“I hope you're not mad at yourself. You don't have any reason to be mad at yourself.”
“Thank you for that.” Parris’ mouth screwed up in a wry, little smile. “I'll keep that in mind.”
“What's the big deal? So you have actual feelings. Is that so scary?”
“I wouldn't call it scary. Inconvenient, maybe? Because if I feel, then I risk facing a loss.” He stroked my cheek, and his touch was like a balm. “Out there, when you first fell unconscious, the most horrible thought went through my head. What if this is it? What happens if I've lost her?”
“But you didn't.”
“No, I didn't.”
“And you're not going to.” I covered his hand with mine and looked him in the eyes so he knew I was serious. “I'm not going anywhere. Got it?”
He chuckled, then placed his other hand on my other cheek, and held my face so gently. Tenderly. “You amaze me. I am in awe of you.”
My heart swelled. I didn't know I needed to hear that until he said it. “Really? You're not just saying that because you thought I was a goner?”
“I mean it. The strength you've shown, the resilience. You are remarkable in so many ways.” He leaned in, touching his forehead to mine before sighing deeply. “And you have changed me. It's almost enough to make me feel sorry for the grief I gave Garret for so long. I mean over Elliot. I looked down on him for feeling as he did.”
“The important word there being ‘almost,’ right?” I asked.
We shared a quiet laugh.
“Don't tell him I said so. I'll never hear the end of it.” He leaned back just far enough to look into my eyes. “Though I think I might even be able to bear that, thanks to you. Before I know it, you'll have me knitting and... I don't know… baking. Isn't that what people do once they've become domesticated?”
“I wouldn’t know. I was never exactly what you'd call ‘domesticated,’ myself.”
“There is nothing I wouldn't do for you, darling. No matter what happens after this, I need you to understand that.”
“I understand.”
And all I wanted, more than anything, was for him to kiss me. It seemed like one of those perfect kiss moments. Like if he didn't, there would be a sense of unfinished business.
Thanks to his nearness, the Omega in me wouldn't be satisfied with just one kiss. Not when my pussy moistened, quickly heating up thanks to my Synian king.
Lucky for me, he wasn't going to leave me hanging.
“Lie back for me, darling,” he whispered, easing me back until my head rested on a pillow.
“Alpha...” I whispered, my body coming alive under his touch.
“Yes, my little Omega?” he asked, his voice so full of tenderness I barely recognized it as his.
“Yours.” I lifted my hips, offering myself to his touch, his lips. “Yours.”
“That's right, little one.” Now he sounded more like himself, the Alpha in him responding to his Omega.
His touch wasn't so soft anymore, his fingers pressing in hard as he ran them down my sides and over my hips. The rough, shapeless dress one of the Witches had lent me was even rougher when he grazed my skin with it, but I was too far gone to care. Besides, the line between pleasure and pain always seemed blurred when it came to this. What should have hurt me—what should have turned me off—only made me hungrier than ever.
When he worked the dress up to my hips, I lifted them again, eventually working it over my head. He grunted at the sight of my naked body like he had never seen it before. Like he didn't know exactly how I tasted.
“Eat...” I begged, my voice weak with need. “Please.”
I spread my legs wider, cool air blowing over my already slick-coated lips. The sensation was mind-blowing but not nearly as good as when Parris dipped his head down and swiped a tongue almost playfully over my slit.
I barely bit back a howl, clamping down on my lip, my fists gripping the blankets under me. “More. Give me more.”
“Needy little Omega. Let your Alpha take care of you.” He settled in for real this time, and I opened my eyes long enough to look at him across the length of my body.