9. Sadie
Sadie
I wake up slick and aching.
Not just from dreaming about Levi’s hands in my hair and his mouth moving against mine like he was starving for me. This is fresh arousal pooling between my thighs, my body’s response to breathing in cedar and rain that clings to everything I wore last night.
I press my face into the sweater draped over my chair, and a whimper escapes before I can stop it. My nipples are already tight under my sleep shirt, and when I shift in bed, the friction makes me gasp.
His hands framing my face. His mouth claiming mine against those poetry shelves until books tumbled to the floor and I forgot everything but the taste of him. The way he groaned my name when I pulled him closer, like he’d been dying to touch me.
Months he’s wanted me. Months of bringing me coffee while his alpha instincts were screaming to claim me, and I had no idea.
My core clenches at the memory of what he whispered against my throat. “How many nights I’ve laid awake thinking about touching you, tasting you.”
I could slip my hand between my legs right now and imagine it was his mouth there instead.
The thought makes me arch against my sheets, a desperate sound escaping my throat.
I’m rationing my heat suppressants to make the prescription last longer, taking one every other day instead of daily.
My body’s more responsive than it should be, more desperate for alpha attention.
My phone buzzes and I grab for it with shaking fingers, hoping it’s him. Some sweet message about how perfect last night was, how he wants to do it again, how he’s been thinking about the taste of me.
Instead it’s my supplier. “Delivery truck broke down. Wednesday’s flower shipment delayed until Thursday.”
I stare at the message while my body still throbs with need. Any other day this would send me into panic mode—what if I can’t fill Mrs. Keller’s order? What if the church arrangements fall through?
But this morning I feel invincible. I’m the omega who made quiet, careful Levi Reyes lose complete control. Who had him pressing me against bookshelves and groaning my name like I was killing him with want.
An alpha wants me. Really wants me. After months of thinking I was broken, that I’d never feel that desperate need. Levi proved me wrong with his mouth and his hands and the way he looked at me like I was everything.
I can handle a delayed flower shipment. I can handle anything.
I take my time getting ready, letting the hot shower wash over skin that’s still sensitive from his touch. By the time I’m dressed and heading downstairs, I’ve almost convinced myself I can act normal around him.
Almost.
The October morning is crisp and clear as I unlock the shop, the kind of day that makes the mountains look like they’re showing off. I’m arranging fresh chrysanthemums when I spot movement outside.
Reid Harper walking down the street with coffee cups and pastries from The Honey Crumb, looking expensive and polished in the morning light.
My pulse quickens, but not with the overwhelming need I felt thinking about Levi. Reid is different territory.
But then I notice more movement from the same direction and my stomach drops.
Levi, also carrying coffee cups, moving with that careful grace that made me want to bite his neck last night. The same hands that traced my jaw like I was something precious are wrapped around cardboard takeout cups.
They’re both coming from The Honey Crumb. Both walking toward my shop. Both about to arrive at exactly the same time.
I watch them notice each other about twenty feet from my door. There’s a pause, what looks like a polite but awkward conversation. Reid gestures toward my shop. Levi says something that makes Reid’s shoulders relax.
This is fine, I tell myself, even though my body is already responding to the anticipation of being near them. Just two men bringing coffee to the local florist.
Except I can see Levi from here and I’m remembering exactly how his hair felt when I had my fingers twisted in it.
The bell chimes as they come through the door together.
Both their scents slam into me at once—cedar and rain colliding with expensive bergamot—and I have to grip the counter to keep from swaying.
My omega biology goes absolutely haywire, recognizing two alphas in my space, both interested, both radiating that focused intensity that makes my body respond without my permission.
Slick pools between my thighs so fast it’s almost embarrassing. My scent blooms sweet and inviting, honeysuckle and vanilla broadcasting my arousal to every alpha nose in the room.
“Good morning, Sadie,” Reid says, but his voice is rougher now, pupils blown wide as he catches my scent. His own smell shifts, turning richer, more possessive. An alpha scenting an interested omega.
Then Levi clears his throat. “Morning coffee delivery.”
The familiar roughness in his voice makes my core clench with want, but there’s something new there. A confidence that wasn’t there yesterday. Like kissing me senseless has awakened something primal in him.
