Chapter 8
Eight
Iwalked right into someone.
Someone with a solid chest, who grunts in response.
I glance up and come face to face with Seth’s father, and a knot forms in my gut. My mind instantly recalls the strained fight I overheard in the kitchen.
“I’m sorry,” I apologize quickly, trying my best to diffuse the awkwardness strangling me.
He stares at me without a smile.
“Ah, finally, we meet Seth’s Omega,” he mutters, his tone more of a low grumble than a welcoming comment. “I guessed he’d never settle down in favor of his music. Maybe you’ll talk some sense into him about what his focus should be in life—family being a priority.”
I swallow hard, not expecting to be cornered and for Seth’s dad to fly right into a lecture, making me feel like I’m five years old. It’s also impossible to ignore the similarities between him and Seth. They have the same strong jawline and intense eyes, right down to their color.
“Your son has done extraordinary things,” I explain, thinking I can steer the conversation to something positive. I really hate the tone he uses when speaking of Seth. It reminds me too much of my mom—her distance, her lack of emotion toward me, her not accepting that I can do anything good.
The man’s nose creases like he’s going to sneeze. Instead, he mutters, “I didn’t realize you were one of his…” He glances into the air for a moment as if he’ll find his answer there. “Groupies, that’s it.”
His words hit me hard, and I flush at his accusation. How can he speak so disrespectfully about his son, who’s probably in earshot?
His mother joins us in an instant with a loud, forced laugh as she clings to her husband’s arm. “Oh, hun, don’t harass the girl. Let her be,” she chides gently.
But the man isn’t smiling. He turns away to speak with other guests, and his wife gives me a sympathetic shrug before following him.
I’m left standing there, feeling exposed and angry. Turning away, I notice Seth is watching me from across the covered part of the yard. His face is unreadable, but he’s not smiling with cheer.
Having a parent not show you affection, who rejects you, fucking sucks! A wave of sympathy for him washes over me.
What I wouldn’t give to find a rock to hide under.
As if the world heard my plea, Jasper strides in my direction. A smile splits his mouth, and his eyes are only for me. I tuck my hands behind my back, trying to make it look as casual as possible.
His stride is smooth, confident, and when he sidles up to me, looping an arm around my back, an electric charge zips down my spine. His presence softens every muscle in my body, yet my nipples harden.
He leans in close to my ear, and the warmth of his breath has me clenching my thighs together with the arousal that bursts through me.
“Maybe it’s best you don’t touch me,” I whisper, a ripple sliding down my spine to the blaze between my legs.
He chuckles softly. “We have to play the part of me as your doting Alpha,” he says in my ear.
“So, you’re saying normally, you’d be uncaring?” I tease. Being this close to him has a way of making me forget everything else.
He’s smiling inches from my face. “Oh, you have no idea how quickly I’d have you up in one of the bedrooms, you up against the wall, me kneeling between your thighs.”
A gasp rushes past my lips. “Th-That’s really not helping me.” The pulse of arousal thumps in my veins. If these are just initial signs of me going into heat, I’m slightly terrified to see what happens when I become a full-blown Omega.
Swallowing hard, I push against Jasper, but he grabs me around the waist harder and walks me away from the party. We’re headed across the yard to the rows of flowers in the beautifully manicured garden.
“Seemed you could do with some fresh air,” he says casually but holds me as if his life depends on it.
“I can feel warmth radiating off you,” I say, glancing over at him.
He stares down, and I notice the tent in his pants.
“Being this close to you affects me, even without your strong scent. It’s getting harder, but I’m trying.”
“So, we just stay out here until your dragon calms down.” I grin and blush, my cheeks on fire. I’m in a situation where I’m so curious about what he’s packing, yet I’m not exactly an expert at cocks.
Turning away from him, I struggle to find my breath.
Sprawling gardens surround us. The night is cool, and crickets are singing all around us. We reach towering trees covered in white flowers, their leaves swaying in the breeze. Branches even this far from the house are also covered in fairy lights, breaking through the night’s darkness.
“This property is huge,” I murmur, discovering the yard extends so much farther from the house. I glance over my shoulder at Jasper, who’s strolling after me, looking every bit the superstar—handsome and huge—making me gasp that I’m in his company. Is it possible to find someone so irresistible that you’re questioning if it’s a dream?
I had stumbled over him by chance and now look at me in the company of Fever. Yep, I’m trying really hard to stop swooning at that part. It also makes me wonder if my attraction to him is me fangirling over them, more so than my heat impacting me.
“The property goes all the way back to a pond with koi fish. The place really is extravagant. Seth grew up with everything he could have wanted.”
