Page 9 of Bloom in Darkness

Astra opens his mouth like he’s about to turn the observation into an apology, and I cut him off before he gets there. “If you’re planning on making this more than a one-time thing, you should learn how to rile him up properly.”

Bryn turns toward me slowly. I know that look. I barely get my coffee down before his hand closes around the back of my neck and pulls me across the table into a hard kiss. His tongue pushes into my mouth while his other hand disappears beneath the table and grabs my ass hard enough to drag a grunt out of me.

Bryn pulls back before I can retaliate. Instead of looking at me, he turns his head toward Astra, whose face has gone red from his throat to the tips of his ears.

“See?” Bryn says, entirely too pleased with himself. “You make different sounds.”

I stare at him for a long second while Astra looks like he is deciding whether to laugh, crawl under the table, or ask for a demonstration. Bryn settles back into his seat as if he hasn’t just kissed me stupid in the middle of breakfast and reaches for the menu.

“You’re an asshole,” I tell him as he opens the menu despite knowing exactly what he’s going to order. Astra finally laughs beside him, still flushed, while I take another drink and try to ignore the kiss still humming low in my body.

Astra is still blushing when the waitress comes back, though he’s trying very hard to pretend the menu requires all of his concentration. She sets a mug in front of him, tops off mine, then pulls her pad from her apron. “What can I get you, honey?”

“Coffee was the important part.” Astra curls both hands around the mug, breathing in the steam before he glances up at her. “Eggs and toast, please.” His cheeks are still pink from watching Bryn kiss me across the table.

The waitress turns toward Bryn. “And you?”

“Chocolate chip pancakes.” Bryn doesn’t even glance at the menu. The waitress writes it down without comment and walks away while I hide my smile behind my coffee.

I slide out and tuck the folders beneath my arm. “When are you coming in?”

Bryn glances toward the clock over the counter. “Ten.” He pushes the little basket of creamers toward Astra while he answers, and I nod before turning toward the register.

Astra’s voice stops me before I make it two steps.

“I’m not ruining anything, am I?” The words come quieter than everything he’s said since they walked in. When I look back, Astra is picking at the skin beside his thumbnail and has shifted far enough away from Bryn that their shoulders no longer touch.

I stop halfway out of the booth and slide back in. “Why would you be?”

Astra shrugs and looks down at his coffee. “I don’t know.” His eyes flick toward Bryn for barely a second, and Bryn’s amusement disappears.

I rest my forearms on the table. “We’re all adults, Astra.” Bryn’s eyes narrow when I glance his way, which only makes me smile. “Besides, Bryn likes soft.”

A faint wash of color climbs over Bryn’s cheekbones. Astra notices it too, and his fingers finally stop worrying at his thumbnail.

“I can’t be that for him,” I say. “Looks like you can.”

Astra looks back at me. “You really don’t mind me?”

Astra is still watching me carefully, his fingers curled near the mug even though the sour edge has faded from his scent. I laugh and shake my head. “God, no. I like you.”

His brows lift, and I can’t help smiling. “And you’re fucking gorgeous. Given the chance, I probably would’ve slept over too.”

Bryn turns his head toward me, and for once I’ve actually managed to surprise him. Astra looks just as startled beside him.

The waitress saves me by appearing beside the table with the breakfast bags for the office. She sets them down near my folders, gives us a quick smile, and heads off again while I reach for my phone. “That’s my cue to leave.” I stack the folders beneath my arm, grab the bags, and slide out again before either of them says anything.

Cold air hits me the second I step into the parking lot. I make it halfway to the car before the heat in my face finally starts to fade, and then the entire exchange catches up with me.

“Fuck.” I stop beside the driver’s side door, breakfast bags still swinging from my hand as what I just said catches up with me. I told Bryn’s new Omega I want to sleep with him, and I meant every word.

My cock twitches, and I glance back toward the diner. Through the window, Bryn is saying something to Astra as the Omega’s face breaks into a laugh, his shoulders loosening. The smile Bryn gives Astra back is usually the one he reserves for me when we’re at home, away from the public.

I should get in the car. Instead I stand there watching them for another few seconds, wanting to go back inside badly enough that my hand stays wrapped around the door handle without opening it. I want to slide into that booth again, drink another cup of coffee, and hear whatever Bryn said that made Astra laugh like that.

The urge sits there until I finally pull the door open and get behind the wheel. I set the bags on the passenger seat, drop the folders beside them, and glance toward the diner one last time before starting the car.

I finally start the car, still thinking about that smile and understanding far too clearly why Bryn has been obsessed.