A shiver of pleasure went through me. I refused to be one of those women who turned into goo when a man said that to her. I was a strong and independent Omega in charge of her own life.
Fuck. I wanted to hear him say it again.
The creaminess of the brie mixed perfectly with the sweetness of the cranberry. My eyes fluttered with how vividly delicious it was. Jasper was making me wet and horny, but the twist had hit a different layer of delight. “So yummy.”
“Yes, you are.” He picked up a date and held it ready for me.
I flushed and sipped my water. I recognized my head was a little swimmy from the gin, and I was feeling immensely apologetic for the scene I’d just caused. “I’m sorry.”
Jasper raised his brows. “For what? You being yummy was a compliment. One that doesn’t even begin to do you justice.”
I took the date and hoped I didn’t turn crimson at his sweet words. The tactile differences were pleasant rather than unnerving, and the date took on a caramel flavor paired with the pecans. It was almost like a tart without the crust. “I didn’t want any of this to be complicated.”
“It’s not.” He reached to tuck a stray lock of my hair behind my ear. So tender and yet so entirely possessive. “We understand what you want. You need us to help you through your heat with no strings attached because you’re leaving after Christmas. Bal and Lucian may try to convince you otherwise, but they’ll respect your decision. I want you to stay true to your heart. A woman who knows what she wants in life is sexy.”
Delectable snacks, a sweet drink, and a charming Alpha. I was feeling warm all over and achy for more than his words. Squirming, I tried to deflect. More for myself than him. “A woman drunk after one gin rickey is not sexy.”
“It kinda is.” Jasper chuckled and bit into a profiterole. He held out the other half of the small round pastry to me which still contained a generous bit of chestnut cream in the center. I let him feed me and brush crumbs off my bottom lip. The deep nutty flavor coated my mouth and complimented the caramel remnants of the date.
He then licked his fingers. The tip of each one which had touched my lip.
I was mesmerized. I couldn’t even blink. Never had a man licking his fingers before been so incredibly erotic. I needed him to put his mouth to work on me, to lick all the sensitive spots no man had ever seen before. A whine escaped me before I could stop it.
“If you react to everything you eat that way, I don’t know if I can make it through dinner.” Jasper’s whisper had a rough almost growling edge. Was he as aroused as I was?
I lifted my hand to check and then snatched it back. What the hell was I doing?
“Maybe I should go home instead of going out to dinner.” Without a chaperon, I wasn’t behaving properly. We were in a public place, but it was getting more and more difficult to resist climbing onto his lap and letting him have his way with me.
Jasper bent his head, so that I could feel his hot breath breezing over the shell of my ear. “I’m willing to skip dinner if you need some help with any effects of your heat. I’m very good at taking care of a woman’s every need.”
If words alone could make me come, I would have right there in the middle of the Whisper Room. It would be easy to blame my horniness on the drink, but it was a single gin rickey, and half the glass had been ice. I was ready to say ‘show me,’ but instead distracted myself by stuffing a whole profiterole into my mouth.
He wasn’t deterred by my chipmunk cheek. “Let me show you.”
My entire body thrummed with want for him. This was our Alpha. He would make everything better. Sure, he was a jerk earlier, but he was protecting his pack. His drop dead gorgeous, hot as hell pack.
I couldn’t see past my own desire. I was an Omega without an escort alone with an Alpha. It was everything we were warned against doing. I didn’t break the rules. I always walked the straight and narrow path.
“Okay.”
CHAPTER TWELVE - Mariska
It was pure torture to wait for Lauren to box up the rest of the canapés and make our way to Jasper’s car. Slick coated my inner thighs, and shivers went through me as we walked through the cold downtown toward the parking garage. Snow lightly fell and shimmered on my outstretched hand before melting.
If I felt anything from the gin rickey, it was drowned under the roar of Omega hormones. I was hyper aware of Jasper beside me. His firm muscles, his citrus musk, and the huge bulge in his pants I’d spotted before he put on his coat.
The sounds of our footsteps echoed inside the garage as we wound down one floor to where his Mustang was parked. It had been packed earlier with everyone from the festival, but there were only three other cars along with his left.
As we neared the car, Jasper pulled me more firmly against him and dipped his head to nip at my neck. I gasped and gripped his arm tighter. “I don’t know if I can wait. I…” What exactly was going to happen? And where? “Where are we going?”
“We can’t go back to your place.” He nuzzled my neck and opened his car. He tossed the box from the Whisper Room into the back. “And it’s a half hour drive back to the farm.”
“Too far away.” I ran my hands through his thick hair, nails scratching along his head. A hundred options zoomed through my head. Would Miss Eloise mind if I brought him to Primrose House since she did give her permission for me to have the pack help with my heat? Or should we get a hotel room? Oh God. I never saw myself as the type of woman who paid for a hotel room by the hour.
“We could sit you inside…” He tapered off and hissed through his teeth as he surveyed his car. It was only a two door, and an older type. Bucket front seats and a cramped backseat. “Not enough room.” He suddenly grinned and released me toduck into the driver’s seat and turn his key in the ignition. The Mustang purred to life.
Standing, Jasper took off his coat, and with a flourish, laid it across the hood of his car. He offered me a hand. “Come here, sweet stuff.”
