mull over the question. “Maybe that being an omega doesn’t take over my life? I’m not sure. Maybe in case design doesn’t work out? My mom is an omega and she was a jeweler or wanted to be. She didn’t end up pursuing her dreams until I was in high school. Despite my dads’ encouragement to make it work.” I shrug, trying not to dump too much on my first date but probably failing.