Chapter 22 Timber
Timber
Imake sure to stay as far away from him as I can on the couch. I really don’t want to get any more wrapped up in Luke than I already am. But it’s so easy to follow his smile and give in to his voice and do what he wants.
I don’t know if he notices, but as the hour wears on and his smiles grow brighter and his laughs louder, he starts edging toward me. I do with him until we meet halfway on the couch, and his knee presses against my thigh, and my awareness of him hikes.
Or it could all be because he's drunk so much hot chocolate that he's bouncing off of the walls and he has no idea he's touching me.
The atmosphere between us is so relaxed that I find myself smiling along with him. It’s the perfect antidote to the conversation I had with Kane earlier that’s left me even more confused about his and my feelings.
“Have you even played games before?” Luke bursts out laughing as I run my character straight into a wall. Luke seems to hit the buttons randomly and get the results he wants, but when I do it, there’s chaos.
“I can’t say that I have recently…” I mutter, and Luke’s grin becomes wider.
It’s a reminder of the difference between us. He’s almost twenty years younger than me, and it’s so wrong how much I want to hold him. He might tease and play with me, but Carys reminded me of my age when she called me ‘grandpa’.
Even though I’m wound up about Luke and Kane, there’s still a huge number of years separating all three of us.
At twenty-nine, Kane is basically in his thirties, but it still makes sense for him to be with Ollie.
Though I’m only guessing that there are a few years between the siblings, because Luke said they run the business together.
In the end, it makes no sense for me to be with Luke.
Then there’s still the mystery of the maple syrup. Luke never confirmed that Ollie’s scent is maple, but what other omega could have put their slick in there to make Kane react like that?
It was all so fucking confusing.
I peek out of the corner of my eye as Luke laughs again, and I can’t stop my thoughts from wandering. Although the way I reacted to the oatmeal obviously wasn’t normal, my attraction to Luke keeps growing.
Could there be a way where I actually give in, where I trust Kane, even though it could be the worst decision I ever make? What would happen if I asked Luke if he was okay with me packing up with Kane and his gorgeously scented sister? Where would that leave him?
Marilyn said we needed omegas to calm us down, but being with Luke like this is the most settled I’ve felt in years. I don’t need to do anything. Luke is having his own fun, and I’m just along for the ride.
Maybe I can talk to Marilyn and ask her if it has to be an omega. I could write off all omegas, pretend I can’t scent his sister so deeply it’s ingrained in my body, and live a quiet life doing simple shit like this.
I’m too distracted looking at him, and my character is absolutely annihilated as Luke strikes me again and again.
He’s laughing hard, and I can’t help laughing along with him.
“Oh man, you’re so bad at this!” he cries as he flings his hand out.
It lands straight on my chest, and all the air suddenly vanishes from the room as he gasps.
With all his flirting, I thought he would laugh it off as he drags his hand back and nudges my nipple.
And I fucking shudder because a spark of pleasure winds through me as Luke presses harder.
I’ve never met a beta who’s suave, but Luke has a way about him which makes me think he’d never get embarrassed by anything.
Until a blush suddenly floods his cheeks, and he flinches. His eyes flutter, and I draw in a slow breath as I ease my chest into his hand.
He gulps, and the air around us tightens as we watch each other. I don’t know what I’m looking for. Some sign, a clue he’s feeling the same need that’s building up inside me, for a reason to finally wrap my arms around him to ease the tension that’s been driving me crazy since he arrived.
Luke squeezes, his fingers barely denting my hard pec as his eyes widen.
“Um… I think…” he trails off, his lips parting in a way that’s asking to be kissed.
We’re having a moment, aren’t we? I can’t say it out loud, but more tension hums between us, and my anticipation grows as I realize there’s only one way this can go.
I’m trying to tell myself off, trying to convince myself it’s a bad decision, but I want to try kissing him. Even just once. The only other person I’ve felt this with in years is Kane.
The second I move, he jumps back. And he’s up, shooting away from the couch, his calves bumping into the coffee table.
Luke drops his controller and practically sprints for the kitchen door.
“What are you doing?” I ask.
“You stay there,” he calls over my shoulder.
Sighing, I slump back on the couch, glaring at my controller.
I’ve ruined it. I was too caught up in how relaxed we were that I forgot he’s my employee. I’m not supposed to be close to him like that.
I just can’t explain it. Is it the aftereffects of his sister’s maple syrup? I don’t even deserve to be near him when I’m craving her as well.
I’m trying not to let the disappointment in myself take me over, because I keep fucking up today.
First Kane, and now Luke. I can’t do anything right, and I just have to mess up a good thing by getting turned on instead of making a joke about the fact that he groped me. Though jokes aren’t exactly my thing.
Why the hell can’t I act normal for once?
I whip around as Luke finally returns to the couch, clutching a huge bowl.
“I thought you always wanted us to eat at the table?” I ask as he hands over a dripping salad.
Luke’s smile looks the same, but maybe I’m imagining the way he holds back from me.
“No, I just want to make sure you’re actually eating your food. You’re not going anywhere until I’ve seen you clean up every last drop.” He throws me a wink, and I can’t tell if he’s referencing the oatmeal.
Heat flashes through me at the thought of it, and Luke’s smile falls as he drops back onto the couch.
“Why don’t we watch a movie? Since you’ve got your hands full,” he says hurriedly.
I nod before I start crunching away, except now it’s so fucking awkward that every single bite sounds louder than my car.
Even though Luke chats and laughs as he picks the movie, his voice is too strained. I don’t miss the way he jerks, how his muscles tense up, and how he keeps licking his lips nervously.
Sitting next to him like this gives me space to look at him more closely.
I love how the line of his neck leads down to his slight collarbones and disappears under his loose T-shirt, and how I’m still wondering if there are any piercings he’s hidden from me.
I want to know what the ridges of his spine feel like, and to see the sweep of his hips, and learn how tightly his thighs would press against my ears as I suck—
“Hey!” Luke calls, looking straight at me with a curious expression. “Are you watching?”
“Yes, sorry, what?” I say, blinking quickly to get rid of my stupid daydream. Like that would ever help. It doesn’t matter how much I try to chase them away; those fucking images keep coming back.
“You still haven’t finished your food. I’m not letting you watch any more of this movie until you’ve swallowed the last bean.” His eyebrow arches, glancing at the bowl before he turns back to the screen.
I still crunch away, staring at him, which just makes it worse.
“Er, okay…” he says after another minute of awkward silence. “Maybe we should keep watching the movie…” he says with a weird laugh that’s definitely my fault.
I don’t know how to fix it. I need to stop staring at him, but I’m still wound up from the conversation and argument with Kane earlier today, and I want some comfort.
Are betas always so smooth? I’m sure I could trace every line of his body, and I wouldn’t find a rough edge.
I wonder how much he could take as well.
He’s always stubborn, at least when it comes to my diet.
So how much would I need to do to make him gasp and bend and say he can’t take any more before I give it to him harder?
I lean over my bowl, nearly groaning. I want to hide my face in it, but I settle for putting it on top of my lap to try to hide my hard-on and focus on the movie.