Chapter 9
NINE
willa
“James, get your ass back to work.”
I feel the bark in his voice instantly, though I know it was unintentional. And if I’m honest, probably deserved.
I’ve been all over the place today. Forgetting things, going to the barns when I’m meant to be at the arena.
This is all his fault.
One six-and-a-half-foot wall of Alpha who’s flipped my Omega instincts upside down and turned my brain completely to mush.
I look over to see the head vet point first at me, then at my radio. When I glance down, I realize it somehow got switched off. I shoot him a thumbs-up and flick it back on—only to hear my name being called.
“James, do you copy? We need you here. Five minutes ago.”
Part of my apprenticeship is observational hours. Today I’m supposed to be shadowing King, the chute boss.
“Copy. Heading that way.” I squash down the unease at being unprofessional. I know how to do my job, and the last thing I want is to look like I don’t.
I run down the alley and pass Felton, giving him a wide berth. But not before I catch the particularly unsavory look he’s giving me. I can practically feel his eyes as they roam up my body. The urge to retch comes unbidden.
I make my way right up the chute alley. And just my luck, the rider is Beau. It’s like now that I’ve met him, I can’t get rid of him.
I don’t stop to entertain the giddy excitement that blooms in my chest at seeing him, or the surge of desire that rushes through me when he meets my gaze and a confident, sexy-as-hell smile graces his all-too-handsome face.
“Willa,” he says with a slight dip to his head. Somehow, he laced enough heat into that one look and the way he said my name that my traitorous body tingles. And I know that if I were to check, my underwear would be wet with slick.
Fuck, my Omega likes him. Thank God for suppressants, or my perfume would be everywhere. As it is, I’m sure I’m scenting enough for the men in my immediate vicinity to notice, and I feel a deep blush as I catch Beau inhale, almost imperceptibly.
“Hey.” I go for cool indifference. And I'm instantly sure I don’t pull it off. “Sorry I’m late.”
“Don’t worry about it,” King says affably.
“Just glad you got here in time. McCrae is about to ride, and this is as good a time as any to get you marked off on this. Plus, it’s the last ride of the night, and I’m sure it’s going to be good.
” He says the last as he shoots Beau a cocky grin. “Right, Saint? You ready?”
Beau lets another one of those looks slide over me, and fuck, I can almost feel it. I swallow the sudden lump in my throat, my heart beating way, way too fast. What is happening to me? It takes actual effort to calm myself back down.
A wave of panic tightens across my chest as I watch him settle onto the bull—rope set, long legs braced, one deep breath drawn in. Then he gives the nod. And then the chute flies open.
I’ll never get over this moment. There isn’t a word or phrase that can touch on the surge of power that fills the air when the chute opens. My Omega instincts are going crazy.
First, the panic because I just don’t like seeing him in danger, and then the excitement because I know he’s good. The sense of pride that engulfs me is as strange as it is overwhelming.
He’s not mine, but fuck do I want a taste. I’m still feeling the electricity from where his skin met mine this morning, and the pull he had in his eyes. I would have climbed him and kissed him until I forgot where we were if Pearl hadn’t piped up.
The buzzer sounds, and the crowd surges with cheers and exaltation. He’s done it again. As he slides from the bull and runs to the rails, almost directly in front of where I’m standing, time slows.
The inhale and exhale of his breath. The bob of his Adam’s apple. The deep baritone of his voice when he says, “Hey, darling,” before turning to pump his fist at the crowd.
His proximity makes me want to lean forward and press every inch of my body against every hard, firm plane of his.
Oh God. I need to get a grip.
But just as fast as his eyes heat, they cool and are filled with danger as he glances over my shoulder.
Turning to see what has him looking like that, I spot Mark Felton talking to the chute boss. I’m about to make my exit, still sticking to my “anywhere Mark is, I’m not” rule, when the chute boss glances over at me. King lifts his hand and motions for me to join them.
With a fleeting look at Beau, I head that way. At least I’m not alone with him.
The look in Beau’s eyes is lethal. I can tell if he had the power to jump the fence right now, he’d do it. The realization is confusing.
“James, Felton here needs to talk about tomorrow’s placement. I can’t be here, so you’ll have to shadow someone else for takedown.”
King makes his exit, and somehow what felt public with him here now feels not so safe when it’s just me and Felton.
