Submitted by Leann Ryans

Chapter Eight

Scarlett

Groaning, Scarlett threw an arm over her eyes to try to block out the light. Her mouth felt like she had been sucking on sand all night while her head pounded along to her heartbeat. It had been a long time since she’d been hungover, usually too focused on work to let loose.

Knowing it wasn’t going to get better if she remained where she was, she let out a growl and pushed herself up, cracking open an eye. She froze when she noticed Ka’vin kneeling beside the end of her bed.

The last part of the night before was a little blurred, but she remembered bringing the omega home and putting him to bed on the floor. It had been hard to resist toppling him onto her mattress when his eagerness was so apparent, but she wasn’t the type to take advantage, and she knew she’d had too much to drink to think clearly.

She still wasn’t sure what to do about him.

Choking off her growl, she cleared her throat, trying to get enough moisture in her mouth to speak.

“Would you like me to get you a glass of water and some medicine?”

His rich voice poured over her like honey, her nipples hardening painfully as her core clenched. Giving a short nod, she watched his lithe body unfold as he stood and made his way to the door of the bedroom. He was still wearing nothing but the loincloth, and she admired his backside as it disappeared through the doorway.

Running her hands over her face, Scarlett rubbed the sleep from her eyes before pushing her hands through her hair, hoping she didn’t look as horrible as her head felt. Looking down, she realized she must have peeled off her dress before crawling into the bed, because there was nothing covering her besides the thin sheet pooled around her hips.

Yanking it up to cover her breasts just as Ka’vin walked back through the door, heat rushed to her cheeks even as her eyes were once again drawn to the tent in the cloth covering his cock. Dragging her gaze up his muscular body didn’t assuage the surge of lust flooding through her as he moved closer.

As he offered her the glass, he boldly held her gaze, fingers brushing her palm when he placed the pills in her upturned hand.

“Is there anything else you would like from me?”

The suggestion in his tone was evident, and Scarlett swallowed hard, feeling like their roles had been reversed. Omegas were known to be meek and submissive, but Ka’vin didn’t seem that way.

And she felt a little like prey with the hunger in his eyes.

Downing the pills, she avoided looking at him as she thought quickly. It wasn’t that she wasn’t attracted to him—she was—but there was a niggling suspicion that his attention was fake. That he was only offering because she owned him, and he thought she expected him to.

Finishing the glass of water, she focused on the bathroom door and swallowed the growl that threatened to spill at the thought of him faking interest in her. It wasn’t like her to be so moody, and she blamed it on the hangover.

“Food. Can you cook?”

“Yes.”

His slow reply showed his surprise at her question.

“Go make breakfast while I shower then. I know there’s eggs in the fridge. I’ll be out in twenty minutes.”

Waiting for him to leave the room, she kept her eyes focused straight ahead until he closed the bedroom door behind him. With a relieved sigh, she dropped the sheet and stood, tail lashing as she turned around to dig through her bag for clothing before making her way to the bathroom.

Scarlett had never really thought about having an omega. She’d figured they were too hard to find, and it was too much trouble to bother with. She’d always been self-sufficient and had buried the desire for a mate when she chose a career that took her so far from civilized planets.

Now that she had Ka’vin, she wasn’t sure what to do with him. She knew what he had been bought for, what her friends and even he expected from her, but the thought of taking him just because he was there made her skin crawl and her stomach churn.

As an alpha, she could always force a reaction from him, but Scarlett found that thought distasteful. Growling and using an omega’s biology against them to create desire seemed worse to her than knowing he was faking it.

Pushing the thoughts away, she cranked the shower up as hot as she could stand before stepping under the water, letting it rinse away the fog still clouding her head. Groaning, she scrubbed herself, resisting the urge to relieve the tension caused by the sexy omega currently making breakfast.

After getting out and drying off, she pulled on a pair of capris and a tank top. Then, with a deep breath, Scarlett opened the bedroom door and stepped out to the scent of bacon and toast.

Stomach growling, she looked over to the little kitchenette to see Ka’vin sliding eggs onto a plate. Forcing herself to ignore him, she poured a cup of coffee and held it to her nose, unable to help her sigh of disappointment when it didn’t smell nearly as good as the omega.

Scarlett walked over to the small table in the corner and took a seat, surprised when Ka’vin came up beside her. Kneeling, he placed the plate on the table in front of where she sat and bowed his head, hands resting on his thighs.

She couldn’t help the pleased rumble that left her chest. He submitted beautifully, without a fight, and it stirred the alpha in her despite her not being the type to demand such things.

Pulling her eyes away from him, she cleared her throat and looked around.

“Where is your breakfast?”

Her brows drew together when she realized he had only made one plate of food.

“I would not presume, Alpha.”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Scarlett mumbled as she rose to her feet.

She stalked over to a cabinet, took out another plate, and brought it back to the table. Scraping half her food onto the second dish, she sat it down in front of the extra chair with a thump.

“Eat.”

The order was short and gruff. Ka’vin’s eyes jerked to her face before darting away as he scrambled into the chair. Leaning over the plate of food, he began to do as she’d ordered.

Once she was satisfied he was eating, Scarlett turned back to her plate, lifting the fork to her mouth. He had seasoned the eggs perfectly, and she couldn’t contain another rumble of pleasure. If everything he cooked was as good as the eggs, it would be worth keeping him just to fix her meals. It was rare to get to eat anything so tasty in the depths of space.

The thought of keeping him to be her servant brought her up short and she had to force herself to swallow. She didn’t know the first thing about keeping an omega or making them happy, and it didn’t seem practical to even consider it. Others had told her that it could be a lot of work, and she wasn’t sure she had the time to deal with the complication to her otherwise simple life.

Once she finished her meal, Scarlett stood to take her plate to the sink, but Ka’vin reached out and gripped the other side of it.

“Let me.”

His voice was a soft plea, as if he truly wanted to wash the dish for her.

She let him take it, watching his lithe body as he walked to the sink. It didn’t take him long to clean the dishes, and when he turned, his violet eyes met hers for a moment before dropping to the floor as he waited for more instructions.