Chapter 24
Chapter Twenty-Four
Tatum
I’m being followed. I don’t know how I know, but I just do. There’s a fucking shadow hovering over me everywhere I go. This mall is filled with shoppers minding their business, and I’m only here because there’s a bookstore attached to it, but I swear, someone is following me.
I get good at ignoring the feeling, until I’m between the stacks in the bookstore, and I catch sight of the potential stalker.
“Fancy seeing you here,” I say as I cross my arms over my chest.
“Fuck.”
The glare I’m shooting Kodiak could melt glaciers. “Explain.”
He shifts on his feet, looking around us at the stacks of books on the tables. “I’m here for…Bridgerton. Colin and Penelope’s story.”
I glare harder as he picks up the book closest to him and holds it up so I can see it as if that's enough proof.
“Name one other character from that series without looking at the other covers.”
“John.”
“Nope.”
I don’t actually know if there’s a John in the books. Probably, possibly. It’s a common enough name, and I’m sure that was his thought. He grins. “Fine, you caught me. I’m here to seduce you in the romance section. Let me eat you out between the shelves.”
“Ha. No.”
If he sees the bright red colors my cheeks just turned, he doesn’t call me out on it as I return to my perusal of the fancy hardbacks.
“Oh, come on, it’d be so much fun.”
“You’re following me and based on the way my instincts have been going wild for the last hour, I’d guess you’ve been doing so since the moment I left my apartment and headed for the bus stop. Last night, you and your little freaking brother busted in on my lap dance, killing any chance I’d make tips for all my suffering, thanks very much.”
“You signaled for help, Little Omega.”
“I don’t like your tone, or your proximity.”
He chuckles, because the way my skin prickles as his breath fans across my neck, as well as the tightening of my nipples and spike of my scent, all suggest that every word was a damn dirty lie. “Yes you do.”
“Why are you following me? Does it have to do with that guy from last night?”
“No. I started following you the day we met outside the elevator. Though the Gio incident didn’t help the psychotic voice in my head telling me to lock you in my Winnebago.”
“Sir. Please back away from me. I will call for security.”
He snorts at the serious look I’m aiming for, and I giggle. None of the things he just said should have been enduring. And yet, my stupid Omega heart is fluttering away in my chest. “Let me keep you company.”
“After you confessed to being my stalker?”
I pause for a long moment, taking a long hard look at myself internally. I know I told Hayden he needs therapy, and that remains true, but I should probably call someone about my own mental state. Particularly when I agree to his offer.
“Yeah, alright. I’m just shopping for some books for my mom. The nurses at ABO Care were telling me how it’s one of the first activities they try to set a routine for. They have books, but Mom would have to share those, and this way I can pick out ones she might enjoy most.”
I walk back and forth, clutching my empty basket, as Kodiak steps up beside me, staring at the shelves like they hold the answers to unlocking Moms happiness. He obviously knows about the type of care the facility she’s at provides, because he doesn’t press for more information. The question that's been bugging me finally bubbles out.
“So, why were you there? At ABO Care, I mean.”
“Well, my brothers and I help Omegas in need from time to time. Some of them require long term care after they…deal with what they’ve dealt with.”
Vague, but I don’t call him on it.
“So you set up care for them?”
“We do. Ah, what about this one?”
The book he hands me is much too “classic literature” for Mom. “No good. She sleeps fine, we want books that will keep her interested.”
“Sassy, very sassy.” The look on his face shouldn’t make my cheeks heat, but it does. He’s so handsome.
“You know it.”
“If you want your ass spanked, all you have to do is ask, Tatum, I’m more than happy to give you a hand…”
“Clever. And, as I told Declan, I didn’t ask for it or tell the customer he could spank me. So.”
“So… I shouldn’t ask, I should just start turning this pretty pale skin pink?” He takes a step back to admire my bare legs, since I wore shorts today, and I turn back to the shelves to hide my reaction to his words.
“I want to say no. I feel like that's the right answer, but for some reason, you have this annoying knack for convincing me I want things I probably shouldn’t.”
“Fantastic. I’ll keep that in mind. Also, do you think I could convince you to give me a birthday gift early? We’re having a small celebration at my house. Mine and my brothers’ house, that is. This weekend. Come for me?” The last three words have an obvious double meaning, and I snort.
“I could be persuaded. What should I wear? My uniform?”
He must like that I’m teasing him back, because he pulls me into his body with a firm hand on my hip. “You could, but do you really want me to have to kick all of my guests out the moment you arrive? I can barely stand you walking around the club dressed so sinfully. If I thought you’d accept it, I’d fire you from the club and hire you as my personal maid. The uniform there is even more revealing.” He pauses. “The longer I think about it, the better that idea sounds.”
When I freeze, searching his face for some kind of sign that he’s joking, he sighs.
“See, can’t tell if you’re scared that I’ll fire you or that I like you enough not to share the sight of you with anyone.”
“I fucked your brother,” I blurt the words out, panicking about what he said to me.
This time we both freeze. Me because, did I really just fucking say that? And him, probably because…did I really just fucking say that?!
“Well, I’d figured that out some time ago, but thank you for blurting it out in the middle of the bookstore. Honestly, it’s cute to see you so flustered. But just so you know, I haven’t spent the last three years celibate, like Hayden has.”
“How did you figure it out? He told you about us? About me? About not fucking anyone since me?” Word vomit. Rapid fire questions that don’t seem to bother him, but I can’t be sure. He shrugs.
“He told us some stuff three years ago. Then after you started working for us, I put two and two together that you were the girl from his past. He does talk about you, incessantly, but he didn’t tell me about how he fucked you, if that's what you’re thinking. And yes, he also made it clear that he only had dick for one Omega, and that Omega is in fact you.”
“Oh.”
“You also said you’d only been with one Alpha before. Only taken one knot. I’m good at filling in the blanks. Connecting the dots. Following the rabbit holes and all that.” He waves a dismissive hand.
“Oh.”
I might be broken. Kodiak pulls me tighter to him. “I hope you know I’m keeping you, and the only thing keeping you safe from my Winnebago is Hayden and Declan. Hayden definitely has a voyeurism kink. Likes the idea of everyone seeing something they can’t have, and enjoys seeing you walking around the club with your curves on full display. And Declan is probably still trying to maintain some professionalism, unlike myself. You should cut them both some slack.”
“Not a chance. Well, Declan, sure. He’s my boss. But Hayden betrayed me. Also, you are not locking me in anything or keeping me anywhere, especially not because you don’t want me showing my body at my job where I get paid to show my body… But you can always pay for another dance.” I shrug my shoulders in an attempt to look casual, but I’m sure he sees right through me. My scent and racing heart give me away.
“Oh, I will. I’m waiting for the right moment.” He playfully presses his nose into the crook of my neck and nuzzles me, before leaning back enough so he can rest his forehead against mine. “Would it help if I told you he had a good reason for doing what he did, and it’s taken him a lot to get where he is now?”
I huff, pulling away from him, and turn to a different shelf. “No. And stop defending him. I’m barely willing to consider letting you around to disrupt my life.”
He sticks close to my side, not letting me run away from him. “If it helps, I’m also not asking you to consider anything. Just making sure you understand, I’m very clingy. Seriously. Stage five clinger, here.”
I giggle as he makes a growling sound and nips at me, and we get side eye looks from the other customers.
“You’re silly.”
I dismiss his words and the funny feeling in my chest that they ignite. If I told Kodiak to leave me alone, he would. Hell, I don’t even have to tell him, he’ll get bored soon. Walk away. Leave me behind.
Abandoned. Alone. Not enough…