Chapter 5 #2
Holding in a groan, I smash the back of my head against the chair. Ow.
“I need to apologize to her,” I sigh. “My pack and I may not have made the best impression upon her.”
“And you care because… ” Aisling is like a dog with a bone. The omega is feisty and not going to let go.
Please don’t let me dig myself any deeper.
“It’s not why I care, but the fact that it’s a big enough deal that I need to make amends,” I say seriously. “Hollis and my pack seem to have had a very extreme reaction to each other. Unfortunate words were said. Do you know if her pack will be upset if I deliver flowers to her?”
Felix drops his head into his hands with a muffled groan. Yes, at this point I’m simply trying to keep my head above water here.
“ You’re so in trouble,” Aisling breathes. “ Did you call me to pump me for information about my friend?”
“If it makes things better, I really only wanted information on her favorite flowers. Apologizing doesn’t ring true with the wrong bouquet,” I mutter.
“ How often do you find yourself in the doghouse, Malcolm?” she laughs.
“Not that often surprisingly,” I admit. “It was like a runaway train, Aisling. I’m surprised she didn’t stab one of us.”
“ Huh,” she says. “ Why are you asking me about her pack?”
As a low growl starts deep in my chest, I rub my forehead. I’m already feeling possessive. Aisling also didn’t deny that Hollis didn’t have one yet.
“Two men came into the office while we were there,” I explain. “They were very handsy, which didn’t help the ill fated conversation.”
“ People don’t typically touch Hollis without her permission unless they have a death wish ,” she laughs, not answering my question.
“ Hollis is a little scary,” I mutter. “Two idiots walked by the office and started making lewd faces at her. She pulled a knife out from her cleavage and licked it.”
“Did they run away screaming?” Aisling asks, amused.
“Oh yes they did,” I say. “The guys who were with Hollis stayed behind with her, but I’m not a fan of where her office is located.”
“ That’s a lot to unpack,” Aisling murmurs.
“ Hollis is lethal. She can take care of herself, and I’ve learned personally that the ability to be independent is paramount sometimes.
Despite having to walk through a bad neighborhood to get to work or knowing that you’re going to have to dash to your car once you’re done.
If you’re interested in her, you need to know that her life isn’t all flowers and roses. ”
“I think it makes me feel better knowing that she can defend herself,” I say. Aisling’s words penetrate my brain, and I grin. “Wait, you said if we’re interested. So there’s a chance?”
“ Shit,” Aisling curses as my heart begins to pound. My blood pressure skyrockets so hard that my ears ring too. This sounds like my kind of mistake. “ I’m only going to help you because the woman is the mafia’s version of a fucking saint. I am not responsible if you get your knots cut off by her.”
Aghast, I cup my dick. Damn, I wonder if Hollis actually would. That doesn’t mean that I didn’t jerk off in the shower this morning to the fantasy of her grazing her knife over my skin. I have no problems with a little knife and blood play, but I draw the line at cutting off my knot.
That’ll pull out my safe word.
“Understood,” I gulp.
My pack is looking expectantly at me, but I can’t turn on the speaker now without Aisling noticing.
“She likes white daisies ,” Aisling says. “ Hollis occasionally buys them for herself and I’ve seen them in her office.”
“Thank you,” I breathe.
“ Don’t fuck it up again,” she practically growls. “ Are you only doing the gift bags, or is there more?”
“We’re donating some money to help cover costs and calling it a sponsorship,” I mumble.
“ So you fucked up big time,” she muses. “ Good luck, Malcolm. No one holds a grudge like an Irish omega. I should know. ”
Aisling hangs up without another word, and I look over at my pack.
“Daisies,” I rasp. “Those are her favorite flowers.”
Felix looks over his shoulder where there is a huge bush of daisies growing in our garden. It’s not that we don’t have flowers in hanging planters or bushes. I just didn’t expect to already have Hollis’ favorite flowers within reach.
“Who is bringing them to her?” Remy asks. What he’s really asking is who will she hate the least?
“Make me the bouquet, Malcolm, and I'll take it to her,” Brice murmurs. “Should I bring her food too? Do you think that’ll help?”
“I think a fed omega makes for a less dangerous one,” Felix grunts. “Or something.”
We are so outside of our depths right now it isn’t funny.
“We’ll try this,” I decide. “If this doesn’t soften her at all, I want to ask her if we can join the mixer again as a pack.”
Remy gives me a startled look while I shrug. “I don’t believe she doesn’t know that she’s our scent match. I mean, how could she not?”
“I felt it as soon as I got close to her,” Felix confesses. “Hollis smells like her invitations.”
“Same,” Remy says. “Except, it made me feel really aggressive. It was really odd. I wanted to pin her to the desk and rip off her dress.”
“Really?” I ask, eyes wide.
“I felt like that too,” Felix sighs. “That's why I started getting more and more angry. I couldn’t stop saying things that my mother would beat me with a spoon for.”
“I felt really protective,” Brice says. “I wanted to make her life easier.”
“That’s how I felt,” I agree. “I don’t know if I made that clear or not.”
“So are we planning to make her jealous by attending her mixer?” Remy asks.
“We try the nice way first,” I confirm. “We obviously aren’t interested in anyone other than her, but I see no harm in seeing how she reacts.”
“You clutched your dick,” Felix says suddenly, remembering. “I think that’s the harm we have to worry about.”
“Then we make her out of her mind aroused. I’m talking a hostile fucking takeover for her heart and her body,” I say. “I want her to think twice before stabbing us in the dick.”
“So anywhere else is on the table,” Remy breathes. “I wonder if they have protective cups to save my knot.”
Unable to help it, I chuckle. “That’s not a bad idea,” I murmur, standing. “I’m going for a jog. Does anyone want to come?”
“Yeah,” Felix says. “I’ll come. Maybe we can see if our tenant needs anything. She’s been really quiet.”
“I think she’s working on her van,” Brice says as we walk inside. “It made a godawful sound the other day.”
“It’s a death trap,” Remy says. “I promise not to tell her that though!”
Well, at least there are small mercies in life.