Omega’s Pretend Mate by Lacey Daize

Chapter 6 - Christian

“Christian? Will you marry me?”

I stared at the handsome omega who hadn’t even made it inside my apartment before proposing. Everything in me wanted to accept, even though I knew the reason for the question.

Finally I opened the door wider and ushered him in.

Gabe sighed and shuffled to my couch. He dropped onto it and hung his head between his hands.

I walked into the kitchen and grabbed a couple bottles of water from the fridge. I handed one to Gabe as I entered the living room, then I took a seat in the chair opposite him.

“How about you back up a bit,” I said. “Why me?”

Gabe set the bottle of water on a coaster, then started wringing his hands. “Don’t be offended, but you make the most sense.”

“How so?”

He took a deep breath, and released it slowly. “Remember how I told you that not many people know about my money?”

“Yeah.”

“That number gets even smaller when I think about people who aren’t already mated or married. I thought about omega friends, but that felt too much like asking for problems. I’d considered a few family friends, but they live on the east coast, and… there would be a lot of pressure to relocate and start having babies from both families. Which seems to create its own set of problems.”

“So you were left with me,” I guessed.

Gabe cringed. “Yeah…”

I stood and paced behind the chair. My alpha side insisted that I agree immediately. I’d admired Gabe from afar for years. He was kind, smart, and his good looks were icing on the cake.

He was my dream omega, if I wasn’t so much older, and that was a problem. Sooner or later I’d want more, especially if we had to be in close proximity.

I sat again with a sigh, and I could feel his eyes on me.

“This was a bad idea,” he said, shifting to stand.

I held out my hand to stop him.

“I haven’t said ‘no’ yet,” I stated. “But I haven’t said ‘yes’ either. There are a lot of things to think about.”

He settled on the couch again, and I took a moment to collect my thoughts.

“You know we’ll have to sell it, right?” I asked. “Live together, kiss in public, the works.”

He nodded.

“You also realize that this skirts our ethics requirements. While it would be within the scope of the trust rules, it would violate the spirit. We probably wouldn’t lose our licenses to practice, but we could end up with a censure if it ever came out that this was planned.”

Gabe paled, and I couldn’t blame him. It would make both our jobs harder, if not cost us significant advancement opportunities, if things went sideways. Still, the alpha part of me insisted that the risk was worth it for this man.

I moved and sat next to him on the couch, then took his hands in mine.

“Christian?”

I licked my lips. “Before I give you an answer, we need to make sure we can do this. It’ll all fall apart if we rush into a wedding and decide we can’t stand each other.”

He nodded. “What do you have in mind?”

“Whirlwind romance,” I stated. “We clicked after I brought you home the other day. Several dates later and we decide to jump and move in together. That gives us both a chance to see if we can spend any real time living under one roof, and will have us be seen as a couple.”

He stared. “You’re suggesting that we fake-date before we get married?”

I chuckled. “That’s the gist of it. Make it look as real as possible.”

“That… makes sense.”

“Good,” I replied. Then I slid my fingers underneath his chin, and ran my thumb over his lips.

Gabe’s eyes widened slightly as I leaned in.

“Christian?” he asked, breath fanning across my lips.

“If we’re going to have a whirlwind romance,” I murmured, “then we need to look like we can’t keep our hands off each other. Do you really want our first kiss in public to be clumsy and awkward?”

“No…” he breathed. His eyes fluttered shut, and his pink lips parted.

I closed the distance, bringing our mouths together.

Gabe was stiff at first, then he melted into the kiss.

I pulled back far quicker than I would have preferred. I wanted to explore his mouth; taste the sweetness of his breath. But I reminded myself that none of it was real. Every kiss, every touch, would be for show. I would have to lock any feelings for him away.

I was absolutely asking for trouble. But somehow I couldn’t bring myself to refuse.

“Well?” I asked, wanting to know if Gabe had been as ok with the kiss as I was.

“I… I think I can do that in public,” he whispered, breathless despite how short the kiss had been.

It’s all for show...

I leaned back and nodded. “Well at least we should be able to pull off the chemistry for it.”

He seemed to recover, and nodded.

“What will be the excuse for such a quick marriage though?” I asked. “Especially since a bonding bite will be off the table, for obvious reasons. Normally it’s the other way around in fast romances.”

He glanced down at his entwined fingers. “I think… that taking advantage of grandfather’s health is the easiest approach. They’ve wanted to see me married for so long, that I can say I wanted to be sure that he could be there.” He paused. “The bonding bite is harder. I know more couples are postponing bond bites, but my family might be pushy. You don’t happen to come from a family that believes in marriage before bonding, do you?”

I laughed, remembering the story of friends walking in on Liam and Alex as they were knotted together right after bonding. “Nope. But…” I rubbed my chin. “Maybe we can use my age, and experience, as an excuse. That’ll also help if anybody saw your proposal at the door. I’m the one slowing things down, to make sure it’s real, and I agree to the fast wedding for your grandfather’s sake.”

“Experience?” Gabe asked.

I groaned and ran a hand through my hair. “Back when I first got out of law school I did family law for a few years. I saw a lot of divorce cases for beta couples during that time, and it was often messy. But I remember one, a fast romance between an alpha and omega that turned sour within a couple years. Luckily there was no abuse, but they loathed each other. It ended up with the omega medically severing the bond. He’d decided that it was better to face the complications for the rest of his life, than be bound to a man he hated any longer.”

Gabe hissed in a breath.

I nodded. “An extreme measure, for sure. And one I will never forget. I’d rather fight the urge to bond, than watch somebody go through that.”

“I think that would make anybody understandably cautious.”

“Will your family understand?”

Gabe was silent for a moment as he considered. “I think so. They’d prefer to see a mark on me, but it’s as good an excuse as any. Plus they won’t expect to see me sporting a bite the day after the wedding either if that’s the reason you’re waiting.”

I studied him, looking for any signs of hesitation, then I leaned in again for another kiss.

“What was that for?” Gabe asked, eyes wide as I pulled back.

“Spontaneous,” I said. “If everything we do is scripted, then it won’t take long for people to see through it. We have to surprise each other.”

“I think I get it.”

“So when shall I pick you up tomorrow?”

“Huh?”

“Seems that it’s time for our first date.”

“Oh… um… seven?”

I nodded. “Seven it is. I think business casual should work for what to wear.”

“Ok.”

I escorted Gabe to the door, and watched until he turned out of sight towards the parking lot. Then I took a deep breath.

Was this reckless? Absolutely.

But I wasn’t going to back out either. He needed my help, and I wanted to give it to him.

Besides, this was my one opportunity to be with him, even if it was for show. I’d spend the next year enjoying every kiss and every touch, and when things ended, I’d at least have had a taste of perfection.

That would need to be enough.