15. Missing

Missing

Larken

W hen I woke refreshed, I swore I was going to make some time for Dalton. I was sick of always missing him. Not just his dick sucking skills either, or the way his hole squeezed my cock. His bright mind, sharp wit, humor, all had me wanting more and more of him. I just missed being around him.

As much as I loved being part of Roan's big, loud family, I was starting to think moving in was a mistake. It hurt to see him so happy, but not because I wanted that with him. No, I'd realized that just maybe, I wanted those things for myself. A mate, kids, the whole thing.

Determined to get some Dalton time, I texted him:

Lark: Can you get the day or even the morning off?

Dimples: Maybe. Why?

Lark: Wanna go on a date with me?

Dimples: Give me 5mins to speak to Axel .

I waited, impatient for his reply. He didn't make me wait long.

Dimples: We're slammed here.

My heart sank. I really wanted to spend just an hour with him. Just when I was ready to ask if I could take his lunch with him, he sent another message.

Dimples: Can take a longer lunch if that works?

Maybe it wasn't all one sided after all. Dalton wasn't completely over Axel, I knew that. He was dedicated in all things, meaning he crushed harder and longer than most. Was it possible he'd made room in his heart for me?

Lark: How long is longer?

Dimples: 2hrs instead of one. Make it count.

Lark: You got it. I'll bring lunch.

Dimples: kiss emoji

Well, that was something, wasn't it? Did that mean he was looking forward to it as much as I was?

Passing my time in Roan's house was child's play. There was always something needing cleaned or a baby needing held. I left showering until the last possible second to avoid being covered in something sticky or smelly. I'd learned that lesson. Do not hug babies goodbye no matter how cute they are, especially if you had an important meeting.

All the organizing for the date I'd done over the phone. I'd called Winter and asked him if he could make something special for us. Winter wasn't one who wanted romance for himself, but was happy to play Cupid for others. He roped Melody in to help.

I pretended this was a proper date, and I was picking Dalton up to whisk him away. He was at his desk, frowning at something he saw on the screen.

"May I escort you to our date?" I asked with a little bow and a flourish of the flower I'd picked from the gardens.

Dalton's head snapped up. Clearly, he hadn't heard me arrive.

"Oh! Five minutes, please." He clicked on a few things, read a couple of lines of text, and then noted something down on a notepad.

His smile was warm, something like affection in his eyes when I got his full attention. Damn, those dimples really did a number on me!

"Ready! Are you going to tell me what we're doing?"

"What we are doing is acting as if we are free to leave the compound and are visiting a restaurant. It's all set up for us." I brandished the almost forgotten flower I'd picked from outside.

"This is for you."

"Thank you, that's so sweet!" Dalton looked torn over what to do with the rose. I'd risked my fingers by plucking it and removing the thorns.

While we shifters had faster healing, I didn't want to get blood on my clothes, or worse, Dalton's. He dressed to impress in the office. He wore perfectly tailored blazers on the cooler days, sharp waistcoats over a pressed shirt in the summer. His tie always matched.

His outfit for our date was a pale gray silk waistcoat over a pale pink shirt with a gray tie. His trousers were a matching gray and tightly fitted around his thighs and ass. There wasn't a spare inch of fat on his body since the sickness. I kind of missed the slightly softer body he had before. Just as long as he was happy, though.

"Here." Chase saved the moment with a glass of water. "Put the flower in here. You can keep it on your desk."

"Thanks." Dalton's cheeks were pink, a pleased gleam in his eyes.

"Don't worry about being back within the two hours Axel gave you. You're always covering our asses. Let us cover yours," Chase ended his speech with a wink.

"Ignore Chase!" Axel yelled from his office.

"Ignore Axel!" Chase called back for his twin's benefit.

Dalton rose from his seat, taking my offered hand. "I'm going to take exactly as long as I please," he said with a sassy grin. "You'll just have to manage without me."

I didn't make any comment on it, too pleased to just be with Dalton to risk him getting offended, then cutting our date short. Reminding him about work and deadlines was sure to have the same response.

The library was an under-used room. Most of the alphas, and even a lot of the betas, were too busy with training to spend a lot of time in there. Handy for me, since it was the location for our date.

Melody had set the scene. The drapes were drawn, the lighting set low, and a tablet set with a crisp, white tablecloth. There was even a freaking centerpiece of wildflowers artfully arranged in what looked like a goldfish bowl with tiny fairy lights.

"Oh! This is… it's so nice!"

Dalton gave me a soft smile as I helped him into his seat.

"Unlike a restaurant, there's no menu. Winter has chosen what we'll be eating today, but he assures me he knows what we both like," I explained.