Yet the tension I spied in the kitchen tells me the one thing Seth wanted he didn’t get. I’m reminded of how desperately I wanted my mom to just love me like she once had. Sometimes, I wonder if parents reach a stage where they end up disliking their own children.
Exhaling loudly, I hit the edge of the stone footpath with the toe of my shoe. Stumbling forward, a rush of panic floods me as I brace for the fall. Embarrassment already engulfs me like an inferno.
Jasper’s there, his hand wrapped firmly around my arm, steadying me with a quick grip. His other hand latches around my waist, bringing me back to my feet.
The moment we touch, electricity sparks like a live wire. I may have found my balance, but I’m completely losing the battle with my libido. I swing toward him, feeling my body magnetically attached to his. A gasp rolls from my lips from bumping into him with more force than I anticipated.
“Oops. That’s kind of embarrassing. Sorry,” I say, my face growing hotter. Half-laughing, I pull back, needing distance between us. I’m chaos on legs around these Alphas.
The moment I retreat, Jasper reaches out to me with as much gusto as I showed seconds earlier. With me still trying to half-twist away from him, my legs tangle, and I’m falling again.
Shit.
Jasper’s coming down with me this time. We both tumble into the flower garden, into a heap of gorgeous dahlias, crushing them beneath us. Jasper has me in his arms, taking most of the fall.
“Oh, crap,” I murmur, half-laughing, half-groaning.
Jasper chuckles, not releasing me or trying to get up.
Our bodies are pressed so close, that something’s happening to mine. Flames burst inside me, and my panties are drenched so fast I’m startled.
Something crosses his handsome face, his lips parting, and a lock of dark hair sits over one of his eyes. I’m suddenly in a different universe where it’s only the two of us.
“Danica,” he whispers, almost as if it’s a forbidden word. Something about the way he says it leaves me trembling. His blue gaze holds mine. He feels the charge between us—he has to. My heart thunders behind my ribs.
“The power you hold over me is astounding,” he murmurs. “You’re perfect.” When he raises his hand, running the back of his knuckles across my cheeks, a surge of lust crashes into me.
It shouldn’t happen this fast. At school, they said it could take weeks for your body to work up to arousal, feeling only small trickles of excitement that came in bursts. However, what I’m feeling is so much deeper, rising through me like a tsunami.
“I-I guess—” My words vanish when Jasper’s lips are suddenly pressed to mine.
I stand no chance and lean into him.
I’m kissing the drummer of Fever.
An Alpha who I’m undeniably drawn to.
A man who thinks I’m this perfect Omega… but he can’t be more wrong.
The moment his tongue presses past my lips into my mouth, I lose my thoughts. It’s just him and me in the flower bed. My pulse beats rapidly in my ears as his hard erection pressing against my thigh.
Taking his tongue into my mouth, I suck on it and absolutely love his sweet taste, while his musky Alpha scent makes me dizzy. His taste fills my mouth while heat covers me.
Breaths racing, our lips are one, our tongues tangling. My control is slipping.
I start to break the kiss, but Jasper’s firm grip at the back of my head keeps me in place as he moves his tongue through my mouth possessively, as though he’s trying to taste all of me, to remember every inch of me. His other hand holds me tightly at the waist, then slowly creeps up.
I should be alarmed, except something about Jasper tastes like the sweetest fruit, and I can’t deny that resisting him is my weakness.
Groaning against his mouth, my eyes closed, I let myself loll back into his embrace. All I can concentrate on is the way his lips move over mine, how he licks them.
His breaths race as fast as mine as his other hand skips up my body and cups my breast.
Breathing heavily, I’m buzzing all over as I squeeze my thighs together.
Finally releasing me, he whispers against my mouth while pinching my nipple, “Do you want to take this further?”
A moan spills past my throat, my body writhing against him.
“Why’s it so hard to resist? Why do you smell and taste so incredible?”
He groans, and I love the sound he makes. Then he kisses a path of fire down to my throat.
“The things I want to do you,” he says, breathing heavily against my skin.
I can’t think straight and only make moaning sounds.
When his teeth scrape over my neck, I lean back, giving him access, wanting him to bite me. God, I’m so turned on.
“Is that a yes?” he asks with a growl in his throat. There’s something dominant about Jasper I hadn’t expected. He gives my breast a squeeze, sending my mind reeling.
“I want more,” I whisper. “But I don’t think I should. Not here. Not… We’ve just met.” I’m breathless, and when he takes a mock bite out of the side of my neck, I cry out. Thankfully, the music at the party muffles the sound.
“I’m starving for everything you have,” he states while I’m lying in his arms, both of us side by side, glued together and quivering.
A blaze flares up inside of me, but if I let Jasper stroke me, I won’t come back from how far I’ll drown. I’m teasing myself, and with that thought, I manage to untangle myself from his arms and get to my feet.
