Page 21 of Such a Tough Omega
This went on for over five minutes before I cleared my throat and interrupted. “We’re not together. Yet. I don’t think.”
Silence filled the car.
“What do you mean? My wolf can feel the mating connection. We assumed…” Striker, I did remember his name, shifted in his seat. I’d made them uncomfortable. Or maybe they made themselves awkward. I couldn’t tell.
“He saved me,” I said, shrugging. Not one of my finest moments, but it was the truth. “There was a guest, an alpha, and he and some of his thugs tried to kidnap me. They drugged me and I don’t know what else they were intending, but Grant burst into the room and rescued me. That’s how we met.”
The other omegas swooned. “Your knight in shining armor,” Rowan said as the car stopped in front of a high-end boutique.Before we left, Grant had slipped some credit cards into my hand and insisted I have a good time. It was strange there were no parameters on a good time, so I didn’t know if I could get a snack or a steak dinner.
While we shopped in a place that had bigger price tags than three weeks of my tips, I told them the rest of my story. How Grant saved me and then bought the entire resort.
I even included my fit after Alias and Grant forced my hand to tell Human Resources. Hindsight was twenty-twenty, and now, I saw it was for the best but at the time, that was hard.
Some of the other omegas told the stories of how they met their alphas and life with new babies and the strange hours the alphas came home from the club. But they were also members.
Eventually, we made our way to a late lunch but, while the other omegas had bags and bags full of things they’d purchased, I had nothing. Grant and I weren’t mated, and spending someone else’s money felt strange.
The others told me Grant would be fine with it; that was the reason he gave me the cards, but I refrained.
I paid for my own meal, which I didn’t think Grant would mind but, over dessert, the conversation rounded back to me and him.
“So, Ches, what’s holding you back from your mate?”
I shrugged. “It feels like we live on two different planets. He’s a part of this fantastic world with so many things to explore. Money isn’t an issue for him. He buys entire resorts, for goodness’ sake, and I’m a room service attendant who relies on tips to survive.”
Striker nodded. “But those are superficial things. Your wolf…he says Grant is your mate, right?”
“He does. He’s said that since the beginning.”
“Then what are you waiting for? Have you kissed?”
I told them about the dressing room and the kiss. How he held my hand on the helicopter ride and always made sure I was safe.
Striker was right. What in the hell was I waiting for?
“You’ll have the perfect opportunity tonight. I mean, you’re going to stay and have a good time at the club.”
“Yes. But I’m nervous. I’ve never experienced anything like it, and he said we’ll just look around until I’m ready, but what if I disappoint him? I’m a total beginner.”
The other omegas waved my concerns off. One of them sighed. “An alpha like Grant will be gentle with you. It’s fun to explore and see what you like. There’s no pressure from anyone. That’s one of the great parts about it.”
“What are the others?”
Rowan chuckled. “Have you looked at your alpha?”
They all pretended to swoon again.
Chapter Eighteen
Grant
My meeting couldn’t have been any different from the previous one. Instead of treating me like a Hun come to overrun them, they were cordial and welcoming. Every one of them shook my hand and told me they were excited to hear what I had to propose.
After a few moments of greeting and small talk, Talon called the meeting to order and everyone took seats around the table. Interesting to note that they did not take the same seats as before. In many corporations whose boards I’d faced, the top executives always sat in the same order, generally of importance, but in my visits so far, the closest I’d come to finding anyone in actual charge was Talon conducting the meetings. Something that changed after he introduced another investor and took a seat to the side. After a couple of them said a few words, they had me come up and talk a bit about the resort and my plans for it—which, as I’d told Talon, were hardly set in stone.
Basically, I planned to make the place a destination for kinkster shifters, especially wolves. Although Cuffed and its sister club Crowned were not exclusively for wolves, they were the larger share of membership. Sandwiches and some cold salads were brought at one point, and I really thought we had come up with some great ideas as to how we could offer support to one another and the market we were destined to share.
What I really wanted was to see my omega again.