Really, it was awesome enough Winter was doing this for us, I didn't want to add extra work by asking for menu options.

Melody appeared at the side of the table on silent feet. She was one of the best enforcers if you wanted a job done quietly. People underestimated her because she was "just" a beta. Joke was on them, the woman was lethal when necessary. If there was ever a fight, I wanted her by my side. She didn't even have to shift to fuck you up, she was that dangerous in human form.

Like Chase and Winter, she hadn't stayed sick with the beta sickness for the full month, which meant she only had a half-formed gene. A relief to her because she didn't want to be an omega after seeing some of the treatment her sister, Cadence, went through. Melody's girlfriend, a witch from Northarbor, was probably glad she didn't have to worry about alphas and heats .

To be honest, I was glad Melody didn't have the beta gene. It would have sucked to lose her as a fighter, as selfish as that was. She would have been amazing as an alpha, though, but as far as I knew, no beta females had presented with that gene yet. If they had, they'd kept that quiet. The problems we faced because of two alpha baby girls would have most people keeping their alpha gene a secret. Couldn't really blame them there.

"Wine, gentlemen?" She held up a decent bottle of white wine. The alcohol wouldn't get us even close to tipsy.

"Please." Dalton's face was alight with pleasure, dimples on show. This date had been a fantastic idea. He was practically glowing! I wanted to commit every detail of his pretty face to memory.

His hazel eyes were bright. There was no shadow of a beard, suggesting he didn't grow much facial hair, or hardly shaved. He set his lips in the barest of smiles, as if he was trying to stop himself from saying something witty. I loved how the bottom lip was thicker than the top, that supposed imperfection made his smile better to me. His slender fingers twitched at the tablecloth like he was trying to ground himself in the moment.

Our first course was a simple, yet flavorful, salad with mixed greens and edamame beans. The dressing was tart, offering a nice balance of tastes .

Winter had made a pasta dish for our main course and ended the meal with a lemon posset, which was perfect. I would have to get the recipe, because Dalton stole what remained of mine. He reached the spoon over to me with the last mouthful and I winked as I took it into my mouth.

Our lovely server, Melody, must have felt the air shift because she made a quick exit with a giggle, as Dalton fixed a molten gaze on me.

He slipped off his seat and under the table. Before I knew it, those artistic hands were working on my fly.

"No, come up here." I moved my seat back to make room for him. "I need your mouth on mine."

Barely a second later, Dalton was straddling my lap. My hands automatically cupped his ass, grinding him against my very interested cock.

His kiss was long and deep. He sucked on my tongue, nipped at my bottom lip and swallowed my groans. Dalton's fingers twined in my hair, angling my head so he could kiss me deeper. All the while, he rocked, bringing me pleasure.

All I could taste was the lemon dessert and Dalton. His strawberry scent surrounded me. He was a solid weight in my lap, yet somehow I needed him closer. I needed more.

Dalton's fingers tightened their grasp of my hair as he rocked harder, faster than before .

"Close," he gasped.

Without even thinking about it, I pushed away from him a little, deftly opened his pants and stroked him to completion on my stomach.

"Ah, fuck!" he breathed against my neck as he came down from his high.

"Saved your clothes, at least." I laughed. My cock hurt. I was so hard for him. There was nothing I wanted more than to spread him out on the table and slip inside him.

"But you didn't…" Dalton looked dazed. My lizard preened at how satisfied our mate was.

"I will." Taking his come to use as lube, I reached for my cock and stroked only a handful of times before I came, adding to the mess on my shirt.

"We ruined your shirt," Dalton said with a sleepy yawn. Unfortunately for him, there wasn't time for a nap before he had to get back to work.

"Better than getting come all over your clothes. I can go home and shower."

"Thank you." He pressed his lips to mine in the sweetest kiss. "I better go." It was obvious he was reluctant.

"Just another kiss. "

"Okay."

A few more "last" kisses later, he left my lap and straightened his clothes. He winced when he looked at my soiled shirt.

"I'm sorry about that. You don't have to walk me back…"

"Alright." I really didn't want this to end. "Can I see you later?"

"Dinner? You cook at my house? The door is always unlocked."

"Are you sure you should be telling me that? I could creep in anytime."

Dalton's laugh was so genuine and warm. "Maybe I'd like that."

"Don't give me ideas. Get back to work and I'll see you for dinner."

He left looking happier than I'd seen him for a while.

"Here." Melody reappeared next to me to get our plates. She tossed me a shirt. "You are so whipped for that man."

"I really am."

There was no point in denying it.