Derek
“Pizza or Thai?” I ask as Emily flops on my couch and grabs the remote. “Your choice.”
“Oh, God,” she moans, kicking her socked feet up on the coffee table and navigating to the latest episode of The Witcher . “I’ve been dreaming about those spicy noodles you fed me last week.”
“Thai it is,” I grin, parking myself next to her and tapping our food order into my phone app. She snuggles into my side, and I can’t help the goofy smile that breaks over my face. “But be warned. If you keep making those sounds, we’re going to skip dinner and go straight to dessert.”
I know I’m getting slightly obsessed with feasting on my girlfriend, but Em could make a career out of sexy voiceovers. She has one of those slightly husky voices that turns every word into a suggestive purr, even though I can tell she has no idea the effect it has on people. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve fallen asleep with my phone tucked to my ear, Em spinning some story about the eating habits of the Western honeybee, my dick like a steel bar as I imagine her lips gently moving against the shell of my ear.
And don’t get me started on her humming. Maybe it’s something bee scientists pick up from exposure to the hives, but those soft vibrations she makes in the back of her throat just carry my nighttime fantasies straight over into my waking hours.
Which is one of the reasons I need her to move in here with me. That way I can listen to her chatter all day and hum all night, preferably without any sturdy walls – or clothes - between us.
But a familiar frustration knots my stomach as Em tries to stifle a yawn, the shadows under her eyes almost purple in this light . She works too hard and gives too much. If the world was a hive, Em would be one of the worker bees, gathering food so tirelessly that her wings would become tattered, and she eventually wouldn’t have the strength to fly back home.
Jesus, Summers, can you be any less of a ray of sunshine?
It’s just that asking for help seems to be missing from Em’s vocabulary. I see the way she looks around my place with longing, but even though she comes over at least three times a week, she rarely stays the night, always rushing off to help her family or to grab a couple of hours of study before starting work.
But that’s all about to change now she’s definitely/maybe moving in with me.
“Have you heard from Clark?” She asks, proving how gifted she is at reading my mind. “Is he still happy at the packhouse?”
“Yep. He’s all settled in.”
There’s a wistful note I can’t keep from my voice, and she looks at me curiously. It’s not surprising, since the only conversation we’ve ever had about packs was a touchy one. She told me about her sister’s pack falling apart after their mate was killed overseas, and I admitted that when I failed to present as an alpha in my late teens, my three high school friends ghosted me. They were all football players, and even though I was more into computers than sports, the plan had been for us to form a pack after graduation. The rejection stung like a bitch, and I still find it hard to bite my tongue when anyone expresses surprise that a guy with my physique is only a beta.
Which is a load of bullshit, because while alphas are revered for their physicality and aggressive ambition, it doesn’t mean betas are second-rate. We’re known for our intellect and perseverance, and on a day-to-day basis, my designation is irrelevant. Admittedly, I work behind a computer screen most of the time, where the size of your muscles is more likely to get you back strain than anything, but we’re the worker bees who keep the honey flowing. A petty part of me wants to believe that without us, alphas and omegas would be off rutting and nesting 24/7 while the rest of the world grinds to a halt.
It’s just that, sometimes I wish I had a bit more to offer. I can give Em a safe roof over her head, Netflix nights, and my eternal adoration, but I can count my other friends on one hand, and most of them are already in packs. Not that Em and I couldn’t just date and get married, like other beta couples do, but I’m certain that deep down she wants to be part of something more. She was made for something more, even though her dad tried to convince her otherwise, and she’s wearing the scars from that fucking arsehole who tried to bond her against her will.
“I really love this place,” she says, and I blink away the murderous feelings I have towards her ex. She’s looking around the living room, a soft look of hope on her beautiful face. “I feel like I should pinch myself. Am I really going to move in here?”
“Yep.” The grin that takes over my face uses muscles that I swear I didn’t know existed. “And if you’re worried about your budget, you know I’m happy to crunch numbers if it’d help.”
Not that I care if she moves in with just the clothes on her back, but we both smirk, since I’m well aware of how allergic she is to spreadsheets. She tries to hide the fact that her budget is currently written on the back page of her least favourite notebook, but I’ve got her sussed. Plus, she used a black marker instead of one of her glitter pens.
