in the direction we’d come from. We hurried past the reception room, careful not to let anyone see or hear us through the open door — not that George’s droning voice would’ve ever created an opportunity.
I led the way to the grand staircase in the foyer. Laughing, we climbed it quickly like two children scurrying back upstairs from the kitchen after nearly getting caught scarfing snacks late at night. We wound around the landing to the second and then third set of stairs, where we paused for a moment to catch our breath.
“How are you holding up?” I huffed.
Landon smiled. “Better than you, apparently. I would’ve thought after living here for so long you’d be used to scaling these.”
“Well, normally I have someone carry me up here in a carriage, but the staff is all preoccupied tonight, so forgive me for being a little winded,” I joked, and Landon laughed. The sound brought a smile so bright to my face that the corners of my mouth hurt from the effort.
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had fun in the manor, much less in the company of a very attractive, very witty omega. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to keep my hands to myself once I got Landon alone up on the battlements, but somehow, I didn’t think he’d mind.
“How much further do we have to go?” he asked.
I pointed across the landing to an inconspicuous corner where a narrow, stone spiral staircase wound up to the very top of the manor’s tallest, central tower. “Not far.”
“I’ll race you,” Landon said, his mischievous expression daring me to refuse.
“And you’ll lose,” I said and tore down the landing.
“Cheater!” Landon shouted as he ran after me. Amazingly, he overtook me quickly — no doubt thanks to legs strengthened from all his nights waiting tables — but because he didn’t know the layout of the manor, he careened around the corner to the staircase and slammed into the stone wall, laughing uncontrollably.
Unable to slow down in time, I crashed right into him, which only made him laugh harder. I couldn’t help joining. The whole thing was so childish and stupid, and yet I couldn’t deny I was having the time of my life with him.
Our eyes locked for an electrifying moment, and when Landon licked his plump lips eagerly yet nervously it took everything I had not to kiss them. Instead, I leaned forward, using my weight to pin him between my thrumming body and the wall. We were so close that his hot, ragged breaths spilled down my neck, sending chills rippling across my skin.
“W-what are we doing?” he whispered, playing bashful, though the look of raw desire on his face told me he knew damn well what we were doing. I’d always loved a man who played hard to get.
“Testing our chemistry. I’m sure you’ve heard by now that I’m looking for a compatible mate, haven’t you?” I breathed into his ear with my lips tantalizingly close to his lobe. The goosebumps that tore across the exposed skin on his neck stimulated me in ways I couldn’t explain. If he were anyone else, I would’ve ripped his clothes off and claimed him right there on the stone stairs, but I didn’t want to take him like I did the others. Inexplicably, I wanted to earn it. I closed my eyes and inhaled the intoxicating, pheromonal scent of his sweat and arousal, which made my cock swell against his leg.
Landon gulped. “I take it that means I’ve passed?”
“With ease,” I laughed. “I’d like to kiss you now, Landon. Is that okay?”
“Who am I to say no to my king?” he asked breathlessly as he ground his body against mine, and I couldn’t help myself any longer. I lunged for him and held his face between my hands as our mouths crashed. Though he seemed surprised and unsure at first, when I parted his lips with my tongue, he sighed and shuddered, and the tension in his mouth and jaw dissipated.
He groaned as his hands gripped my shoulders, and as I lost myself in the kiss, all I could think about was having him do exactly that when I entered him for the first time. I’d felt lust for omegas before — countless times — but this was different in a way I couldn’t explain. I didn’t merely want to bed Landon and move on like I had with so many others; I wanted to make him mine, to know every little