CAM

"AND THEN SHE threw up all over the desk!" Ty gleefully recounted the story of a sick classmate from the previous day as we waited for his school bus. It was early, with the sun barely yet lighting up the sky, but we were both used to being up early. "We had to leave the classroom while they cleaned it all up!"

"Lovely," I responded, resisting the urge to sigh over my son's love of everything gross. He hadn't gotten that from me.

"Yep! I bet she'll be out sick today," he predicted, tugging on the straps of his Epic Power Squad backpack as he shifted on his little sneakers.

"I sure hope so." I couldn't afford to stay home with Ty if he got sick, too. I hoped it wasn't a bug that would make its way through the class. "Make sure you eat the orange in your lunch today. You need the vitamin C."

"What's vitamin C?"

"It keeps you from getting sick."

"Oh. Okay, Dad." He was so trusting. He asked questions, but only because he was curious, not because he ever doubted my information. "And guess what else?"

"What?" I hoped it wouldn't be any more bodily-fluid related news.

"We're making posters! They're for when you come in for the conferences. We had to write our names and our age and draw our favorite food and animal and say what we want to be when we grow up. And we get to decorate them!"

The parent-teacher conference was two weeks away. I had already booked my spot with Ty's teacher. Even though both his kindergarten and first grade teacher had been totally friendly and very complimentary toward Ty, I hated going. I was pretty sure everyone was secretly judging me for being a single parent, and especially one so young. Even if Ty always had some of the best grades in the class, and was one of the most well behaved.

"Oh, boy. How are you going to decorate yours?" I asked, though I had a pretty good idea. He had a healthy appreciation for glitter in every form it could possibly come in. That one he had gotten from me.

" Dad ," he groused, crossing his arms over his chest. "It's supposed to be a surprise."

"Right. Sorry. I'll wait patiently for the surprise."

He loved surprises, whether he was giving or receiving them. I couldn't remember myself at his age to know if I had loved them back then, too. All I knew was I didn't really like them now. Uncertainty and change were my enemies.

"Well, I can give you one hint for what my favorite animal is," he said, obviously thinking himself very generous for the offer.

"Go ahead." I knew his favorite animal without question. We went to the park to feed them on the weekends. It thrilled him and was cheap for me. A win-win.

"Okay, here's the hint." Ty took a deep breath before letting out a very loud and very insistent quack. In a combination of a march and waddle, he made a circle around me, letting out more quacking sounds.

"If you keep quacking like that, you might turn into a duck," I warned, though his face only lit up excitedly.

"Cool! I wanna be a duck!"

When the bus pulled up just a few moments later, rolling to a stop in front of us, I leaned down to plant a kiss on the top of his head. His hair was soft and smelled like fruity kids' shampoo.

"Have a good day at school, baby. I'll be right here waiting for you when you get done."

"Okay!"

"I love you."

"Love you!" Ty gave me a big wave as he pranced up the steps, the bus doors sliding into place to close behind him. It started up with a hissing sound before rumbling off down the road to pick up other kids.

I wondered how many more years I'd have of the enthusiastic and casual I love you' s and if I should start preparing myself for when Ty would be too embarrassed to be kissed goodbye in public. Because the thought gave me a very unhappy feeling in the pit of my stomach, I pushed it away.

I had enough to be nervous about, anyway. Today was the day I'd agreed to do the product testing for Morrison Beauty. Well, I'd agreed to do it for Karter specifically. At least in my own mind, I could admit that. And I was a moron for even agreeing to it. I definitely needed the money, but there was a part of me that wouldn't let me say no, because it would let me be close to him, even just for a few minutes.

I knew very well that a man like Karter couldn't have more than a passing interest in someone like me. He was so obviously important and successful and I was a high school dropout. As much as I hated the extreme reaction my body had to him, I couldn't help but want more of it. I was drawn to him, whether I wanted to be or not.

I knew part of his appeal to me was that I was never the recipient of that kind of attention from alphas. Even if they initially found me cute, their attraction would fade as soon as they found out I had a son. I couldn't blame them for not being delighted by the idea of becoming a stepdad, but I had long given up on the dream that some Prince Charming would come and rescue me from this life. Pining for that was a recipe for pain.

But that was why it had hurt so bad when I'd figured out that Karter didn't realize that Ty was my kid. I knew better than to let myself dream that someone would like me for me and accept my life, but yet still somehow he'd convinced me, for a few minutes at least.

On the short walk back to the apartment, I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket.

A driver will be picking you up in half an hour. - Karter

My heart stumbled in my chest, a flash of anxiety overtaking me before I took a deep breath to try and quell it. There was nothing to worry about. I was just going to some place to try some stuff and make some money and then come home. There was absolutely nothing to freak out over. It was basically like a super temporary little part time job. It's not like this was going to turn into a Pretty Woman situation. Even if he wanted something like that, I'd have to say no, no matter how much I liked him.

Reciting the most calming mantras I could think of, I sat on the couch that also doubled as my bed and awaited my fate.

The car that arrived in front of my building was probably the nicest car that had ever been parked there. Before I could even get to it, a uniformed driver stepped out to open a rear door for me, gesturing for me to slide inside. When I did, I was shocked to see Karter sitting on one side of the spacious interior with his ankle crossed over his knee.

"I, um, I didn't know you'd be riding with me."

I'd figured he would probably be around for some of the day while I filled out surveys or whatever but nothing more. My nerves, already buzzing inside me like busy bees, intensified.

