10
Jai
Jaimie woke up feeling boneless. Never in his life had he felt like there was not a single bone in his body. It was like he was a puddle of deliciousness. He definitely hoped they could do that again. He couldn’t say he had imagined what his first time would be like, but this had exceeded all his expectations, and then some.
He knew he would need support if he tried standing. He felt like he was drunk and his legs were weak and useless. Nothing in his life had prepared him for this moment. It felt like the world was spinning in a whirl of excitement and perfection. He had definitely jerked off before, but never in his life had he felt like his orgasm was being ripped out of his body, as though it would tear him apart before putting him back together again.
A part of his mind screamed this wasn’t real. Like, how could this stunning specimen of alpha-ness want Lil’old him? To him, that may have been the most extraordinary part of the whole situation, but Jaimie didn’t need experience to recognize the raw hunger in the alpha’s eyes when the man had looked at him as if Jai was the first drink of water he could find after wandering into the desert. It unlocked something inside of Jai, zapped his reasoning ability and had made him act solely on instinct. And as much as there was part of him trying to make him regret his actions, he was feeling too good to listen. He wanted more – more of those mind-altering kisses, more of the alpha’s body surrounding him, making him feel safe for the first time since his nana had died.
Before he could even roll over with his new found bravery, he heard Nickolas trying to get his attention, but was on too much of a happy high to hear him, until he got a good look at the alpha’s face which wasn’t a face that screamed happy camper.
Jai’s stomach twisted and he said in a small voice, “Sorry, could you repeat that please? I didn’t hear what you said.”
He couldn’t miss the look of consternation on Nickolas’ face before the alpha said, “The condom split.”
“Okaaay?” Jai replied slowly.
Jai sat up and the feeling of peace he’d had just a moment ago vanished. He was suddenly desperate to be anywhere but there.
He might not have a lot of experience – okay, he had no experience whatsoever – but he could tell when someone was displeased and horrified. And the alpha looked like he was both. Nickolas looked like he’d tasted something sour, smelled something bad, as though he’d been kicked in the nuts at the same time, with his brows furrowed and lips pinched.
Any afterglow Jai might have had promptly disappeared, and he was desperate to escape both the alpha and the feeling of shame that had just engulfed his whole body. How could things have gone from a hundred to zero so fast?
“Are you on any form of birth control?” Jai heard the alpha ask, interrupting his rambling thoughts.
“Uhh. No...” Jai stammered, “but it’s not my heat for about another eight days, so I can’t get pregnant, right?” He tacked on hopefully.
“Not right,” the alpha bit out. “You’re not as fertile, but you can get pregnant.” He said, in a voice dripping with so much condescension, as though he was talking to a child.
Crap.The alpha was right, Jai remembered from health class. He might not be as fertile, but there was still a chance of pregnancy and being knotted probably hadn’t helped, because the alpha’s seed was given more of a chance to fertilize one of his eggs. But why go borrowing trouble, seriously, what were the odds of him getting pregnant the first time he had sex?
“I’m sure it’s fine,” Jai said in a small voice. He quickly got out of the bed and searched for his clothes, not making eye contact, “like, what are the odds I get pregnant with the first alpha I sleep with.” He said softly, trying to lighten the mood in the room as he put his pants on with more haste than grace.
“You’re a virgin?” Nickolas asked in a horrified tone. “Fuck!”
“Well, I was,” Jai said, under his breath, when what he wanted to do was scream at the alpha for behaving like a totally different person now.
Jai was currently measuring the distance between where he stood and the door. And he was wondering if he would look completely crazy if he made a run for it. He refused to even contemplate the thought of an accidental pregnancy – not that he had the mental faculties to do so at that very moment. All his instincts pointed towards flight. Getting pregnant would make him the most unlucky omega in the history of history. Likeseriously.
“I’m sure we’ll be okay. And you’ll look back on this as just an accident you can laugh about.” Jai said as he backed away, moving closer to the door with every step.
“Right. Of course. I overreacted.” Nickolas said in a more mellow tone, his brow finally losing the frown that had appeared.
‘I’m sure I’ll be fine… it’s not that easy to get pregnant.” Jai sighed inwardly, it wasn’t like he wanted to be pregnant right now, but the alpha didn’t have to sound so relieved. It made Jai feel like a fool for even imagining that there was a connection between them.
Served him right, he should know better. Hadn’t he learned that people didn’t take sex seriously from all the conversations he’d overheard? But it didn’t stop the feeling of hurt invading his chest. Jai felt like he’d made the biggest fool of himself ever. Maybe the alpha wouldn’t even believe that it was his first time when he’d fallen into bed with him without even the dinner part most people went through first. Nickolas probably thought Jai was huge omega slut.
Plus he couldn’t help but wonder if the alpha would still be as horrified if it was someone more like himself, someone richer, classier than Jai could ever hope to be. Because well, it would be a disaster if someone like lowly Jaimie Knox got pregnant to someone like Nickolas Ricci, wouldn’t it? They were barely from the same world as it stood.
Jai could hear his grandfather’s voice, ever practical saying, “Stick with your own, boy.” Thinking about his grandparent made him feel even worse. What would his nana think? She would be so disappointed.
A feeling of shame like he’d never known before came over him. Jai wasn’t sure how close he was to the door, but he needed to make it out before he burst into tears. He was pretty sure he hadn’t buttoned his shirt correctly, but he didn’t care. He just hoped it was late enough for everyone in the office to have left because if he had to do the walk of shame and his colleagues were still outside, there was no chance in hell he would be returning.
Jai had broken himself of his nail-biting habit a long time ago but now seemed like a good time to restart with the unwelcome images and realities his brain was sending him.
He had literally just slept with an alpha he barely knew. Why couldn’t he have left well enough alone? Instead, he had compounded one mistake with another, and he might well lose his job after this one. What had he been thinking of, bringing drinks to the boss? When he hadn’t been asked? Without an invitation? Of course, the alpha would interpret it as him trying to approach him in a roundabout way. Nickolas probably got approached often enough that it was nothing to him. And what young, eligible, single alpha said no to an omega throwing himself wantonly at him?
Nickolas got out of bed and started putting his pants on and Jaimie couldn’t help but stare at the masculine alpha perfection. He was all honeyed skin, rippling abs, strong arms and those broad shoulders were to die for.
Jai’s wanton thoughts were interrupted by the alpha, “I’ll be gone for a few days. We’ll talk once I get back.” Nickolas said. “I’ll call you.”
Jaimie nodded dumbly, and his stupid inner self actually did a happy dance at the hint of them maybe seeing each other again. He wasn’t sure how the alpha moved so quickly but suddenly he was in front of Jai and those long sensual fingers framed his cheekbones.
The man looked like physical perfection and scrambled Jai’s brain. That was the only explanation for why he didn’t move when he saw Nickolas moving in to claim a kiss. This time it was gentler, yet still spoke of passion and desire. The kiss had Jai feeling off kilter. It was like the alpha was marking him with that kiss.
“Iwillcall you,” Nickolas repeated.
Jai still had no reply, so he just stared mutely at the alpha. He wasn’t sure he believed him, yet his heart seemed to beat faster, excited at the words. His lips were tingling still from the loss of the alpha’s against his and he could feel embarrassment burning in his cheeks. Jai didn’t say anything, instead, he finally turned around and opened the door which he realized was right behind him and made his escape.
Coming out of the boss’s office, Jai was grateful to see no one was there. He hoped his luck would hold when he got back to his cubicle. Thankfully it did. All the staff had already gone for the night. Quickly he picked up his messenger bag and made his way to the elevator at breakneck speed, wanting to put this day behind him.
