“Me, too,” the dark-haired one agreed.
Oh no. Aurum lied to them, and they actually believed him? I guess I couldn’t blame them. I was confused by Aurum’s deception at first, too, but it didn’t take long to realize it was a ruse. Though I still didn’t know why he’d pretended to be his twin brother in the first place.
“Guys,I’mSaffron,” Saffron growled.
The blond omega nodded. “Yeah, he said you’d say that.”
Saffron looked gobsmacked. But he didn’t have time to correct anybody as Gaius waltzed back to the table.
“Time’s up! The kitchen is burning up with the need to cook your orders,” he said while fanning himself.
After Gaius took the other omegas’ orders, he strode towards our end of the table. “And for you, Mylo? Dragons?”
Saffron sighed, thrusting his menu at Gaius. “Whateverhe’sgetting.”
He meant Aurum, but went out of his way to avoid his brother’s name. Was he so annoyed at the omegas that he purposely went along with their misinformation? I guess that meant he wasn’t interested in them romantically.
Aurum grinned. He seemed pleased that Saffron wanted the same dish as him. “Cool. Three orders of chicken linguini. Extra meat for me. Actually, toss more in for Mylo, too.”
Gaius snatched up the remaining menus. “Coming right up!”
I was about to question Aurum’s spontaneous gift of extra food—but then his foot lifted the hem of my jeans and grazed across my bare ankle. I bit my tongue. The unexpected touch sent a sizzling jolt up my leg and coalesced in a warm pool beneath my stomach.
I crushed my thighs together. This was bad. If Aurum kept teasing me, I wouldn’t be able to hold my arousal back...
Aurum didn’t stifle his smug grin. Helikedteasing me. Normally that would’ve sent me into a negativity spiral, but he wasn’t teasing me in a cruel way, not like the strangers who insulted my weight. Aurum teased me in a fun way. It was inclusive, a secret we shared together.
Aurum watched me with mischievous eyes. I felt pinned like a butterfly beneath his golden gaze, too enraptured with him to even struggle. Everything else melted into the background. I lost track of Saffron and the other omegas. This moment was all Aurum.
And the naughty, sneaky way he tormented me.
By the time our food arrived, I was officially hot and bothered. My heart raced and my hands were sweaty. I was surprised my jeans didn’t catch fire from friction the way I constantly wiped my palms against them.
Gaius slid the deep porcelain plate in front of me. “Enjoy!”
The tantalizing scent of food filled my nose. The chicken was expertly grilled, the linguini was fresh and appetizing, and the creamy sauce made my mouth water.
Then my stomach growled loudly.
Oh, gods. I was utterly mortified. Did I have to be such a stereotype? A fat guy whose belly instantly reacted at the sight of food?
But Aurum laughed warmly. “That hungry, huh? Good thing I got you extra.”
Suddenly struck with emotion, I turned to look at him. Some downtrodden part of me still expected to see judgment on Aurum’s face... but it was never there.
“Don’t wait,” he ordered, picking up his fork. “It’s gonna get cold.”
“O-okay.”
I hated eating around other people—especially a group of all thin strangers—so this extremely public dinner date should’ve been my ultimate nightmare. Yet sitting next to Aurum soothed me. It was like his presence forged a mental barrier against all my worst thoughts. When I was with him, I could actually focus on my meal and enjoy myself.
Holy shit, the food was good.
Aurum wolfed down his meal. I took my time savoring each bite, so he finished before me. That was a mistake—because now he was free to tease me again.
As I raised a fork full of pasta to my mouth, Aurum’s shoe wriggled beneath my pant leg and shimmied up my calf.
I froze, shooting him a bewildered glance.
