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Remi’s knuckles were already showing early signs of bruising and swelling a little. He pressed his bruised hand to the cold metal of the bus stop shelter, letting the cold soothe the ache in his knuckles for a few minutes until his bus arrived and he had to hop on. He had to take two connections before he finally arrived at the stop closest to the restaurant. As Remi stepped off the bus and onto the curb, he looked around at all the fancy shops, bars and clubs, and the equally extravagant people, dressed to the nines as they walked down the streets. Remi checked his phone, and saw that he was already more than twenty minutes late. He took off at a run, sprinting the two blocks to the doors of Harmonie.
Remi paused for a few moments outside the restaurant. He caught his breath and smoothed his hair back, trying to bolster himself up with courage. He knew there was a good chance that the alpha he was meeting might turn him down, and he tried to prepare himself for that possibility. Remi soothed himself with the knowledge that the alpha had picked him, and that was something. He’d felt such an unusually strong attraction to Dimitrios after he’d seen his photo, that being rejected by him would probably make his inner omega wither with shame.
Remi set those thoughts aside and straightened his shoulders, trying to look more confident than he felt. It was one thing to confront an asshole on the subway, but quite a different matter to face down an alpha he was actually attracted to. Remi was more accustomed to trying to shut alphas down and turn them away than to invite them closer. He took one last deep breath, and opened the door.
Remi stepped inside and was met by a maître d’ in a suit nicer than anything he owned. Jesus, even the waitstaff were dressed better than him. But he simply looked up at the man and smiled slightly.
“How may I help you, sir?” The host asked with a slight incline of his head.
Remi had to suppress an urge to laugh at the pompous way he was addressed. He wasn’t used to being treated like an actual adult. He was just a college student, and the most adult thing he’d ever done was apply for student loans. This was so far out of his world that it felt surreal.
“I’m here to meet someone. Dimitrios Cirillo.”
The maître d’ consulted his list and gave a short incline of his head before holding out an arm to indicate the direction.
“Yes sir, right this way please.”
Remi felt like a child as he looked around, eyeing the beautiful décor. The restaurant was all purples and blacks, classy and a little intimidating. But it smelled incredible, the scents of well-prepared food reminded him of his classes and actually soothed him a little, pulling him to familiar territory. He was led through a maze of tables and to a private parlor.
Remi felt the butterflies in his stomach riot as his nerves kicked back up. The partition was pushed aside to reveal the man from the picture sitting at a table for two, holding a glass of wine and looking every inch the powerful alpha CEO. Remi felt all the breath whoosh from his lungs at the sight.
He’d expected Dimitrios Cirillo to be handsome and sexy. He hadn’t expected him to be… beautiful, or so big. He was tall, broad and obviously well-muscled, Remi could see the bulge of muscle even though he wore an expensive suit. As he breathed in again, he felt Dimitrios’ scent go through him like an electric shock. It was the same scent he’d noted at Magic Shop, coffee and dark chocolate. Remi was mesmerized as the alpha’s dark eyes turned on him and he felt rooted in place by the intensity of his stare.
“Sir, would you like me to take your bag and coat?” The maître d’ asked, breaking the moment.
Remi came back to himself all at once and turned to look at the man who’d addressed him.
“Oh… yeah. Here you go.”
Remi slipped his backpack off and handed it to him, doing the same with his coat. The look that he gave him made Remi realize he’d done something wrong. An old memory of a movie with a scene in a fancy restaurant came to mind. He felt the blood rush to his face as he realized that he should have let the maître d’ take his jacket off for him. Fuck. He was already embarrassing himself in front of this gorgeous alpha.
“That will be all for now.”
The sound of the alpha’s voice shivered down his spine, warming his skin as goosebumps bloomed all over his body. The maître d’ gave a small bow and left, pulling the partition closed behind him. Remi wasn’t sure what to do, he’d never felt so awkward and unsure of himself. His inner omega was pushing him to just climb into the alpha’s lap and lick over his scent gland until he was drunk on the coffee and chocolate scent, but his reasonable half told him that was not a good idea. Maybe later.
Dimitrios Cirillo had never been so hard in his life as he watched Remi Laroche walk into the little private parlor and he smelled his lovely vanilla bean scent and saw him up close for the first time. The omega was even more beautiful than he remembered. His nose and cheeks were pink from cold, lips a little chapped, probably also from the cold, they were red and lush and inviting. And when he’d shrugged out of his coat and turned to hand it off, Dimitrios couldn’t help but glance down, then do a double take on the most perfect ass that had ever been graced by denim. Holy shit. He drank him in as he moved, and watched the way his clothes shifted on him, hinting at what Dimitrios assumed was a small waist hiding under his oversized flannel shirt. Perfect.
“Have a seat.”
Remi did as he was told, moving forward and sitting in the chair across from the alpha. He had a hard time meeting his intense dark stare, but he wanted to look, which resulted in him continually glancing up at the alpha as he squirmed in his seat. He was all too aware at that moment of the slight wetness between his legs, left over from his earlier arousal. He felt his blush increase as he remembered getting wet from just this alpha’s picture. He had to take several steadying breaths before looking up and meeting Dimitrios’ gaze, forcing himself not to look away.
“Sorry about my clothes. I know I’m underdressed, but I came straight from university.” Remi said, surprised by how breathy his voice sounded.
“Don’t worry, pretty boy. You look lovely.”
Oh gods, what a time to have a praise kink. Remi looked down and tangled his hands in his lap, trying to convince his body that he was not aroused, and he didn’t need to be leaking slick in a public place for the second time that day.
“Thank you, you’re really handsome… I wasn’t really expecting… I mean, I just thought that the alpha I’d get paired with would be, you know…”
“Old, fat, and creepy?” Dimitrios finished for him, with a little smile.
Remi bit his lip and gave a little nod. He needed to get his shit together, he was supposed to be seducing the alpha, but all he could do was stare and squirm as he felt himself starting to get wet again. Fuck. He focused his attention on his still throbbing hand, and the focus on pain helped alleviate some of his nervousness. He was a badass who had just punched an alpha in the face less than thirty minutes ago. He didn’t need to be intimidated by Dimitrios Cirillo, even if he was devastatingly gorgeous.
“So, I don’t know if this is rude, but why? I mean, you’re handsome and obviously rich. I’m sure you have a lot of dating options. Why are you looking for a sugar baby?” Remi asked.
“Well, I’m a busy man. I have a company to run and I don’t have time to foster a relationship. I’m really just looking for someone to help relieve some stress. I also get invited to a lot of events that require a date, and being harassed by either omegas who want to mate with me for my money, or parents of omegas who want to set up weird marital business alliances gets old fast. I was hoping to have someone to take with me to ward off the social vampires. And a pretty boy omega is just the thing to do it.”
Remi felt a wave of pleasure at being called pretty again. He giggled at the term ‘social vampires’, but stopped quickly. He was supposed to be sexy and he was kind of ruining it.