"Of course," he answered smoothly. "I'll be with you all day to ensure you're getting the best experience." As he spoke, he leaned forward to subtly press the button to push up the partition window thing, closing us off from the driver in the front. "I hope that isn't a problem."

"Of course not," I lied. But it wasn't like I had a right to complain.

I didn't know enough about men's suits to know exactly what Karter was wearing, but it was navy blue and it fit to his powerful form like a glove. He had a pair of stylish aviator sunglasses hanging from the lapel.

When I noticed him staring at me, I cleared my throat, again embarrassed by the stark difference in our attire. I was wearing tight skinny jeans that had definitely seen better days, frayed at the knees and ankles. My t-shirt had the words ‘snailed it' emblazoned over the chest with a sunglasses-clad snail underneath. At least my butt looked kind of nice in these pants.

"I wasn't sure what to wear, so… Should I have dressed up or something?"

"You look absolutely perfect," Karter assured me. "You don't need to worry about changing the way you dress for me, Cameron. Unless you decide you want to."

"Um, alright. If you say so." It wasn't like I really owned any dress clothes anyway, other than what I'd worn to my parents' funeral a few years back.

It was quiet for a few minutes, before Karter asked something that nearly had me opening the door and rolling out into the road.

"You do take suppressants, don't you?"

Unmarked omegas like me took daily suppressants to dilute our unique scents, which generally prevented alphas from picking up on them. Otherwise we'd be walking around giving guys boners day in and day out. Not only would that be incredibly awkward, but it could even be dangerous, if it happened with the wrong alpha. The exception to the rule was usually only when there was a strong attraction involved.

"Of course I do," I answered firmly, cheeks burning. They were cheap and available just about everywhere, with no prescription needed. "Can you smell me?" I asked, mortified by the idea. I'd never had an alpha bring up my scent before, so I didn't even know what it was like. I could have smelled like cigarettes and rotting fish for all I knew.

"Very strongly," Karter admitted. "Even that first time, when we were in the café."

Groaning a little in my throat, I averted my gaze out the window. "Sorry. I can double up on the pills tomorrow if you want." Because I could only do the mornings and early afternoons while Ty was in school, the company had agreed to host me over two days, today and tomorrow. "I don't know if it will help, but-"

"No," Karter cut me off. "I don't want that. You smell absolutely delectable."

"Oh." With my pulse skipping, I bit down into my lower lip as I considered Karter's words. Once again, his deep voice was turning me on way beyond what anyone's voice should have been able to do. "Do you…" Pausing to clear my throat and try to knock some of the husky arousal out of it, I nervously brushed my long bangs out of my eyes. "You don't think other alphas can too, do you?"

The idea that Karter was breathing in my pheromones, enjoying them, was completely embarrassing and felt so intimate I thought I could die, but thinking about other alphas in the same position was unpleasant and felt dirty somehow.

"I certainly hope not," he answered. "I've never looked into hiring a hit man but I'm open to the idea."

The statement was so unexpected, and spoken so flatly, I couldn't help but let out an awkward little giggle. "You're funny."

The way he stared at me after made me briefly think he wasn't joking, but I shook my head of that thought. I didn't think I wanted to be stuck in a fancy car with a guy who would take out a hit on anyone.

"I'm glad you think so. But to answer your question seriously, no, I don't think other alphas are able to scent you like I can."

I didn't know what made him so confident in that fact, but I didn't ask.

"So you said this whole reviewing products was a normal business thing, right?"

"That's right."

"Well, is this normal?" I gestured around to the luxury car around us. "Do you usually pick them up and everything?"

"Only for you, baby boy."

Those words in Karter's sex-soaked voice had blood rushing in two directions inside me. Up to color my cheeks and down to stiffen my dick. Praying he wouldn't notice, I shifted in my seat, trying to be subtle about hiding it.

"Oh, I'm sorry," he practically purred out. "Did that bother you? I'm not very good at keeping my thoughts to myself."

"N-no, it's not that. I just… I don't think anyone's ever given me a nickname or anything before."

"You don't think it suits you?"

"I don't know. I don't really think of myself like that, I guess." I didn't think of myself like anything but Ty's dad. I definitely didn't think of myself as someone that Karter Morrison would be even remotely interested in.

"Like what?" He wondered. "Like the enchanting, alluring omega that you are?"

"Uh, well, yeah. Basically." Was this conversation seriously happening, or had I suffered some head injury on the way out to the car and slipped into a coma?

"That's shocking to me, Cameron. I think you might have a distorted view of yourself."

"Maybe you're the one with the distorted view."

He smirked, letting out a soft chuckle. "My eyesight is just fine. I hope I can help remind you that, although there are clearly other aspects of your life where you are forced to give your time and energy, you deserve to be pampered and spoiled, too."

"Pampered and spoiled?" I repeated incredulously. Those two words were pretty far removed from my vocabulary.

"That's what I said. You don't plan on arguing with me, do you?" He reached out to me, his hand seeming to come in slow-motion. I could only stare, wide-eyed as it approached my face.

When my chin was gripped in his strong hand, his thumb dragging across my lower lip, I felt paralyzed. I was throbbing all over now, and couldn't imagine that Karter wasn't totally aware of how turned on I was.

"No."

"I didn't think so. I could tell as soon as I met you."

"Tell what?"

"That you'd want to be a good boy for me and do what I say."

Argue? I wasn't in the state of mind to deny him anything, let alone form a verbal argument against it. Was this what it was like, submitting to an alpha? Should I be feeling so helpless? Or was I just touch-starved?

All I knew was that I was definitely in over my head.