Page 8 of Cupid
Sitting across from a half-naked alpha who had more muscles than I’d ever seen in real life was a bit distracting. Arrow was just so sexy. With his broad shoulders and dark hair, I was officially smitten. Even just a quickie would be enough to restore my faith that there could be someone out there meant for me.
We ate leftovers with nothing more than polite chit chat and vague commentary between us, but the tension in the air couldn’t be ignored. It was like an invisible fog was hovering above us, weighing down as it pushed us toward each other.
In this unusual situation, I didn’t know how to stop the arousal that was beginning to pool in my seat. There was no way he didn’t scent it, but he was kind enough to ignore it. Which was impressive because alphas like Arrow didn’t have a meal with an unmated omega without some kind of plans in mind.
Fortunately, I had the same plans on my mind, though I could also sense a different kind of interest there.
Arrow seemed almost curious about me. And I was definitely curious about him.
When we were done eating, I didn’t want to immediately head into the room, so I opted to stall for a bit longer. “Do you like brownies?”
When his eyes lit up, I knew I was on to something.
“It’s just a mix, but I can add peppermint chips if you’d like. It makes me think of Christmas time.”
Arrow caught my gaze and nodded. “Yeah, I love brownies.”
“Okay, if you want to head into the living room, you can see if there’s anything on TV while I get them in the oven. It just takes a few minutes.”
He pushed back from the table and picked up his plate. “I’ll wash these while you do that.”
I cocked my head, surprised that he would offer to help. I’d never spent one-on-one time with an alpha in a domestic setting, but I’d always gotten the impression they weren’t particularly helpful when it came to kitchen duties. “You don’t have to do that. You’re on vacation. And since I’m intruding on that vacation, consider it free housekeeping services.”
I reached for his plate, but he didn’t hand it over. “Nope. If I were here alone, I’d be doing this all by myself. Sharing the work only makes sense.”
When he reached for my plate, I was too stunned to try to stop him. “Okay, thank you.”
For the next few minutes, Arrow washed the dishes and put them in the drying rack while I mixed up the brownies and popped them into the oven. While he went to check on his laundry, I grabbed a bottle of wine and a couple glasses then waited for him on the sofa.
When he came back, he was wearing a T-shirt that saidLove Machineacross the front. It did nothing to douse my arousal.
After carefully filling both glasses with my left hand, I placed one on the other side of the table, hoping he would join me in a drink. But if he didn’t, I was confident I could finish both on my own. After the day I’d had, I deserved them.
“Is this for me?” He reached for the glass on his side of the coffee table.
“Yeah, I hope you like Cabernet.” It was from my favorite Napa vineyard but not everyone appreciated a good Cab.
He grinned and nodded as he brought the glass to his face and took a sniff. “Smells nice. What are we drinking to?”
Suddenly, I felt shy, wondering if I was embarrassing myself by being so blatant with my interest. “Last-minute vacations?”
Arrow held his glass up. “And broken wrists.” He winked and tapped his glass against the edge of mine.
I swallowed hard as I stared at the cast on my arm with disdain. “I just hate being so useless. Everything takes me five times longer to do with my left hand.”
Arrow sucked in a quick breath, and I caught him glance down my body as if checking me out. “Well, then, it’s a good thing I’m here. I’ve got two perfectly good hands that can help you with anything you need.”
Damn, that almost sounded like flirting. I took a drink, which was more like a gulp, and then decided to see if I could get him to flirt some more. “So, you’re a love machine?”
His eyes narrowed for a second and then he looked down at his shirt. “Oh, yeah. It’s sort of a gag gift from one of my buddies.”
“What’s the gag? Are you a total player back home? One of those ‘love-them-and-leave-them’ alphas who leaves a trail of heartbroken omegas every night?” I tried to keep it light and playful, but the idea of him actually having a trail of omegas in his past did something funny to my insides.
I didn’t like it at all.
Arrow was just about to take a drink and had to cover his mouth to keep from spitting his wine out as he choked back a laugh. “No. The opposite. I have a knack for setting other people up, but it doesn’t quite work on myself.”
That shouldn’t have been reassuring…but it was. “Oh, well, that’s a bummer. Are you like… a matchmaker among your friends?”
