Chapter 12
12
CONNOR
“That was the worst date of my life,” Ace grumbles.
It’s been three days since we last saw Devyn and Ben, and Ace has alternated between saying he’s never been happier or that he’s lost in despair.
“You said you loved it an hour ago,” I remind him.
“Yeah, but I didn’t get to kiss her. You’ve kissed her. Ben kisses her all the damn time, and all I got to do was give her a hug.” He sighs dramatically as he lies on the couch with his head in my lap, staring at the ceiling. “My balls are going to explode.”
“I’m right here,” I remind him, stroking his soft, inky black hair. “You have plenty of opportunities to work out your frustrations.”
But I’m not one to talk. I bit his sweatshirt like a rabid animal, and ever since we left the arcade the other night, I’ve been half-hard just thinking about Devyn.
It’s like I’ve regressed to my baser form, my primal inner Alpha ready to take his mate.
Ace’s energy doesn’t help either. When we’re not cuddling, we’re devouring each other, our pheromones making us do wild things to each other.
We both have the bite marks on our neck to prove it.
“I feel sick ,” Ace continues, taking my free hand and intertwining our fingers. “Being away from her is torture. I keep checking my phone like a psychopath just to see if she’s texted me.”
I nod. I’m doing the same thing.
But it’s my job to keep Ace in line. If he had it his way, he would sleep outside Ben and Devyn’s apartment and sit at the café all day to make sure she’s okay.
I have to rein his obsessive side in, or it’s going to scare Devyn away.
At first, I was worried that he and Ben wouldn’t get along, but after our truce outside the arcade, things changed. Ben and Ace ended up discussing sports by the end of the night, and both of them were exchanging friendly banter by the time we said goodbye at the arcade.
The three of us concluded that Devyn’s happiness is more important than anything else.
Ben was willing to put aside his preconceived notions of Ace after that, and I didn’t have to punch him in the face.
It’s a delicate balance.
“I can’t wait another week to see her,” he groans. “I fucking can’t, Con. I’m going to die.”
I sigh. We’re planning on visiting Isleton again next week to hang out at Ben and Devyn’s apartment. “We shouldn’t push?—”
“Let’s invite her over,” he interrupts. “Tonight. For dinner.”
I raise an eyebrow. “What about Ben?”
“Let him come, too. I can’t take this anymore. Why are we waiting? What are we waiting for?” He squeezes my hand. “We already know she’s our Omega. What’s the point in waiting?”
I shake my head. “We don’t know that.”
“Bullshit. You know it, and I know it.”
I look around our living room, contemplating. “The house is a mess.”
“Babe, I don’t give a fuck about how messy our house is—and, by the way, it isn’t. You’re such a clean freak that you think one speck of dust makes it a dump.”
I feel Ace’s eyes on me. “We don’t have anything to cook,” I add, struggling to find any excuse.
It isn’t a bad idea to have them over now, but I don’t like last-minute change.
There isn’t time to plan properly.
“Then we’ll order in. You’re running out of excuses fast,” Ace says smugly.
I groan and let out a breath.
Nothing’s planned out. We can’t even host them properly.
I’m not just winning over Devyn. Whether Ace wants to admit it or not, we’re also winning over Ben. The delicate truce can easily be broken by saying or doing the wrong thing.
Because the truth is, if it came down to it, Devyn would choose Ben over us.
Devyn could slip through our fingers before we even have a chance to get to know her.
Ace squeezes my hand sharply. “Hey,” he says, and I meet his bright eyes. “You belong wherever I am, remember?”
I swallow and nod.
“And you belong wherever she is,” he adds.
I scoff. “If you say so,” I mutter, and Ace raises an eyebrow.
“You’re goddamn right I say so.” He sits up and grins at me. “Now text her. I’m tired of waiting.”
I chew my lip. “We have to do this right. I don’t want to push.”
He rolls his eyes. “She’s smitten with you, dumbass. Besides, if we have Ben over here, we can smooth everything out, and then you won’t have to freak out anymore.”
“I’m not freaking out,” I say too quickly.
