"Erik, as much as I don't want to part with you, my family is inside the hotel, waiting for me. I only came out to get some air, and my mom is already worried about me. She thinks I'm having a hard time because my heat came early. She and my dad don't know about you being my fated mate yet. They still think my heat was caused by stress…" Liona said forlornly.
"Do you have to go back in? I know I'm being selfish, but I'm already missing work, so I don't want to part with you after waiting so long to see you again after your party."
"Oh, is that why you're here instead of at the grocery store working? You played hooky to find me?" Liona giggled.
"Not exactly. I actually fell asleep on the bus to work and ended up downtown when I woke up. I couldn't get a hold of my workplace and by the time I got back to the grocery store, my shift would have been nearly over anyway. So I decided to just wander around, and before I realized it, my alpha was sure that you were near and here you are…" Erik hugged Liona tightly, reluctant to let her out of his arms where she felt so perfect.
"Is that unusual? I mean, I don't know how you manage to work so many jobs and not fall asleep standing up! Do you have to work so much? Are things really bad for your family? I want you to tell me if things are difficult at home!" Liona was worried.
"Yes. These last few days, I've been downright exhausted, and I don't know why. Usually, I get about four hours of sleep a night before I wake up before dawn and head for work. I then work until 10 at night before heading home for the day. Monday is usually the only day I get a small reprieve from work where I don't have a shift at the grocery store or the fast-food place. On that day, I usually try to head home as soon as I can to give Nikki a break from watching our siblings…" Erik went on to explain to Liona that his sisters traded off days watching over his siblings. The more he spoke about his family situation, the more he was certain Liona was not going to look down on him or pity him.
"I see. You are amazing then, Erik! I could never do what you do, I think I would have collapsed from working so much! I admire you for wanting to help out your mom as much as possible. I adore your sisters, and I love that you want you to help Nikki out as much as possible so that she has her own free time away from the younger kids. You are such a nice big brother." Liona smiled up at Erik, shivering again as the breeze seemed to be trying to invade her thin mermaid evening gown.
"You're freezing, Liona!" Erik pulled her tightly against him and wrapped his warm arms around her body as much as he could. In response, Liona buried her face against his neck where his scent gland was and inhaled deeply. The scent of mint was strong here, and she couldn't get enough of it. She desired more of the scent for herself, so she took a chance and kissed it.
Erik had only wanted to keep Liona warm, so he had pulled her tightly into his embrace and leaned over to block as much of the biting wind as possible from her. She wasn't dressed to be out in the chill of the night air, even if she was beautifully clothed. The feel of her breasts against his body was enough to make him blush, so he was glad she couldn't see his face. He wanted to respect her, so he didn't mention that he was also trying to keep a certain body part away from her, as her rose scent invaded his mind when he leaned over her. He didn't know why he knew it was her rose scent, but his alpha sure did.
As he held her tightly while leaning over her, being careful not to touch her with his lower body, he felt the hot breath on his neck before he was startled when Liona placed a kiss on his scent gland. As he reacted involuntarily to that, he instinctively pulled Liona closer to him, forgetting for a moment what that kiss did to him. His alpha was enjoying that contact from her, and so he returned the favor as he pulled her against his body. He kissed her scent gland as well as his body raged against her slim figure. He heard a soft moan, so he did it again. He kissed her scent gland every time he heard her moan in response to the contact. He was starting to lose his head, while his alpha was wanting more.
Liona didn't know what she had done, but her omega was enjoying the thrill of contact with Erik's warm body. She no longer felt cold as Erik pulled her even closer to his body when she kissed his scent gland. He kissed her scent gland in response, and so she moaned at the contact as her body heated up, and she felt just how much Erik was enjoying that sound she had inadvertently made. He kissed her scent gland again, and again she let out a sound of pleasure. The more she moaned, the harder that part of Erik's body got as he pressed himself against her. She was losing her mind slowly, one kiss of her scent gland at a time. It thrilled her, but at the same time a small part of her warred with her as well. She wasn't ready for where this could potentially lead and was scared that if they didn't stop now, they could potentially ignore their barely suppressed inner-selves. So almost reluctantly, she pushed at Erik to keep that part of him that her omega was telling her it wanted, away.
Snapping out of a near trance, Erik felt Liona push at him. He realized what he was doing and stepped back, much to the protest of his alpha. "I'm sorry, Liona, I didn't mean to rush you. I want to be honest with you and say that I'm not sure if I'm ready for that step, even if my alpha wants to. I don't want you to feel pressured to do anything beyond what you feel ready for, either."
Liona was glad Erik understood her unspoken request. She looked up at him, as he continued to hold her in his arms, but at a more reasonable distance between them. "I'm not sure if I'm ready for that step either, Erik. I know my omega wants to, but I want to be the one in charge of making that decision. Later, once we both become more comfortable and know more about each other, then we can decide if we want to take that step. To be honest, I'm also a bit scared of my mom if she were to discover I went behind her back and decided to do the deed. She gets pretty heated about me being safe and in control of my actions if I decide that I want to take that step. Besides, I'm not currently on birth control and I really don't want to be a teenage mom right after discovering that you're my fated mate. I don't want to tie you down into raising a kid with me, especially since you already do so much for your family. We have our whole lives to get to know each other and decide when or if we want to be parents."
Erik listened to Liona and wholeheartedly loved her for being so rational and understanding of the situation they had almost found themselves in. But the bit about her mom was curious, so he found himself asking, "Is your mom against you having a fated mate? Is that why you're scared of her finding out if we end up doing that together?"
"No, just the opposite. I'm absolutely positive that both my parents will one hundred percent support me having found my mate. After all, they are both each other's fated mate as well. I'm worried because my mom is a baby doctor, so she's constantly warning me of things to do with being a young mom and the hardships that could bring. She delivers babies for a living, so she's trying her best to make sure I understand that there are consequences for letting myself get swept up in a situation that I'm not one-hundred percent ready for. I could quote conception rates until I'm blue in the face because she lectures me so much!" Liona added with a giggle.
"Wow. Your mom sounds like my mom. My mom got on my case for just having a good dream that I reacted too! She immediately jumped down my throat about babies costing a ton of money and how I couldn't afford to support an omega and a baby with my current income… Speaking of which, I won't let you pay for everything in our relationship! I know you have a lot of money; you've made that clear, but I can't in good conscience make you pay for our dates all the time. It may not be fancy or expensive, but I can still budget for a date or two on occasion!"