Page 55 of Scheme
For a while, we worked in silence—me writing an article on some recent new legislation for my firm’s website, while Kit edited some sunrise photos he’d taken at Epping Forest. Eventually, he excused himself to pop to the shops to get ingredients for whatever it was he was planning on making, while I continued on my draft.
There was a level of comfort to having Kit in my space that I didn’t want to analyse too closely. Omegas were territorial beasts for the most part, and while my office wasn’t nearly as sacred as my nest, I still hadn’t ever invited anyone else into it.
You’re just feeling extra relaxed from all the orgasms. It doesn’t mean anything.
Except my heat was approaching, so that was a total lie. I should bemoretense,moreterritorial, andfarmore selective about having an alpha anywhere near me for more than the time it took for his knot to go down.
I shook my head slightly.Don’t think about it.Was I in denial? Absolutely. But sometimes denial was a necessary self-preservation tool, so I wasn’t going to be too hard on myself.
Kit let himself in with the key I’d lent him—swooshwent my idiot belly at the casualness of it all—and started moving around the kitchen while I hid out in my office, using work as my shield.
I finished the article, sending it off to a colleague to review, before answering a few emails until the delicious scents coming from the kitchen enticed me out of hiding.
“Ah, she lives,” Kit said drily, stirring something at the stove. “I wondered if you’d climbed out the window and done a runner.”
“How ungallant of you not to check and follow me.”
“I figure you’d come back and omega-hiss me out of your space if you didn’t want me here.”
“That sounds about right, though I’m surprised you know that. No offence, but I didn’t think you knew much about omega instincts.”
“I don’t,” Kit agreed easily. “I’ve been doing some long overdue reading up on them, though.”
“Oh. Well, uh, good for you,” I replied awkwardly, not entirely sure how to respond to that. I didn’t want to give him too much credit—if Kit had paid more attention in the mandatory sex ed classes we all had in secondary school, he’d know most of this stuff.
“What are you making?” I asked, coming to stand next to him as he pulled a whole chicken out of a stock pot and transferred it to a casserole dish filled with ice and water.
“Hainanese chicken rice. After my mum got really busy at work, she didn’t have time for us to cook together like she did when I was little. But this is one recipe she made sure to pass on. I wanted to make it for you.”
There was more to that statement beneath the surface, but frankly, I wasn’t sure if either of us wanted to dive down and look.
“Thank you. I can’t wait, it smells so good.”
A smell that was only slightly ruined by the fabric-cleaning foam I’d sprayed all over the sofa. While Kit finished cooking, I grabbed a damp cloth and started scrubbing, ignoring his guilty expression.
Honestly, the cleaning solution smelledmuchworse than the evidence Kit and I had left behind, but it also wouldn’t turn me into a useless puddle of arousal every time I caught a whiff of it.
Or maybe it would, since I would forever remember why I’d needed to bust out the fabric cleaner in the first place.
“How are your siblings?” Kit asked, taking the lid off the pan the rice had been cooking in.What sorcery was this?I thought, washing my hands at the sink next to him. Rice never smelled like that when I made it.
“They’re fine.” I grabbed some cutlery from the drawer, setting it out on the table. “It hasn’t been easy on Asher, presenting as an omega. Our parents haven’t been the most supportive about it.”
“Why? Because he’s a boy?” Kit asked, sounding genuinely baffled in a way that I found incredibly gratifying. That was the way itshouldbe—a total non-issue.
“Exactly. Home isn’t the happiest place for Asher right now, which is why I’m trying to get him into the Sutton-Harris School.” I gestured at the painting on the wall. “He’s a really talented artist, and the school has an omega-only dorm. I already asked—he wouldn’t be the only male omega there.”
“He’s very good,” Kit murmured, looking up at the painting. “Your parents said no?”
“There’s an interview stage. I was grinding them down to let Asher atleastinterview, but then Calum died, and they won’t even acknowledge when I ask about the possibility now. That’s what my parents have that I want, the reason why I went along with this whole scheme in the first place. ”
“Ah. I might have known your reasons were selfless.”
I frowned. “I don’t know about that. You’re so determined to believe I’m nicer than I am.”
Kit hummed, giving me a knowing look as he carried two plates over to the table, setting them down before returning for condiments.
“I’m at your disposal for whatever help you might need in getting Asher into that school, though I’m sure you’d figure it out without me anyway.”