“Actually,” she draws the word out as she reaches into her bag, a hint of apology in her pretty hazel eyes. “There’s this job. Well, a contract, really. It’s only temporary right now, but the salary is ridiculous. If it works out, I could pay my way here, help out Mum and Dee, and still have some left over to put towards my student debt.”
“That’s amazing!” I scoop her into my arms, kissing her like I wanted to since she stepped through my front door. Her soft curves melt against me, her mouth opening eagerly under mine, and I groan as she wiggles over my stiffening cock. I grip her hip with one hand and slide the other under her silky hair, angling her face to deepen the kiss. She rocks against me harder, her fingers digging into my shoulders as our tongues tangle together. The longer we kiss, the more she moans against my mouth, her scent growing muskier as she rides me.
“Need to be inside you, Em,” I pant, flipping up her cute skirt and clutching at the soft globe of her arse. “Baby, I want you to ride me right here.”
“God, yes!” Her voice is a broken plea as her fingers fumble with my zipper. “That’s so much better than how I use my sister’s sofa.”
I snort, lifting my hips so she can work my jeans and boxers down my thighs. While she’s busy, I wrap a finger around one of her coppery curls and give it a teasing tug. “So, all those stories about sleeping with Spiderman aren’t true?”
“Oh, they’re true, alright.” She rises up onto her knees and pulls her thong down her silky legs. There’s a wicked gleam in her eyes as she dangles the lacy scrap in front of me. “And I’ve got the little lovebites to prove it.”
“Creepy little fucker,” I growl, dragging her back into my lap and attacking her mouth. She laughs against my lips, but as soon as her hot pussy makes contact with my dick, we both lose our minds. I wanted to strip her t-shirt off and play with her sweet tits, but we’re too far gone for foreplay. She’s petting and squeezing me, while my fingers are thrusting up into her hot core, my heart hammering so hard I’m surprised it doesn’t knock us off the couch. “You want this, don’t you?” I coo, rubbing at her swollen clit. “So slippery and hot for me, you can’t wait to swallow me up.”
I don’t know where the shit I say comes from half the time, but Em just whimpers like it really is poetry. “I need you, ,” she pants, notching my throbbing head between her folds. “I need you to fill me up.”
As if I’d ever deny her a single inch of myself.
But I hold myself still as she presses down hard, her pupils blowing wide as she takes me deep. I’m big, even without an alpha knot, and there’s a feral delight in knowing I’m stretching her to the brim. “How’s that, Em?”
“So good.” She gives a cute little hiccup as she rises over me, her thighs trembling with the strain. It’s like having hot velvet dragged over my cock and I grab her hips, drawing out the pleasure. “Is it good for you?”
It’s not the first time I’ve been buried inside her, but every time it gets better and better. “Best thing I ever felt.”
She moans, and then we’re lost for words, her back arching as she sinks back down. I watch in awe as she undulates over me, rising back up with a drawn-out moan. Every inch of my skin feels like it’s on fire, and I can’t help thrusting up into her silken warmth. It pushes her to her limit, but she just cries out and slams down harder.
I burrow my hand back between her thighs and squeeze her clit. She clenches down on me like a vise, and I groan as my balls give a warning throb. “Fuck, baby, I want to fill you with my cum.”
“Do it!” she pants, leaning forward and staring deep into my eyes. I watch flecks of lightning crackle in their depths as her face goes slack with pleasure. “, I’m coming right now .”
She doesn’t need to tell me; I can feel her thighs clench, her walls fluttering around me like a hot mouth. I give her pulsing clit one last stroke, then grab her hips, shooting inside her so hard, white lights flicker at the edges of my vision.
Her head falls forward, her lips moving over my throat as I wrap my arms around her back and soar through the afterglow. I’m so blissed out, it takes me a moment to realise she’s laughing. “Screw Spiderman. You’re my new superhero.”
“Just call me Betaman,” I snort, forcing my lids to open, even though all I want to do is roll her over and bury her in the couch. “Although, this might be my only superpower.”
“Well, it’s worth the accolades,” she hums as she presses a soft kiss to my lips. “And for the record, you really are better than any man I know.”
