Chapter 46
Whoa! Where had this streak of melodrama come from? His omega’s safety came first. Time enough later to work out any misunderstanding.
Summoning the stoic determination he’d always relied on under stress, Grant molded his features into a neutral expression, hiding his anguish. “My vehicle is two blocks that way.” With military precision, he pivoted and headed down the road, eyes forward, fighting the near irresistible urge to turn around, toss his omega over his shoulder, and haul ass out of there.
When Grant got to the corner, he glanced back and let his tense shoulders sag in relief. Rafael was hurrying after him, having trouble keeping up in those absurd prison shoes. Grant waited a few moments, envisioning how he’d love to dress the man in the elegant clothes Rafael so deserved. And then, of course, undress him.
Once Rafael caught up with him, Grant fell in step beside his omega. Unable to resist, he laid one arm across the man’s shoulders and let his hand slide past the sleeve of the god-awful uniform to touch bare skin. As the delicious warmth soaked into Grant’s fingers, goosebumps rose on the omega’s flesh. Rafael leaned into Grant’s side. Thank God—even if the man wasn’t ready to admit it, here was evidence he was as affected by the contact as Grant was.
The alpha’s fears subsided. They were meant for each other, like in the old stories of life-bonded pairs. Rafael had felt it at the height of his heat—he must sense it now as well.
Reassured everything would be fine, Grant guided his omega to the SUV he’d parked on a side street just off the main road. He opened the rear passenger door, and, smiling, gestured for Rafael to get in.
Instead of obeying his doting alpha, the man closed the door, took a step back, and leveled an intense stare at Grant. “Why should I come with you?”
Startled, Grant mentally scrambled to get his bearings. “What? Of course you’re coming with me. It’s all settled.”
Rafael’s eyes were dark and unreadable. “What’s settled? Where are you taking me? And who are you to make my decisions for me?”
Grant blinked a few times as the haze of bliss he’d been floating in dissipated. Couldn’t Rafael sense the rightness about them? Was it only in Grant’s mind that things were settled?
Suddenly facing an uncertain future, Grant fought a growing sense of desperation. Somehow he’d lost control of the situation—never an easy thing for an alpha to deal with. The feeling translated into pique, lending his words too harsh a tone. “What’s settled is that you’re coming with me. Where I’m taking you is to safety. And as to who I am? I’m your alpha. Try to remember it.”
In an effort to tame his annoyance, Grant dragged his gaze away from his defiant omega and took a moment to breathe while looking around. Good thing he did.
At the end of the block, a slow-moving police cruiser crept along, its search light probing into the shadows of doorways and window wells. Grant jerked open the back door of the SUV, snagged the blanket off the seat, and grabbed Rafael’s upper arm. Dragging the man toward the door, he issued orders in a terse whisper. “Get in. Stay down. And not another word from you. I can’t have witnesses reporting I wasn’t alone.”
Rafael must have caught the urgency in Grant’s voice and, for once, did as he was told. Grant draped the blanket over him, closed the door, and ran for the driver’s side. A few moments later, he’d left the side street and was merging into the thicker traffic on the main road.
On the way across town, Grant’s resentment at being unappreciated simmered. After all he’d done and risked for Rafael, why was the man being so stubborn? How dare he question his alpha?
Oh, God.
The answer was obvious. Grant wasn’t Rafael’s alpha. Rafael didn’t want him.
How had Grant misjudged the situation? True, there was no formal understanding between them. But when a naked man climbs into someone’s lap and begs to be mated, do formalities matter? Didn’t Grant have the right to expect to claim the omega?
Not if Rafael didn’t want him.
A wave of despair drowned the last of his anger. If Rafael would not come of his own free will, it was over. Despite his own drives and needs, Grant would never force himself on the omega. No way could he subject someone he cared for to that kind of hell.
The voice in his mind whispered, or someone he loved
Was it love he felt for Rafael? They barely knew each other, and with the tangle of hormones and biology driving them, nothing was for sure. Maybe his need for Rafael would fade once they weren’t near each other.