Chapter 22 Winnie
Winnie
Being on Corbin’s shoulders is insane. It kind of makes me dizzy, both from the height and from the feel of his muscled shoulders beneath my rear.
He rolls them, and I feel it under me as my core presses into the base of his warm neck.
I’ve already perfumed twice, but I could do it again.
Especially after what he said. Not just that I’m his priority.
His reply when I’d called him daddy. I hadn’t been trying to test out the nickname, really, I’d just been joking.
But his reply that he’d bend me over had me thinking up all kinds of scenarios.
I have to bite my lip. I’m wearing a skirt. No one can see anything because of Corbin’s neck and head, but there’s no way he doesn’t feel the dampness at my slit.
One big hand goes from holding my knee to rubbing up and down my shin. “Settle, Sweetheart. I’ve got you.” His voice is a deep rumble, and the palms of his hand are callused but calming.
We all line up. There’s a definite moment where the alpha stack looks like it might topple, but they get it together and we wait.
“Here,” Mayor Liu calls through the blowhorn, staking a big red flag into the cold sand, “is the finish line. First pair across wins the prize!”
“How much you want to bet that that ‘prize’ is more of her husband’s bland homemade cookies?” Connor says, nearly losing his balance again. Sunny whacks him on the arm with her hand, and the blowhorn sounds.
We’re off like a shot, and I’m clinging to Corbin’s forehead like a raccoon clinging to a trash can.
Everything feels off balance, and if none of us fall and break something, it will be a miracle.
This seems like a huge lawsuit risk for the city.
When I catch Mayor Liu’s expression, she’s figured that out too.
She looks slightly horrified as we all run, one stacked on top of the other, through the uneven sand toward the flag.
A barking down below us catches my attention, and sure enough, Deputy is running alongside with his tongue lolling, looking like he’s having the best time in the world.
Corbin and I are in the lead, but Cole starts catching up to us.
Bax and Connor are close behind until Bax loses his footing and goes tumbling down, face-planting in the sand.
The alphas roll off each other in a way that looks like they didn’t majorly injure anything.
We pull ahead of Cole again before Harlan and Rose start to overtake us.
I think Harlan’s going to win until Bram, of all alphas, passes both of us.
He’s the lankiest of all the alphas, but he must be packing some muscles underneath those elbow-patch cardigans, because he crashes over the finish line moments before me and Corbin do.
Corbin drops to his knees, which gives me the ability to safely climb down. He’s puffing, and so are the other alphas around us. As soon as I’m off his back, I come around to his front and drop to my knees in front of him.
“Sorry we didn’t wi—omph!” I throw my arms around him and kiss him. It’s not chaste, and there’s no regard for the people around us. His arms band around me, pulling me flush with his chest.
We break apart when Deputy squeezes his big body between us, tail wagging, tongue licking at our faces.
“What was that for?” he asks, chuckling and pushing Deputy to the side.
“That was so fun. Thank you,” I say simply. Cause it was. It was fun to race with my friends. It was fun for Corbin to feel like part of the community with me, and it finally felt like we’d become part of the larger group. Together.
He leans in, pressing a softer kiss to my lips. My arms circling his neck.
We untangle, and he helps me to my feet. I catch a glimpse of Clara and Bram, and sure enough, they’re being handed a basket of what looks like homemade goods with a big blue ribbon affixed to the side.