Good Intentions

15

"You're serious? You're not lying?"

"Why would I lie? It serves me no benefit." Nick kissed his shoulder and let his lips linger there. "I want to make things right between you and me. I know you're still angry and I understand your anger, but I'll make it up to you. I promise."

Silence filled between them, which allowed Nick to continue to pepper kisses all over Leo's shoulders, neck and even his back. Leo had to bite his lip to keep himself from letting any unwanted sounds escape. It felt good and deep inside he was ecstatic that he was so close to his alpha. He was floating on a cloud of peace.

"See, doesn't this feel nice?" Nick asked.

"Uh huh."

"This is what I wanted to do with on the first day we met. If only you had been slightly more cooperative." Nick let out a chuckle. "Your sheer stubbornness is becoming quite endearing to me though."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Because I love everything about you. It's what makes you you." The blond sighed in content. "Can I kiss you?"

Leo raised his eyebrows once again. He wasn't in the mood to resist, especially since they were in such a relaxing state. "Fine."

"Turn your head and open your mouth for me," Nick whispered as he cradled Leo's head.

He did as he was told and met his alpha's lips once more. It was this moment when he wondered why he still didn't try to bite the nape of his neck yet. Usually when pairs first meet it's done right away, but it seemed that Nick was taking his sweet time with it, as if he were in no rush at all. Leo couldn't help but feel offended somehow. If Nick liked him so much, why hasn't it been done? Was he waiting for something? Was he uncertain about Leo? The questions swarmed Leo's mind like a chaotic beehive.

His furrowed his brow at the thought. He don't ought to be worried, especially since he didn't want to be here in the first place. In fact, he should be glad that he hasn't been bitten yet. Even so, it was starting to gnaw at his brain.

Nick was tender when he kissed him, even more gentle than he had ever been before. Much to his surprise, Nick was a tender lover. He cupped Leo's chin with one hand while the other smoothed over his belly under the water. Their tongues met once again and soon Leo was lost in the feeling of bliss and pleasure.

"I love you," Nick said suddenly when they parted from the kiss.

"You barely know me," Leo said with a chuckle.

"Then tell me about yourself."

"Why would I willingly do that? So that you can better understand my weaknesses?"

"No need to be so overdramatic. I meant things like your favourite colour, or your life goals."

"My favourite colour?" Leo stifled a laugh. "What are we? Five?"

"I'm serious, mon beau." Nick squeezed Leo's waist affectionately. "I wanna know everything about you, even the small stupid details."

"Does gold count as a colour?" Leo asked suddenly.

"I guess. Why is it your favourite?"

Before he could even register what he was going to say, the words started spilling from his lips. "It's the colour of your eyes, I think. I'm not sure whether they're just a really bright shade of amber, but it looks close to gold. When we first met, they were the first thing I noticed about you. You remember, don't you? It was really dark in the alleyway that night, and they seemed to shine through the darkness, kind of like a wolf or something. I always thought they were beautiful."

Nick didn't reply to him, probably digesting what Leo had just admitted to him. Leo was embarrassed when he finally realized the sincerity of his words.

"You're making this incredibly hard for me," Nick said with a sigh.

"Making what hard?"

"Having to take things at your pace to have more control. You have no idea what you're doing to me right now." He sighed again, only this time it was louder. "I'm going to step put of the bath now before I do something to you. You can stay as long as you want. Just let me know when you're finished, okay?"

Before Leo could say anything, his alpha rose from the water and combed a hand through his wet golden locks and then tiptoed carefully onto the tiled floor. Without saying anything else, he wrapped a towel around his waist and left the bathroom. Leo was in shock that he didn't initiate anything more than a kiss. With the two of them naked in the bath, he was certain that something a little heated was going to happen, but he was pleasantly surprised that it didn't, but at the same time he couldn't mask his disappointment as a frown rested on his face.

Considering that he rarely took baths, he allowed himself the luxury of staying in the bathtub longer than he anticipated. It was only until the water started to cool down when he decided it was a good time to head out. He lifted the plug of the tub and stayed in the tub until all the water was completely drained out, leaving his slightly cold and shivering from the gradual disappearance of warmth.

"Nick?" he called out. "I need some towels if you're still out there."

Not even a second later, Nick gently knocked at the door to let his presence be known before he stepped into the bathroom once more. In his hands he held two towels. He approached Leo, one eyebrow raised and creased.

"You could've called out to me sooner so that you wouldn't be stuck freezing like this."

"I thought you were busy with something."

"I was just working on some papers for the bookstore, so not really. According to one of my employees, we're running low on several new releases," Nick said somewhat absentmindedly. "Come on, mon beau, let's get you out of here."

Much to his surprise again, Nick didn't stare down at Leo's lower regions like he thought he would, but instead he quickly wrapped a towel carefully around his waist and then rubbed the other towel on his head. Leo felt like a little kid again.

"It's just about morning now, but we can sleep in," Nick told him as he guided him out of the bathroom. "For now you can wear my pajamas. I'll ask Adeline to find you new clothes after we wake up."

Leo let Nick bring him to the bed after getting dressed up and didn't object when he wrapped a protective arm around his waist. He stared deeply into his eyes, trying to find any hints of any awful intentions, but like always, he found none. Leo's shoulders relaxed, but he was sure that when he woke up he would be on edge again.

"Why are you being so kind to me?" Leo asked suddenly as he turned to face Nick.

"I've told you, you're my m-"

"Cut the bullshit. We both know that there are many abusive alphas out there who wouldn't give a shit about how their mates feel. Some of them are locked up and only used for breeding for sex whenever they're in heat. Omegas are looked down in society, yet here you are, treating me somewhat decent because you want to gain my trust so bad and you could have anyone you want, but you chose me for the sole reason that we are a fated pair. Realistically speaking, you only chose me for the sole reason that we are a fated pair. This is out of convenience, isn't it? Because we both know how painful it is to be separated from your mate. I just don't understa-"

"Hey," Nick cut him off and a bold glint shined in his eyes. His eyebrows were strewn together. "You don't get to say that I chose you only for convenience. I didn't get to have a say in who my mate would turn out to be, but I'm in love with you, Leo, even in the small amount of time we've spent together I will gladly say that I love you. Yes, I want to gain your trust but I'm doing all this because it is just the natural thing to do when you love someone, so stop questioning my intentions."

"Okay, okay," Leo said.

"Are we done talking about this now? I hate having to repeat myself."

"Fine," he said with a huff.

"We need to get some rest. I have something planned for tomorrow and it'll be a long day." Nick rubbed Leo's waist affectionately.

"What're we gonna do?"

"I'm going to introduce you to my father."