“Right,” Chuck agreed with an apologetic smile. “I should warn you that this Omega is, well, a littledifferentthan most. He tends to be a little cool and bossy.”
I laughed. “You want me to snuggle with a Dom Omega? Is he going to want to spank me or tie me up?”
Chuck laughed with me. “No, nothing like that. He’s just not the simper and fall all over an Alpha kind of Omega, I guess is what I’m saying.”
“Got it.”
As he led me through the halls, Chuck filled me in a little more on the situation, but when we reached a small sunroom furnished comfortably with cushioned patio-style furniture, I was surprised to find not one but two Omegas sitting at a round table in a sunny patch. Both pregnant and, to my immense surprise, both in neglect, yet Chuck seemed to key in on only one.
When the older and more obviously pregnant began to speak, clearly dismissing the younger who happily fled the room, questions began to mount. Filing them away for the moment, I waited for Chuck to introduce me.
Within a few minutes, I was biting back a grin as Chuck had been summarily dismissed by Omega Walsh and I was left standing in front of him, waiting for instructions.
When I left Bari in the hallway outside the solarium a little more than an hour later, I was planning on catching a quick shower before joining the residents in the dining room for some food. When I caught the scent of distress emanating from a small hallway off to the right, I swung around the corner without giving the action another thought. Following the scent trail around another corner, I found myself facing a slender back, its owner hunched over as if in pain. There was a quiet desperation in his voice, and it took me a minute to realize he was speaking into a cell phone.
“What do you mean Hudson doesn’t know anyone named Paul?” the Omega snapped as another wave of desperation flooded off of him and washed over me. “Of course, he does! We’re getting married!” Whatever the voice on the other end of the line said, it must have hurt because Paul flinched as though he’d been slapped. “But..”
I watched as Paul pulled his phone from his ear, choking back a cry as he stared at the screen in disbelief. I cleared my throat lightly. I’d expected him to startle -perhaps even jump-but I hadn’t expected him to suddenly spin and go on the offensive, pulling his fists up into a defensive posture.
I raised one palm and offered my most non-threateningsmile. “Easy there, tiger. I’m not here to hurt anyone, remember? My name is Sylas.”
Paul lowered his fists slightly, looking far from convinced. “What do you want?”
I shrugged. “To talk, if you’re willing?” I took a step forward, counting on his inherent physical need for my presence to keep him from bolting.
“About what?” Paul’s nostrils flared as he drew in my scent, his shoulders relaxing a tiny bit more.
“Oh, this and that,” I said breezily. “I’ve never been to Texas before. Are you a native?”
Paul stared at me disbelievingly. “You snuck up on me while I was on the phone so we could have a stilted conversation about where we’re from?”
My laugh broke free. “Not exactly. You’re a friend of Bari’s, right? I saw you when I was introduced. I was trying to find my way back to my room,” I said with a sheepish shrug. “I think I got turned around.”
“Oh.”
“Any chance you could show me the way back?”
Paul frowned again. “It’s not that hard,” he said with a sigh. “I’ll give you directions.”
“But what if I get lost again?” I asked with a frown. “I’m already starving and I’ll miss dinner.”
“Fine,” Paul groaned, shoving his cell phone into his pocket. “Let’s go.”
As we made our way through the hall, I walked a little closer to the Omega than was good manners, but Paul didn’t seem to mind. In fact, several times I caught him angling his face toward me as he inhaled. And when we closed ourselves in the tiny elevator, my scent built up to a level I would have been embarrassed by anywhere else, but Paul didn’t seem to mind as he leaned against the wall and soaked the pheromones up.
I watched him as unobtrusively as possible. Paul was relatively tall for an Omega and handsome bordering on pretty, with high cheek bones spattered with freckles, long red lashes framing slightly wide-set green eyes, deep red lips, and a long, lean body that hadn’t yet begun to show the gift he carried. All in all, he was pretty damn hot, so I wasn’t at all surprised that someone had worked to charm their way into his pants.
“This is it,” Paul announced, pulling me back to the present as we stopped in front of my suite door.
“Thanks so much,” I gave him a smile and he flashed a dimple in response.
“No problem,” Paul choked out, color rising in his cheeks as my keen hearing caught the lub-lub of his heart speeding up.
Then Paul turned and was gone, leaving me to continue my earlier wonderings about what exactly his situation was and why, with all the worry about Bari, no one seemed concerned about Paul.
Chapter Three
Paul