The breeze feels colder away from his body, but I need my head screwed on right to think straight.
“We probably shouldn’t have done that,” I say, brushing dirt off my skirt, some spots not coming out of the dark fabric. Maybe no one will notice the small stains.
Jasper climbs up from the garden, revealing the large patch of bent and ruined flowers we’ve destroyed. I cringe on the inside, hoping no one notices them. My attention fixes on the Alpha and on the erection in his pants, which somehow appears larger than before.
“Well, that’s one way to get closer to nature,” he jokes and cleans himself off, pulling a few leaves out of his hair.
I give him a lopsided grin, appreciating him being laid back about the situation.
“Sorry about that,” I say, glancing down at his tented pants. “I guess you need to stay hidden for a bit until it goes down?”
Chuckling, he flicks the hair off his face. “I can think of other ways you can help me.” That wink he gives me is beyond flirtatious. It’s hypnotic. “But I’m not going to rush you. Our bodies are calling to each other, so losing control is going to happen soon enough.”
I choke on a laugh. “That’s what worries me. I can barely hold myself back now, so how bad will I be later on?”
“You will be insatiable for me. Begging to suck my cock.”
My eyes open wide, and I’m convinced I’m burning up to a bright red.
“How can you just blurt that out where anyone can hear?”
“I’m not being crude, but it will happen. Surely the academy has told you?”
I blink at him, unable to believe we’re having this conversation. Yet all I can think about is how bruised my lips feel from his powerful kiss and how I miss his lips on mine.
“The academy told us we’ll lose our inhibitions, and we should let it happen. That the Alphas will take care of us, and we’re not to fight them. So, I mean, maybe it could happen. The academy did instruct us to follow our desires. We even looked at photos of penises and practiced sucking on bananas.”
“Bananas?” He studies me, laughing loudly. “Those are way too small.”
Is he kidding?
I move away from the crushed flowers to avoid being found at the scene of the crime.
“Interesting,” Jasper says, catching up to me. “So, what else did the academy teach you? What else were you shown to satisfy an Alpha?”
I cut him a stare, grinning. “You want the dirty scoop?”
“Desperate for it. It’s good to know what you’ve learned… and what I need to teach you.” He’s wearing a wicked grin, as if he’s going to enjoy this way too much.
I laugh, but my attention quickly shifts to a gazebo ahead. It’s round, resembling a dome, with its intricate metal structure beautifully entwined with wildly grown roses. It’s almost like something out of a fairytale.
“Wow! You make it sound like me staying with you is a done deal,” I murmur, unsure of how I feel. On one hand, this is what would happen at Nexus once I was appointed to a pack. On the other hand, things are moving too quickly.
“Isn’t it?” he replies, his expression sincere.
I hesitate for a moment. “Maybe you shouldn’t rush into such big decisions. What if you find out I’m not what you expect? Not good enough? What if it’s not what you want?”
His brow furrows. “That’ll never happen, and I know you want me.”
It’s getting hotter, and I’m pushing my hair off my face, needing the cool breeze.
“You’re very sure of yourself.” I step into the gazebo, captivated by its magical interior. It isn’t huge, but the ambiance is enchanting. There are two entrances, and each side features arched metal seating. I move to sit in the middle of a bench, taking in the surroundings, the flowers, the fairy lights.
I’ve never seen anything more beautiful.
For years, I’ve been trapped between going to the academy and staying home. Even with the weekly sneaking out with my friends, I didn’t have the chance to really explore the simple things in life, like this.
Fairy lights cast a soft glow on everything they touch. I feel a sense of contentment, despite the chaos of my day.
“I love this gazebo,” I say, excitement bubbling inside me.
Jasper, now sitting across from me, nods.
“Sometimes, I forget that Omegas are treated as precious things and are overprotected. You never get to see the world, do you?” he muses. “While others take freedom for granted.” He leans forward, his eyes reflecting the fairy lights, and my heart skips a beat. “If I could find a way to make the world safer for Omegas, I would.”
I laugh softly, more out of resignation than amusement.
“That’s really sweet, but let’s be honest, it’s not going to happen. Not while we can’t control our heat and while our scent makes Alphas insane with lust. We’re made to come together like two tornadoes clashing.”
The corner of his mouth lifts, but he’s not committed to the smile, not happy with my answer.
I’ve known him for less than a day, and already he’s rescued me. I’ve swooned over him, and we’ve kissed in a flower garden. Now, I’m feeling things for him—things that make me hell nervous at how fast they’re moving.
The worst part is I barely know the guy, and I can’t stop staring at him. My lips still ache from his bruising kiss. But I ache for more.
Thing is, the real problem is that I can no longer differentiate between my feelings for the drummer of Fever and my Omega heat craving him.