I couldn’t stop the small smile that tugged in my mouth. Not big enough to scare him, but just enough to soften the moment.
“Are you finished?” Before I got the words out, Kasey was nodding and trying to stand all at once. I knew the instant the blood rushed from his head, as he staggered into the table, losing balance and falling soundlessly back onto the chair. “Sit. Today, I’m cleaning the dishes. Tomorrow, if you are up to it, you can do the chores. And we’ll sit down and talk about what I expect from you then.”
“Yes, Sir.” The voice was soft, barely a whisper, but I heard it.
“This afternoon is all about resting. I don’t want you to do anything that causes pain in your body. And absolutely no kneeling.”
A soft pink blush bloomed on his cheeks, but he nodded anyways. “I…I can be good, Sir.”
I didn’t doubt that.
“Then be a good boy and let me take care of you for the rest of the day.” The rest of your life, but I didn’t say that part.
Chapter 15
Kasey
How was it possible to feel at ease and unsteady at the same time? The contradiction sat heavy in my chest like two halves pulling in opposite directions. My body felt loose, almost warm from the medication settled into my system, but my mind kept tripping over itself.
I wasn’t sure if it was the mix of meds still fighting their way through my bloodstream or if it was just a natural response tohim.To this Alpha who didn’t act like any Alpha I’d ever known. My nerves didn’t know what to do with that. My instincts didn’t either.
I’d never reacted to an Alpha the way I was supposed to. Not really. I’d learned the rules, learned the posture, learned the obedience, but none of it had ever come naturally. Submission had been something carved into me, not something that rose on its own.
There was a difference betweenhavingto kneel andwantingto.
And the wanting…that was the part that scared me.
Because right now, sitting across from him with the taste of warm soup still lingering on my tongue and the quiet weight of his attention on me, I didn’t feel the usual pressure to fold myself small. I didn’t feel the sharp, cold fear that usually pushed me to the floor.
I felt something else. Something softer. Something I didn’t have a name for.
I shook off those thoughts, because it didn’t matter what I felt. All that mattered was that I was to be the best Omega. Theone that got to serve this Alpha who seemed to care, at least on the surface.
Right now, I didn’t want to think about how he could become mean like the other Alpha I served before him. Or he could become full of hatred and mark my body like the handlers did over and over.
So, right now, Icouldn’tthink of any of that. Instead, I forced my mind to focus on the here and now. And that meant, keeping every bit of my attention on the Alpha who could very well cause me harm at any time he wished to do so.
Evander. I had to remember his name. I felt like I should know it already, but I wasn’t sure where I could have ever met this man before today.
No, wait.
Imethim. It was such a brief moment in time, but he was the one that took my picture at Lockswell. He had eyed me like I was something he lost that day.
I wasn’t sure how I could have forgotten that, but there had been Alphas that came in and out often enough that it was easy to overlook them all.
I watched him clean up the kitchen, his back to me. And as he did so, he talked.
He kept the conversation on safe ground, and from where I sat, it felt strange. Strange in a way that didn’t hurt but still made my stomach twist.
He didn’t ask anything intrusive. Nothing that demanded answers. Nothing that felt like a test. He talked about the soup, about how the weather had warmed a little, about how he needed to fix a loose hinge on one of the cabinets. Simple things. Harmless things.
As he finished cleaning the kitchen, he led the way to the living room. And once I curled up in one of the oversized leather chairs, a blanket over my shoulders, he kept talking. He sat onthe couch, TV on low, eyes bouncing between me and whatever show he put on. While my own eyes stayed anywhere, that wasn’t on him.
Sometimes I nodded. Sometimes I didn’t know if I was supposed to. Sometimes, I answered with a quietyes. Other times the words stuck in my throat and he didn’t push. Just shifted to something else, something lighter, like he could feel when my chest tightened.
It was…disorienting.
Alphas didn’t talk like this. Not to me. Not about anything. Not without wanting something in return.
