“Oh, right, about that. When I saw her with those two men - Scar and Ryu - they mentioned a Dr. Lynden.”
I felt a surge of hope. “The woman from the fountain?”
Halo nodded. “It must be the same one. So we have two leads. One, go to Dr. Lynden and ask about Angel, or two, hang out by the bar - the Drunken Dragon - until they show up.”
“The bar?” I wrinkled my nose.
“Yeah. Scar - he’s the omega, I think - he owns the bar that I left Angel in front of. I mean, not on purpose, that’s just where I ended up where I teleported.”
“Scar isn’t a very nice name for an omega,” I muttered.
Halo shrugged. “They seemed like nice people. I got a good feeling about them. And it’s still safer for her to be with them than us.”
I sighed, frustrated with myself. This was a problem of my own making, so I had no right to complain about it now.
“I miss her,” I murmured.
Halo frowned deeply. “I do, too.”
“And I miss you, Halo.”
His eyes flickered with tender hope and sadness. “Me too, Kass. Sometimes it feels like even when you’re right in front of me, still I miss you.”
My heart ached, recalling the moment centuries ago where I’d had the same thought about him.
The movement felt utterly natural. I took his face gently in my hands, brought him closer and kissed him softly on the lips. He didn’t struggle or tense - he kissed back, slow and meaningful.
A sudden burst of scent wafted off Halo, sweet and musky. It made my mind buzz. Did he smell like that before?
Halo noticed it, too. He paused, drawing back. “Oh.”
“What?”
He blinked at me and grinned sheepishly. “Did you just -kissme into starting my heat?”
My brows flew high. “Did I?”
“Pretty sure you did.”
The scent locked into place. Alluring, painfully luscious, and irresistable; the scent of Halo’s heat flooded my nose and sent a shockwave of arousal down to my cock.
“I must not have noticed the symptoms because of all the chaos,” Halo mumbled. “Ithasbeen hectic lately.”
“That’s true.” I swallowed hard. It was getting harder to breathe with the aroma of Halo’s musk filling the air.
He glanced at me from underneath thick, honey-colored lashes. “So… What do you want to do?”
There was only one desperate thing on my mind and it choked out any logical thoughts. My mouth pooled with saliva and I swallowed it again, finding it just as difficult as before. “I wantyou.”
He put a hand on my lower arm. The light touch electrified me. “I want you too, Kass.” He leaned forward, close enough that his breath ghosted across my neck. “I want youinme.”
A shudder shot down my spine. “Okay.” With my hands still glued to Halo, my free hand shot out to the bedside table and I rooted around awkwardly for a condom, which were generally free to use in shifter motels.
“No,” Halo said suddenly as he grabbed my wrist. “Without one.”
“Halo,” I began, breathless, “you’ll get pregnant.”
“I know,” he said immediately. His expression was firm and determined. He was set on this, and he wasn’t going to back down.