“Right. You’re just being a control freak, like usual.”
“You don’t even like Ben.” I’m grasping at straws now, finding any reason why she shouldn’t come over tonight.
We’re not prepared. Devyn only deserves the best, and how can I provide her that when the house isn’t even clean?
Ace barks out a laugh. “I didn’t say I don’t like him.”
“But you don’t.”
“He’s not the one that booked me—it was his cousin. And he’s nicer than his cousin, at least. His cousin is a fucking prick .”
“How do you know it was his cousin?” I ask, confused.
“He was doing a ride-along with him. It wasn’t my best moment. I called him a fucking prick to his face, so he probably remembers that.”
I rub my forehead, a headache forming. “Yeah. That’s not good,” I murmur.
“But, yeah,” he continues, “from what I’ve seen, Ben treats Devyn well. I can’t fault him for that.”
“Wow. Ansel being rational?”
He bares his teeth at me. “You know I hate that name,” he warns me.
Secretly, I think it’s handsome, but he would kill me if I told him that.
Ace has been the nickname he’s had since he was a teenager, and it took him until our fifth date to finally tell me his legal name.
I give him a playful smile. “And you know I can’t stand when you call me pumpkin .”
He reaches up and ruffles my hair. “But it’s cute, and you’re just so fucking cute.”
But my phone buzzes with a text, interrupting his teasing, and Ace watches over my shoulder as I read it.
It’s from Devyn.
Hi! I had a great time the other night, but you need to work on your racing skills.
Ace laughs obnoxiously, so hard he almost falls off the couch.
I scowl at him. “It wasn’t that funny.”
“You can’t play a basic video game,” he wheezes. “It is that funny.”
I continue to glare at him as he looks at the phone in my hand.
“Well? Ask her to come over!” he demands.
I tilt my head. “Not after you made fun of me,” I say lowly.
He groans. “Con?—”
“ Ansel —”
He lunges at me and wrestles the phone from my hands. I end up on top of him, my chest pressed to his back as he wriggles underneath me, hiding the phone from my reach as he texts Devyn.
“You have your own phone,” I snarl at him, attempting to crush him with my body weight. “It’s rude to use someone else’s phone.”
“I’m sorry, Mister Perfect, but I’m tired of you waiting to ask her out.”
But I don’t really fight him. My cock is already half-hard against his back, and it’s difficult to stay mad at him when I’m drowning in his rich lavender scent.
It’s hard to ever stay mad at him, honestly.
I huff a sigh in defeat. “You’re lucky I love you,” I murmur, nipping at the back of his neck.
“Extremely,” he agrees in a strained voice, collapsing onto the couch with an oomph. “But you’re fucking huge, and you need to get off me before I suffocate.”
“I thought you liked when you couldn’t breathe,” I murmur, thrusting my hips against his ass.
“Only when you choke me, fucker.”
I huff out a laugh and roll off him. Secretly, I’m pleased that he was the one that took over the situation.
I’m strong in a lot of ways, but Devyn makes me weak. She makes me overthink, doubt, and second-guess everything.
“She and Ben are coming over tonight, by the way.” Ace hands me back my phone. “You’re welcome.”
* * *
The house isn’t clean enough.
“Stop freaking out,” Ace calls from across the living room. “The whole room smells like burnt coffee because of you.”
I frown. It doesn’t. If anything, it smells more like lavender and citrus, due to Ace’s scent and the candles I lit.
And I most definitely am not freaking out.
I won’t tell him, but Ace is right. Our home is tidy and polished, and in the past week we’ve been slowly creating an Omega-friendly room for Devyn.
We don’t know if she and Ben are planning on spending the night, but I’m hoping they do.
I hope Devyn sees the room we created.
We didn’t even realize we were doing it at first—but one day, Ace had a Bedlite mattress delivered—the top bed brand for Omegas, soft but firm enough during their Heat. He purchased it right after I first mentioned Devyn, but I didn’t put it together until last week.
It comfortably fits up to five people. It’s massive.
Slowly, after that, extra blankets and pillows were added to the “guest room.”
