Chapter 37 #2
Lex pulls me to my feet, and we make our way back to the lockers. Technically, we may wear our suits through the entire building, but the thought of staying in a wet swimsuit all afternoon makes my skin crawl.
I’ll be wet enough being around my Alpha, I don’t need pool water adding to that sensation.
The restaurant serves lighter fare. Burgers, sandwiches, salads. I settle on a chipotle chicken melt, while Lex orders a bacon burger. Our conversation is light, filled with the get-to-know-you questions we skipped during the past half a year.
Learning about my Alphas love of engine work isn’t surprising. He and Creed both clearly love their cars. Taking extensive care of the vehicles. He tells me about helping his neighbor whenever something mechanical breaks.
I can’t imagine a fourteen or fifteen-year-old Lex surrounded by engine parts and covered in grease. Would he smile while he worked? Or is his usual stern expression how he’s always reacted?
After lunch, we head into the arcade. I let him kick my ass in all the shooters before I wreck him at the rhythm games. It’s been an incredible day. The weight that my confinement placed on me has lifted, helping to settle my chaotic emotions.
Late afternoon brings a new challenge. My proximity to Lex is making me horny as hell. If my scent glands were fully functioning, I’d be perfume bombing this arcade like crazy. It’s taking all of my self-control not to throw myself at him.
“What’s that look for, brat?”
Biting my lip, I shift on my feet. I could tell him. Let him take me home and help me calm the burning desire flowing through my veins. But that means all of this would be over. We’d pop the bubble we’ve been in. Lose his easygoing playfulness and laughter.
I’m not ready. I don’t want to go back to the awkward, hurt people we were before today. Having this all the time? That’s what I want.
“Bea?” Lex tips my head up with a single finger, studying my expression. He shudders. A full-body move I can feel deep in my soul. “Going home changes nothing. I’ll still be here. Still be yours.”
“Promise?” I hate that tears well in my eyes. That I’ve flipped from joyous to horny to crybaby in a matter of minutes. I know it’s from my heat. My hormones are a fluctuating disaster, taking control of my body with wild, unpredictable mood swings.
Lips seal to mine. A deep, ravenous kiss that leaves me breathless and reeling from its intensity. “I promise.”
He leaves me no room to protest, just grabs my hand and gathers our stuff. We’re in the car and headed back to the apartment by the time I shake myself from the stupor of his kiss. I’m nervous. Worried about how things will change, I want to trust him. To take his word and hold him to it.
Taking a steadying breath, I decide to do just that. I will believe Lex when he says he is mine. If he proves otherwise later on… Well, that’s his loss. I believe in second chances, but there will never be a third.
LEX
I’ve made my mate doubt me. Lost her trust. And it hurts. My inner Alpha rages inside of me. Ready to destroy everything.
When she had gone quiet in the arcade, staring into the distance, I knew something was wrong. Staring into the swirling galaxies in her eyes, I’d seen everything she wasn’t saying. How her heat was affecting her. Her fear that I would change my mind. That I would leave her. Again.
Fuck. If I could go back and kick my own ass, I would. I’m tempted to sign myself up for the next recruit training session just to let them pummel some sense into me. But I know Bea will worry if I come home with a black eye and bruised body.
The silence that stretches between us on the drive back to Starburgh isn’t exactly awkward. It’s… tentative. Like we’re both waiting for the other shoe to drop.
Parking in the lot next to our building, I flex my hands on the steering wheel, centering myself. Whatever Bea decides when we get up there, whatever she needs, I’ll make sure she has it whether that’s me or another one of her mates. She won’t have to sit with her emotions alone ever again.
Movement at the entrance of the lot distracts me. Fury roars through me when I see the same kid from outside Marcus’s apartment. Protective instincts flare to life, and I’m out of my seat and rounding the car before I can process the thought.
I sweep Bea into my arms and bolt into the building, shoving her into the elevator and using our keycard to lock it until it reaches our penthouse.
“Lex?” Worried eyes blink at me.
“Get into the penthouse and call Creed. Tell him to come home. Now.”
The doors close, locking her inside, and I turn on my heel. The security guard behind the desk rushes to ensure the elevator doesn’t stop until it reaches our floor, practically shutting the building down to protect my Omega.
Knowing she’s safe here, I stalk back outside. I will never act violently toward a minor. Not after the terrible experiences I had in my childhood. But if this kid thinks he can shadow my Omega, working for the man stalking and threatening her?
He’s going to learn a very hard lesson about messing with my mate.