I got this. Professional. He can’t hurt me. He has nothing over me.
“Felton, so what’s the plan? Where am I tomorrow?”
“Straight down to business. We haven’t caught up in ages.”
I ignore it. “Just tell me where I’m going,” I say, taking a step back, trying to keep the fear out of my voice and giving myself enough vinegar to sound unaffected.
“It seems that you haven’t gone over the paperwork side yet. I think it’s a good idea to do that. I’ll be in the trailer at seven a.m. Be there. It’ll just be me and you, so we can go over all the protocols you’ll need to know.”
“Where’s Carrie?” I ask, unable to keep my voice completely steady. And the satisfied smile that plays across his lips is slimy.
“She has tomorrow off, along with most of the office staff.” He steps a little closer to me. I take another step back, and I bump into the back of the bleachers. How did I let him corner me?
“Can you move back?” I ask.
“Not if I don’t want to.” He leans in close enough that his breath brushes along my neck. I’m sure to anyone else, it just looks like he’s trying to tell me something over the roar of the crowd. Who’d ever expect Felton to be a predator?
I feel like I can’t breathe. I can’t make my heart settle down.
“See, the thing is, Willa, you owe me.” He hovers a finger just above my neck, tracing the air along the column of my throat—close enough to make my skin crawl, without actually touching me.
I look up into his eyes, and what I see there is chilling. Anger. Lust. Ownership. He really thinks I’m his, that somehow I cheated him, that I belong to his pack.
“We had a deal. A contract. Me and your father. I can do anything I want to you because technically, you already belong to me.”
I can’t stop the whimper that crawls out of my throat.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”
The second voice brings the world rushing back to me—the sounds of the arena, the lights, the animals, the hustle and bustle. And I see Beau’s face as he roughly removes the hand that Mark had been about to move closer, to touch me.
“Back off, McCrae. This has nothing to do with you.”
“It sure as fuck does.”
“Care to tell me how? You’re interfering. Willa is under my direction.”
“Whatever that was, it had nothing to do with work.”
Before I can blink, Beau’s massive form is between Mark and me. I’m met with a wall of Alpha, his chest heaving, and I can feel the tension coiling through his body. His sweet bergamot scent laced with leather and salt swells around me, comforting me.
I can’t help myself—I lean into his damp form, seeking safety. He’s still in his riding chaps, vest, and helmet, but my Omega doesn’t care. I’m physically unable to stop myself from reaching for the security he radiates. I feel him tense when I press into him, even just a little.
His large hand, which could fit around my whole thigh, reaches back to press me firmly against him. And the sound at the contact, and the pressure of his hand, combined with the feeling of being rescued, is intoxicating. The swing of my emotions from dread to desire is giving me whiplash.
“It didn’t look like Miss James liked what was happening,” he grates out. “Your conversation is done. You should find someplace else to be.”
I don’t miss the Alpha command permeating his words, and by the flinch in Felton, he doesn’t either. His Alpha must know he’s no competition.
His face turns almost purple. His eyes are all venom as he looks past Beau and straight at me. “Fuck if I’ll let him have what’s mine.” And then he turns and leaves.
It’s right about then that the shaking starts. And I can’t stop it. I feel Beau take my hand and pull me somewhere more private.
“Easy, easy. You’re safe now. Look at me, Willa.”
I lift my head and drag in a deep, shaking breath.
He meets my eyes and pulls me into his arms. I’m swallowed up against his chest, and a low, steady sound begins to rumble through him—soothing, grounding, and sexy as hell all at once.
And I realize he’s purring for me.
I’ve never felt that before. God, does my Omega love it. She nestles, melts underneath it. I feel his chest rise and fall in deep inhalation, and with his exhale, he squeezes me a little tighter. His breath tickles my ear as he whispers soothing, sweet words into my hair.
My world narrows to that single moment of exhalation. The emotion of the last five minutes coalesces into a single beat of heat. A singular purpose invades me. I want him. Like an Omega wants a pack, an Alpha. It’s the most terrifying and potent feeling.
My world narrows further to the small amount of skin at the base of his throat, just inches from my lips. I lean up into it and brush a soft kiss there. He instantly stiffens but doesn’t let me go. If anything, he pulls me against him a little more.
I do it again, and the purr that moments ago was comforting becomes a growl so filled with lust that it’s downright indecent.