I hold her tighter and let the words soak deep into my skin. I want to tell her that she’s everything to me, that I’ve never been happier than I am right in this moment, but I swallow the declaration down. It’s still early days for us yet, and the last thing I want to do is scare her off by coming on too hard, too fast.
“I’m pretty sure I heard the delivery guy somewhere in the middle of that.”
I laugh at the look on her face, but as she heads for the bathroom, the jaunty skip in her step makes me feel like I’ve just outperformed the man of steel. After collecting the food delivery, I carry it into the kitchen and grab napkins, chopsticks, and a couple of beers. I’m just setting it all out on the coffee table in front of the couch when she reappears, her hair looped over her shoulder and a soft glow in her cheeks. She comes straight over for a kiss, humming as I pull her against my hip. “You look refreshed.”
“Doesn’t mean you get to skip a shower with me later.”
Em is a water bug and is never happier than when she’s soaking in a scorching hot bath. I’m pretty sure one of the reasons she loves this place so much is the superior water pressure.
“I got some more of those mango and coconut salts you like.” I kiss the tip of her nose, that warm feeling flaring in my chest again. “Maybe we can take a bath together after dinner?”
She makes her happy humming sound as we get settled on the couch. “Sounds perfect.” When she grabs her chopsticks and starts poking at the food, her face lights up. “Oh, yay, you got a double serving of noodles!”
It earns me another kiss, and then for a while we both just feed our stomachs. When we’re done, I scoop her feet up into my lap, and run my hands over her silky calves, just soaking up the bliss. “So, tell me about the new job. Is it through the uni?”
She fiddles with her beer bottle, biting the edge of her lip. “I’m not supposed to talk about it, to be honest. But since they want you to work for them, too, I think I can bend the rules.”
I frown as she drags her bag over, digging in the front pocket until she produces a black flash drive. I can tell at a glance it’s not the kind you get at the local office supplies store, and I take it with an uneasy feeling. She’s watching me closely, and I see a pang of regret in her eyes as I turn it over in my fingers. “They told me some stuff about the company you work for. Did you know it’s being investigated by the feds?”
That uneasy feeling swells into a full-blown stomachache. “Who, Em? Who told you this?”
“The project I’ll be working on is for a foundation called Vise Solutions. I met with…”
I’m off the couch before she finishes her sentence. “Finn Visser?” I grit out the name like it’s two separate curses, and it definitely should be. The guy has haunted me for months. “He’s the CEO of Vise Security.”
“Whoa.” She sits back with a hand pressed to her chest. “He said you guys had some history, but you look pissed.”
The laugh that tears out of me sounds more like a bark. Holy shit. The Vice is trying to screw with my mate.
I shove my panic down hard, striding over to the table and grabbing my laptop. “Finn Visser’s company does everything in security - cybercrime, corporate surveillance, asset protection, plus a bunch of murky shit for the military. If there’s a threat out there that could have a costly payday, he’s probably involved.”
Em follows me over, looking worried. “So, he’s a bad guy?”
I grip the back of my neck, frustration burning in my gut. “His company has dirt on everyone, including politicians, business leaders, even the military brass. It means the normal rules don’t apply, and he can get away with pretty much anything.”
Em’s eyes narrow. “Did he do something to you, ?”
“Um… yeah, but I kind of deserved it.” I cringe at the memory. “A couple of months ago, I poked around in his backyard, and he chased me out with a big fucking stick. It’s why I said I was out of town visiting my aunt. I needed to draw him off, and to see if he was going to come after me for real.”
Em marches back over to the food, her movements jerky as she cleans up our dinner. “And you think he still has it out for you?”
I pause, thinking about the night I hacked the king of the black hats in this country. He’s a ghost online, but I piggybacked off an email from one of his friends, injecting a rootkit into his personal system. I wasn’t after his secrets, exactly, but once I was in, I saw enough to know I’d fucked up big time. In my arrogance, I’d assumed it was a clean breach, confident his security bots would never find me creeping past their firewalls. Imagine my surprise when Visser himself dragged me out of hiding, chasing me out of his system like a feral wolf defending his turf.
