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“Omega! Stop this!” She starts out resisting, but once I drag her through the living room area, she knows this is real. She has to get out of here, one way or the other.
Once on the other side of the threshold, I push Rosae’s coat toward her, which she refuses to take into her arms as if that will stop me from making her leave. I release it from my hand, and she dives to catch it before it falls to the ground.
“Don’t come back here, Rosae!” I say sternly. If she didn’t know before, she should know now that we are done.
“Omeg—”
Slamming the door in Rosae’s face, I stalk over to Astalia and look into her eyes. She looks more confused than hurt.
“I’m so sorry about that, Astalia. She should have never come here. I asked her not to come back here.”
Astalia takes a tiny step back as if she’s unsure whether to stay or go. “How do I know that won’t be me in a few months?”
I look into Astalia’s worried eyes and feel crushed that she has to ask me that question. “It won’t be you, but there’s no way for me to prove that to you right now. You will just have to trust me.”
“Trust…” she laughs. “I don’t trust easily. But I digress, I shouldn’t feel any type of way about her being here, Omega. It’s not like you owe me an explanation for it, but I have to admit that seeing her arms wrapped around you upset me, and I don’t understand why it did.”
That she felt something for me was all the encouragement I needed to cover the ground I lost with her figuratively and literally, taking a step forward myself. “It’s because the chemistry growing between us is something we both recognize. Once you wrapped your soft and warm arms around me, I knew they would be the only ones I wanted on me from then on.”
A smile dances on her lips before she consciously wipes it away. “But she came over here. Why did she feel comfortable enough to do that?”
At that moment, I wanted to really strangle Rosae for causing this dissension between Astalia and me, as if we didn’t have enough hurdles to cross. “I haven’t talked to her in months. She said she was lonely, and because it was the holidays, she wanted to spend some time with me, but I don’t care about that. What I care about is you…us.”
“What about us? We’re just two people who just met.”
“Do you really believe that?”
She swallows hard as if torn, or just doesn’t know what to say. Leaving the question unanswered is better than a flat out yes.
I still have a chance to prove the thing growing between us is so much more than a fling, and I grab the opportunity while it’s available. “Listen, you agreed to spend every night with me until Christmas, and I need you to know I wouldn’t do anything to make you uncomfortable. Truth is, my main goal is and has always been to bring a smile to your face. I also don’t want to spend the holidays with anyone but you.?
? The magnetic draw I feel to Astalia is magnified by a thousand at this moment. I want to take away all of her doubts and make her understand I only want to be with her.
I palm the sides of her face into my much larger hands, and her eyes draw to mine. I may not be able to get through to her with words, but looking into my eyes, I want her to see the commitment staring back at her.
“Omega, you don’t have to pretend this is more than what it is. I fully understand why you want me here every night. And at this point, I’m extremely attracted to you, and I’ve had feelings that I haven’t had in years when I’m with you.” God only knows what it took for her to admit that.
“Do you really understand why I want you here?” I ask, continuing to hold her face as I gaze into her eyes.
“You want what every man wants. Sex. No commitment. Freedom. I mean, let’s be honest. I came to you with a proposition, and you agreed to it, then countered with a proposition of your own for me to spend nine nights with you. You don’t have to pretend that you don’t want sex. It’s obvious.”
It bothers me that she thinks I only want her for sex. I have to shut this idea down immediately. “You’re the only one pretending, Astalia.”
She steps away from me and out of my grasp. “What do you mean by that?”
“I have spoken my truth to you. I want to spend the holidays with you, every minute of it. But you want me to pretend to be something I’m not to your mother because you are uncomfortable with letting her know exactly who you are—a beautiful, single woman who is sad, frustrated and nervous about the things you’ve told her. So don’t get me wrong. I wanted you from the start, but after hearing your situation, I want to be here for you, Astalia. I’m man enough to say that I want you like crazy, but we also don’t have to have sex, ever. If you prefer I keep my hands to myself, I will.”
“Omega, you don’t know how much I needed to hear that.” She steps back into my arm’s reach. “I—” She pauses and stares at me as if there is a war going on inside of her. It’s obvious which side wins when she grabs ahold of my face and kisses me like there’s no tomorrow, showing me rather than telling me that she’s all for at least a night of fun. “When I walked through that door, all I wanted was to kiss you like that again.” Her admission gives me some relief, but I need her to be sure, have no regrets about us because I’m not in it just for a night. I want a lifetime with her.
“I’ve been craving the same thing all day. But listen, I’m serious about being there for you. We don’t have to do anything extra.”
Astalia takes a step back and then two more. In a surprise move, she slips the long sweater she’s wearing over her head, revealing she is not wearing a bra. My mouth waters as I take in her luscious hard nipples. My eyes go to hers as I try to read what she is thinking. I see only desire in her orbs, and she is beckoning me with them.
I waste no time following the path she took when walking away from me. All control is lost when I reach her. “Be sure you want to do this for the right reason, Astalia.”
“What’s the right reason?” she whispers.
“Because you want me so badly I’m damn near the air you breathe instead of oxygen. Because you’re no longer thinking short term about us but giving us a real shot at long term.”
