The Matchmaker: Omega Dating Agency Prequel

Chapter 6 - Leo

Chapter 6 – Leo

I fell asleep in Malcolm's arms that night with his steady breathing as my lullaby. I had tried to stay awake to enjoy the magic of the moment, to cherish the aftermath of the best sex I'd ever had. Unfortunately, I was never good at keeping my eyes open after sex, and before I knew it I was blinking awake with sunlight in my eyes.

We had had leftover Japanese food for breakfast, and it was the best morning I'd ever had. Not because of the food, but because it was filled with sideways glances from Malcolm, little sneak peeks when he thought I wasn't paying attention. Small smiles that I caught out of the corner of my eye.

He seemed unsure whether to touch me, while also being unable to resist the urge. As though I were something magical.

Before I knew it, four weeks had flown by. A whole month, and probably the best month of my entire life. Malcolm and I saw each other every other day or so. At first, he still seemed really shy around me in public, as though he wasn't sure how to act. And that made me uncertain about the future, and if I should really let my heart be having free reign like this.

And then we would touch. We would lock eyes. And the outside world would fall away, until all I was left with was the certainty that I wanted to see where this would go. If this was what I'd been looking for all along, then I wasn't going to let it get away from me. Stability, a committed partner...

Malcolm could be that for me, if he let himself. And I was prepared to give him the same if he would have me.

Today was our one-month anniversary, and I was driving over to his house, daydreaming idly of the night we were going to have together. A picnic dinner with some wine, watching the sunset, heading back to his house to have some more amazing sex...

I arrived at Malcolm's house and ran into a bit of a problem. Namely, Malcolm wasn't out by his car, where he always waited for me before we went out on a date.

Worry squirmed around in my stomach, and I hurried up the driveway and to the front door. Did he lose track of time, or is it something more serious than that?

I knocked on the door, harder than I meant to. There was no way he couldn't have heard me, but there was still no response. I knocked again and when there was still nothing, I grabbed for the doorknob. Much to my surprise, the knob twisted, and I was able to let myself inside.

I stepped through the foyer and stood in the living room, looking around. He had recently begun to move some of his collectibles and knick-knacks out of his room and into the rest of the house; however, as much as seeing that always warmed my heart, there was still something lacking that bothered me. Namely, my boyfriend.

"Malcolm?" I called again, and peeked into the kitchen. Nothing there. Fearing now that maybe he'd fallen in the shower or something, I went down the hall, looking in every room along the way.

Nothing — until I reached his bedroom.

He was hunched over his computer, typing busily. Long strings of letters and numbers flew across the screen. He wasn't wearing a shirt, only pajama pants, and his hair was wilder than usual. Despite the situation, I couldn't help but admire his physique.

"Happy anniversary?" I said loudly from the doorway.

Malcolm jumped in his chair as he turned around to see me standing there with my arms crossed over my chest. Surprise flickered across his face, to be quickly replaced by embarrassment and guilt. "Leo! Shit. I lost track of time! I'm so sorry. Let me go get dressed, and..."

Any irritation I felt at his neglect disappeared. I shook my head and crossed to his chair, leaning over the back and wrapping my arms around his shoulders so I could kiss his cheek. "It's okay. It's not like we've got reservations at the park or anything. What's going on?"

Malcolm turned his head to kiss my lips as his features relaxed. Like a true alpha, he had been getting more and more confident with acting on his desires to touch me. "I really am sorry. I've just been working on this app, and I lost track of time."

"What kind of app?" I asked, curious. I lowered myself into his lap and tilted my head to look up at him, crinkling my nose and widening my eyes. I knew he couldn't resist me when I did that.

Malcolm kissed my nose. "You'll get wrinkles like me if you keep doing that."

"Uh-huh. The app?"

"It's just in the beginning stages," he explained. He straightened up a little, like he always did when he was discussing things he was passionate about. "I was thinking about some sort of connection app. Bringing people together. People who ... might not have always had the best luck."

Like you.

"Can I offer an idea?" I said.

"Go ahead."

"What about a dating app? Well, more like a connection app, like you said. For matchmaking."

"I'm listening," he said, the look on his face intense and interested.

"Why not design something that can help alphas like you find omegas like me? No one's perfect, but maybe there are people out there who are perfect for each other who would never find each other otherwise. Like us."

I held my breath, wondering how he would react to my suggestion. I had basically said I thought we were perfect for each other. I believed it, but did he?

After a long moment, Malcolm said, very softly, "I like it. We can call it Almega."

"Almega," I repeated. "Where alpha meets omega. Perfect."

Malcolm kissed me, his lips savoring mine, and I sighed happily against his mouth and held onto him tightly.

Perfect, Irepeated to myself.