When I breathe in, I can still smell traces of myself on him. My scent clinging to his clothes from last night when he pressed me against those shelves and made me forget my own name.
“You two haven’t officially met,” I manage, though my voice comes out breathy and affected.
“Reid Harper, this is Levi Reyes—he owns the bookstore across the street. Levi, this is Reid. He’s an architect working on a project in Pine Valley.”
The moment I say Levi’s name, his scent spikes with possessive satisfaction.
Reid picks up on it immediately. Instead of backing down, his own alpha nature rises to meet the challenge. Not aggressive, but definitely not yielding territory either.
“Interesting timing,” Reid says, and there’s subtle challenge threading through his polite tone.
“I take care of Sadie,” Levi replies simply, but his stance shifts wider, claiming space. “Have been for months.”
The casual dominance makes my knees wobble. More slick gathers between my legs, and both men’s nostrils flare as they catch the scent change. Two alphas tracking my arousal like their lives depend on it.
I break off a piece of scone with trembling fingers, hyperaware that they’re both watching my mouth as I eat.
“This is very thoughtful,” I whisper, not trusting my voice at normal volume. “Both of you thinking of me.”
“Been thinking about you all night,” Levi says, his voice dropping to that rough tone that makes my core pulse with need.
Reid’s scent sharpens at the obvious intimacy. Instead of backing down, he steps closer to the counter. “I brought the good pastries. From Maeve’s special selection.”
Are they really doing this? Competing over coffee and pastries while I’m standing here trying not to moan from their combined scents?
“I’m here for that arrangement pickup,” Reid adds, but his attention never leaves my face. “Though I have to admit, I may have misjudged the situation. I assumed you were... unattached .”
Levi’s jaw tightens, and I can smell the shift in his scent—more possessive, more territorial. “That assumption would be incorrect.”
Reid’s eyes sharpen with interest rather than disappointment. “I see. Do you have a pack, or...?”
The question hangs in the air, loaded with possibility. My breath catches because he’s not backing down—he’s asking if there’s room for him in whatever’s forming between Levi and me.
Levi’s scent spikes with something that might be surprise. “No pack. Not yet.”
“Interesting,” Reid says, and his smile turns almost predatory. The way he looks between us suggests he’s very much considering his options.
“While I’m here,” Levi says, moving closer until his cedar scent wraps around me like a possessive embrace, “I’ve been thinking about getting arrangements for the bookstore. Something that makes people want to stay close. Like last night.”
My breath catches all over again. He’s really going to reference last night with Reid standing right there.
“I’ll put together samples,” I manage, my voice barely above a whisper.
“I’d appreciate your personal attention,” he says, and the way his gaze drops to my mouth makes it clear we’re not just talking about flowers anymore.
Reid clears his throat, but there’s heat in his eyes now. “Perhaps I should increase my weekly order. Make it worth your while to give me the same... personal service.”
They’re bidding for my attention with flower arrangements, and my body is responding like they’re offering to claim me right here in my shop. Fresh slick pools between my thighs and my scent spikes so sweetly that both men’s pupils dilate further.
The bell chimes and Mrs. Woodbury comes in, immediately taking in the scene with sharp eyes.
“My goodness! Two handsome gentlemen bringing you coffee. How lovely, dear.”
I busy myself gathering her usual arrangement while she examines both men with obvious approval, asking Reid about his work and complimenting Levi on his window displays.
She’s clearly delighted by the attention I’m receiving, but I can barely focus on the conversation over the pounding of my heart.
“Such nice young men,” she tells me as I hand her the flowers. “It’s about time someone recognized what a treasure we have in you, Sadie.”
After she leaves, the shop feels supercharged with tension.
Reid lingers while Levi heads out with promises to call later, but not before giving me a look that promises we’re not finished with whatever started last night.
“Well,” Reid says quietly once we’re alone. “That was illuminating.”
Heat floods my cheeks. “Reid, I?—”
“You don’t owe me explanations,” he says, but there’s something more focused in his expression now. Something that looks almost predatory. “Though I have to admit, I’m curious about the dynamic I just witnessed.”
Before I can figure out how to respond to that, my phone rings with perfect timing.
Tessa Lang. Festival Committee Chairwoman.
“I should take this,” I tell Reid, who nods and collects his arrangement.