His countermoves had been… visionary. I don’t think I took a full breath all night, my fingers cramping from having the bastard snapping at my every keystroke. Not that he couldn’t have decimated me much sooner, but he didn’t just want to boot me out of his system, he wanted to make sure I never dared return. He’d tossed zombies, botnets, and infected payloads at me like missiles, not even pretending to cloak his movements as he hunted me down, infiltrated my network, and then blew it all to hell. It was the hacker equivalent of getting your pants pulled down in public and your arse spanked raw. It was both brutal and breathtaking, and if my stupid dick got hard in the process, can anyone really blame me?
“Um… I don’t know. He hasn’t come near me since, but that doesn’t mean he’s not watching.”
Em gives an annoyed huff as she strides into the kitchen and starts stacking leftovers in the fridge. “So, is the job he offered you a genuine offer?”
“I’m more concerned that he’s only offered you the job to get to me.” She freezes, her hand gripping the counter, and I could punch myself in the dick for putting that look on her face. “Shit, I didn’t mean that. If it’s a scientific study, then it’s probably legit. You’re too good a researcher for it to be anything else.”
She gives me a small smile, but I know I’ve laid some pretty heavy doubts in her mind. Em suffered through a lot of bullshit growing up, first with her psycho army dad telling her she wasn’t worth anything unless she was an alpha, and then when he took off, leaving her to pick up the pieces of her already unstable mum. Abandonment issues run deep in her family, and if there’s anything that she hates, it’s feeling like she’s been manipulated by another man. I think she despises that about her ex almost as much as she loathes the fucking bite mark he left on her wrist.
I’m trying to think of another way to undo the damage when she grabs her phone and starts searching the contacts. “Let’s just call him and ask.”
“Call who?” I’m still thinking about the dickhead in Lycra I want to ram through a wall, so it takes me a moment to make the connection. “You mean Visser? ”
“Yep. He gave me his number and told me to call if I had any questions.” I gape at her, but she seems completely unconcerned by the fact that the most reclusive billionaire in the country gave her his direct line. “Hello, Mr Visser? It’s Emily Nash, from today. Yes. Oh, we’re good. We just had spicy noodles.” She pauses, her cheeks going a pretty shade of pink as she listens to whatever the fuck he thinks about our dinner choices. “No, I’ve never been to Thailand, but it sounds amazing.”
I think she can hear my molars grinding, because she shoots me a quick glance and then says, “Mr, Visser, I told about the job offer, and he’s concerned it’s payback for hacking your system.” I scowl at the answering chuckle that comes down the line, and Em’s spine stiffens, her protective instincts on high alert. “If you’re just messing with us, you need to back off right now.” She listens some more, then holds the phone out to me. “He wants to speak to you.”
Fuck me.
I shoot her an aggrieved look as I take it, but then a smooth voice is in my ear, making every hair on my body stand on end. “, it’s good to finally talk to you directly. I was following your work a long time before you approached me, and I have to say, I would’ve tried to poach you earlier if you weren’t caught up in the CIC mess.”
“Caught up?” I echo, my throat tightening with panic. I started my own digging into the company I work for a few months ago, after more than a few flags were raised on a project they were running off the books. I wasn’t aware of a formal investigation, but if the Criminal Intelligence Commission is involved, someone is going to prison. “You mean I’m implicated?”
“Not at all.” His voice is now a soothing rumble. “I spoke to the head investigator and vouched for you, so you’re free to leave any time you want. All benefits or backpay are frozen, unfortunately, but you’ll get an advance from me, so it shouldn’t put too much of a strain on you.”
A strain? Is this guy delirious? And how can he sound so calm when I feel like I’m about to have a heart attack?
“Like I told Emily, this is a confidential project,” he goes on, that alpha rumble worming its way further under my skin. “But since you’ve already had a look under the covers, I can confirm it has to do with switching and designation manipulation.”
“I was only searching for some information to help my friend,” I splutter in my defence.
“Clark Robinson, your former housemate,” he confirms. “He’s part of the project now, so you can discuss it openly with him if you join us.”
I glance at Em, who’s biting nervously on her lip. I don’t know if this guy is being honest with us, but without my current salary, there’s no way in hell we can swing the rent on this place. And I’d walk over hot coals before I let that dream slip away from us.
“You get that we’re a package deal, right?” I growl, not giving two fucks if it pisses off the alpha that’s about to have my figurative balls in his hand. “I won’t let anyone fucking hurt her, okay?”
“Nor would I, so it sounds like you’re joining the right team.”