Page 103 of The Gift
And much like he promised, Lah-Lah’s was a wonderful surprise. My judgemental ass can easily admit to how wrong I got it. If truth be told, I was expecting a cafeteria type establishment, but this place is on par with, if not better than, a lot of restaurants in the real world.
Availability at Lah-Lah’s is limited by space and table numbers, which makes sense considering you’re dealing with omegas and alphas who, much like us, are here after a heat session, or they’re seeking sanctuary. Everything has been set up to appease the natural tendencies of both.
Careful consideration means that the tables are sparse, the lighting is low; done with delicate strings of fairy lights, and tea candles hanging in trees and there is subtle privacy screening everywhere. You can feel how tucked away we are from the other packs, you can barely see or hear them, which is good, because I only want to feast on Pack Bailey. Somehow, I know any other alpha’s presence and scent would have me sobbing like a bitch again.
The interior designer and architect the centre employed were obviously aiming for fine dining, with heavy emphasis on the quality of what they served, as opposed to the snobbery usually associated with the term. And they nailed it. Our table was large enough that we didn’t bump into each other, small enough that I could stretch over and taste food straight off Ashton’s fork and his lips.
Between us, a monochromatic centrepiece of flowers elegantly draped over a blown glass sculpture into what I assume was a subtle nod at the restaurant’s logo, colour and theme. Every detail, from the uniforms of the staff, the plates we ate off, the menu, the décor was seamlessly intertwined in a beautifully artistic way. They’d manage to make the place look amazing but feel safe too, which was important, considering we were sitting under the vast openness of the night sky.
“Who designed this place?” I ask, looking around the open-air restaurant for what feels like the hundredth time since we arrived.
“You actually met the architect and interior designer at the Exposé party. Pack Bullard and Pack Michaels were the lead teams, but everyone in the alliance had to be involved. We all still are in equal capacity.” Ashton says, sitting across the table from me, watching me over his wine glass.
It’s nice that we won’t have to stop at flirting tonight, lots of firsts are happening here.
“Do either of them have an omega?”
“No. They’d like one. Every pack would,” Reno adds, leaning over for me to taste his main course. “Lucky us, we got one. The most beautiful one too.”
“Hush you,” I whisper, not even bothering to try to hide the joy I feel.
I stretch over and kiss him, his hand cups my face as I go to sit back down. But he’s back in my space offering me a taste of his food this time, not from his lips. I moan quietly as I taste the explosion of spices and coconut milk infused fish, drawing another chorus of encouraging masculine sounds from the table. Of course they also continually release small teases of their scents at every opportunity they can, leaving me not only understanding their happiness but also more than slightly aroused. We’ve been doing this all night, talking, teasing, relaxing and enjoying being very open with each other.
“They did an amazing job, everyone involved has. You should be pushing for a lot more recognition for the work you do. It really is an amazing accomplishment; the omega facility, everything that you have established here. I honestly was pretty sceptical about it at first, but I can easily admit I was wrong, this is incredible. Except the god-awful green nest set.”
Three sets of eyes flick straight over to the man sitting next to me, and no one laughs at my comment about the nest. I turn to face Henley too, keen on an explanation for the sudden appearance of frostiness to our night, and a tartness to my alpha.
Henley’s already shut up shop. And I missed when his emotions changed, it happened so fast, but I see the aftermath; his lush lips are drawn tight and his eyes are full of stubborn resolution. He places his wine glass down, almost like he’s finished having fun. “This is the least that we can do.” He jabs his finger against the table, making a couple of glasses chink together as he straightens up, tense and terse. “If we’d all been more astute, none of this would have been necessary. I won’t allow anything to sugar coat the way we failed. No person involved gets one word of acknowledgement because I had my head up my ass and failed an entire section of our community.”
I suspect given half the chance, Henley would take the blame for the dinosaurs dying out too. I move off my seat. His blue dark and stormy eyes tracking me defensively. I hate that feeling, I’ve felt it too often, so as I move behind him I trail my hand over his shoulders letting him know where I am, and to also stop him jumping to his feet.
A low warning rumbles from him. A few days ago that noise would have scared me senseless, now it makes me act bolder, more reckless, because I know with all my heart that I’m completely safe with him. I glide onto his lap, my slip of a dress sliding straight up over my hips and scent him. In any other circumstance, I’d be freaking out about my unique peachy perfume filling his nose and me showing the world my ass and my pale pink thong, but we won’t be disturbed and no one can see us. They are also irrelevant compared to him.
“Lucky you were involved, Henley,” I purr into his ear, winding my arms around his neck, my nails scratching over his head purposely hurting him to keep him with me. “Or I wouldn’t be sitting on your lap where you said yourself I belong. How I got here is as irrelevant to our story as my past is. Parts of our history are important, but we have more important things to focus on. You should be proud of what you did. I want the world to see how you are righting wrongs that weren’t even yours to fix.”
His lip lifts in disgust as I talk, his shame and guilt barely hidden under his anger, making his scent leave a bitterness on my tongue. I fight to keep my reaction to his sourness on my lips to myself.
“You helped saved me, Hen. What you and Koda had to do was not sweet like unicorns and fluffy clouds. You dragged me backwards reminding me of horrors I never wanted to remember before we left that in our wake. Maybe Regalo was right on one thing though, I will have a better life as an omega, if that means I’m a part of your pack,” I say softly, loud enough for everyone to hear though every word I speak is for Henley. He pulls his head away, his hands on my hips like he is about to lift me up so he can leave.
“Koda, I heard the waiter tell you we’re the last ones here, didn’t I? And he wouldn’t be back until you ring that bell?” I twist around to see him, not that I really need to, I seriously feel his moods easier than I understand my own.
He leans back in his seat, winking at me, “Yeah.”
“Why?” Ashton asks, leaning his arms on the table. I get momentarily lost watching him. He’s an attractive man and he keeps rubbing a hand over his forearms, suggestively. And yeah, I keep responding in every way imaginable including the new ways that my body uses letting my pack know what I like.
“Hmmm, because I remember this thing Henley said to me about how when the time was right, he wanted me to tell him about survival. His words, not mine. ‘You need someone to tell you what an incredible feat you did’, and right now it seems relevant, right even, I throw those words back in his face.”
“Are you intentionally winding him up?” Koda asks, intrigued.
“Who me?” I gasp, sucking my finger in my mouth, giving Henley a hint of what is to come.
“What are you doing?” Henley snaps, moodier than Carmen when she’s hungover and hasn’t been laid.
“You don’t even need to ask me, like I begged you. Since we’re pack and all.” I lean in seriously, like I’m schooling him.
“What the hell are you talking about?” he hisses.
“I only asked who was involved in the centre because the next time I see them I’ll be telling them what an incredible job they did. But you got your nose out of joint and started running away, keener to keep everyone in the disaster he left behind. And we all know who he is.”
