Chapter 26 #2
If this were any other time, if the panic of Jett still banging at the door of the trailer weren’t threatening to swallow me whole, I probably would’ve started bouncing on my toes.
But in this moment, I can’t properly appreciate the fact that Rowan just kissed me on the forehead.
No one’s ever done that before.
I want him to do it again.
“I’m fucking coming!” Rowan snarls, turning his back to me as he stalks to the door.
He wrenches the door open, standing squarely in the doorway and preventing me from seeing Jett’s face from where I’m at.
“About time, shitstain,” Jett huffs. He pauses, seeming to take Rowan in before he lets out a sharp bark of laughter. “I leave for a month and suddenly your balls drop? Hell of a glare you’re wearing, baby bro.”
“Don’t call me that,” Rowan snaps.
“Which one, shitstain or baby bro?” Jett sneers. “’Cause from where I’m standing, both of them fit.”
“Just give me whatever you’ve brought for the omega and leave. You know you can’t do anything to me right now.”
“How ‘bout you step aside and let me get a good look at her. It’s only fair I deliver the things she’s wearing to the person wearing them.”
Rowan stands tall, but that only seems to piss Jett off, because he pushes past Rowan easily.
A small sound of protest leaves my throat when I see Rowan stumbling back. It was a hard enough shove to move him out of the doorway, but luckily, he’s able to find his balance quickly.
Hopefully, that’s the only sort of physical contact Jett has with him. Rowan’s ribs still ache from time to time, especially on chilly mornings, after the beating Jett gave him a month ago.
“Ahhh, there she is,” Jett sneers, his gaze cutting to me.
I just blink at him, like a deer caught in headlights, my feet frozen to the floor.
Jett slings a backpack I didn’t realize he was carrying off his shoulder, opening the top pocket and tossing me a crumpled pile of lace. I stumble forward to try to catch it.
“What the fuck is that?” Rowan snarls, stepping between Jett and I.
“Her outfit,” Jett answers, rolling his eyes.
“Seriously? There’s barely any fabric there!”
Rowan is right. There really isn’t. Based on what I can see, there’s a pair of stockings and a barely there lace bodysuit. It’s basically lingerie.
“You seriously gonna complain about seeing her in something as hot as that?” Jett rolls his eyes before pulling out a shoebox and shoving it into Rowan’s arms.
“How did you know her shoe size?” Rowan grumbles, opening the box to reveal a sky-high pair of stilettos.
Oh boy. I don’t know if I’ll be able to walk in those. I’ve never worn heels before.
“Daddy dearest told me what size to get,” Jett shrugs. “Guess he noticed you bought her shoes or something.”
Rowan stiffens before he gives a jerky nod. “That it?”
“Fuck no. You’re forgetting the best part!”
My blood runs cold as he pulls out a decorative leash made up of chain.
“We can put that collar to good use since I hear you don’t shock her very often,” Jett says, dumping the leash on top of the shoebox in Rowan’s arms. “Since I’m apparently not allowed to touch either of you tonight, I’ll let you do the honors of getting her ready.”
He offers me one slimy look as he hefts his backpack over his shoulder.
“Count your days, omega. It’s only a matter of time before we have fun together. Daddy dearest sent me out to figure out how the hell to harvest your blood, and it involves inducing your heat. It’s only a matter of time before I’m given the all-clear and you become all mine.”
He reaches into his pocket and waves around an autoinjector, similar to the ones Rowan had in his bathroom earlier.
My heart instantly starts racing, and a whimper of fear leaves my throat.
Jett’s face splits into a wide grin as he inhales deeply, almost like he’s soaking in my terror.
“Get the fuck out!” Rowan snaps
“Yeah, yeah, I’m leaving,” he says, waving over his shoulder. “Can’t wait to see what you look like in your little getup tonight.”
The door slams behind him, and I slump down to the floor, my shoulders trembling.
“Fucking hell,” Rowan mutters, falling to his knees in front of me.
I fall into his open arms, resting my forehead against his shoulder as I struggle to take deep breaths.
“I—I hate him,” I whisper, my voice strained.
“You can say that again,” he says, his hand massaging soothing circles into my tense neck muscles.
“Do you—do you think he’s going to induce my heat?”
As soon as the words leave my lips, flashes of bright lights, restraints, and an indescribable pain I know was probably far worse when I experienced it flash through my head.
“I—I can never remember what the procedure back at the facility was like,” I say, my voice trembling.
“Maybe that’s your brain’s way of protecting you or something.”
Rowan’s words don’t ease my anxiety. If anything, they make it worse. All I can do is cling to him and try to keep the tears at bay. Now isn’t the time for tears.
“I’ll talk to my dad,” Rowan says quickly, hugging me back tightly. “I’ll—I’ll do something.”
“O—okay. He—he won’t do anything tonight, will he?”
“No. If he were, he would’ve done it already. So I think we’re in the clear.”
I nod into his shirt, pressing my cheek against his neck. I don’t know why I’m scent-marking him. It’s like an instinctual urge to reclaim this trailer as my territory. My safe space.
Or at least the closest thing I have to a safe space here.
“I—I guess I just have to get ready then,” I say, pulling back and shooting a wary glance at the pile of lingerie I have on my lap.
“The fucker is a disgusting pervert,” Rowan scowls, staring down at the scraps of lace like they’ve offended him.
I flinch at the intensity of his words.
“Yeah, but I don’t want to cause trouble or give him reason to take me away from you.”
“I hate it, but you’re probably right,” Rowan scowls. “I’ll find you something to wear on top of this. You shouldn’t have to be dragged around, practically naked, in the crowd that normally attends these events. But you should get ready.”
“Okay,” I say, offering Rowan a tight smile to get rid of the scowl that’s on his face.
He reaches up and cups my cheek, his expression still tight.
“Can—can I ask for one more favor?” I ask softly, averting my gaze to the floor.
“Anything, Sugar.”
“Can you kiss me on the forehead again?”
This time, his expression softens when I find the courage to peek up at him through the curtain of my hair.
“Course I can,” he says before leaning in and pressing a kiss to my forehead.
I let myself soak in that moment of peace before I push myself up to get ready for tonight’s fight.