One day, I tossed one of my old sweaters on top of the blankets without thinking.
Every day, the room has grown with more luxurious comfort items.
There’s even a plush cat in there, sitting atop one of the memory foam body pillows.
The bathroom connected to it has heated floors as well, along with a towel warmer.
It’s basically heaven for an Omega.
Three different video game consoles have mysteriously been plugged into our entertainment center in the living room.
I didn’t ask about it, but I did catch the titles of some zombie shooting games.
Honestly? We’ve been preparing for Devyn to visit for a while, even if the house hasn’t been deep-cleaned.
Ace gently shoulder-checks me as he walks by. “I mean it. This is going to be a fucking awesome night. I feel it in my soul.”
I raise an eyebrow. “Your soul, huh?”
He’s dressed in a fraying black sweater with a V-neck, showing off his intricate tattoos that climb to his neck. His jeans are a dark wash and hang low on his hips with a black leather belt to keep them in place.
Whatever else I was going to say to him dies on my lips.
He looks striking, the black sweater bringing out the fairness of his skin and the depths of his eyes.
“You look…gorgeous,” I breathe, a swell of pride in my chest.
He may be falling for Devyn, but Ace was mine first. I’ll always be possessive of him, even when we form a pack.
His answering grin makes my heart skip a beat. “Of course I do,” he purrs, messing with the collar of my blue button-up shirt. “Almost as gorgeous as you.”
“I love you,” I murmur. “I’m really lucky to have you.”
Few things take Ace by surprise, but when they do, I relish it. His cheeks turn pink, and he scowls at me. “Damn right you are,” he mutters, but his lavender scent increases. I lean down to kiss him, and he responds in kind, his tongue grazing my lower lip.
I love making him blush. Any other time, I would pull him to me and exploit his praise kink, but there’s still food to set up before Ben and Devyn arrive.
I recall every bit of information I can about Devyn, and what Ben has provided about her, too.
So far, baking, video games, and candles seem to be what brings her joy.
Actually, there’s more than that.
Life brings her joy, which is what makes her personality so infectious.
It also reminds me of Ace a bit—I want to enjoy life the way they do.
Which is why I’m falling for Devyn at an alarming speed.
“Oh, by the way,” he says as he pulls away, “don’t get mad.”
I pause. “Don’t get mad at what?”
“Well, you shouldn’t get mad, but knowing you, you will.”
I blink. “That doesn’t tell me anything.”
“Okay, but you have to not get mad before I tell you.”
“Tell me what?!” I glare at him. “What did you do?”
“It’s nothing serious. Just hear me out.” He holds out his palms as if shielding himself. “I ordered caviar.”
I make a face. “I’m not following.”
“I don’t know if you remember, but at the arcade, she said she never had caviar but had always wanted to try it.”
“Of course I remember. I remember everything she said,” I snap.
Ace shrugs. “No need to get defensive, babe, geez . Okay, well, I got her some. But the good kind. It’s not a big deal.”
Based on how he’s wording it, it is a big deal.
“Then why would I get mad?” I ask slowly.
“Well, it was kind of expensive.”
I shrug. “That’s fine.”
“Oh. Good.” Ace puts his hands down and smiles. “I was worried for nothing, then.”
I look at him curiously. “Wait. How much was it?”
He heads to the kitchen and begins to pull out serving plates. “Well, it’s the best,” he continues, placing a tray on the marble island. “So, a little pricey.”
“What’s a little pricey?”
He turns and opens the fridge. “Um…I think around…mid five figures?”
“ What ?” I gape at the back of his sweater. “It’s how much ?”
“It’s liquid gold,” Ace answers conversationally. “You know, it’s like you’re eating diamonds from the ocean. That’s how I see it.”
“Ace, what the fuck? There are fish eggs in the fridge the cost of a car ?”
He turns and grins at me. “Not the cost of your cars, baby.”
“What…the… fuck. ”
“Relax. The losers you grew up with wear watches that cost ten times that. It’s about the experience.”
Before I can retort, the doorbell rings, and my inner Alpha rumbles to life.
She’s here.