Chapter 19
KAI
The Mustang’s engine purrs as I downshift, turning off the main road onto a dusty side lane that cuts through open farmland. Late afternoon sun slants through the windshield, and the Montana sky stretches out in front of us like something out of a painting.
But I’m not looking at the sky.
I’m glancing at my Omega.
June has her window cracked, letting the warm air tangle through her hair.
She’s wearing a short skirt and a shirt with buttons down the front, as it’s an extra warm day, and every time she shifts in the passenger seat, I catch a fresh wave of her scent wrapping around me in the enclosed space of the car until I can barely think straight.
“Thanks for coming with me,” I say, my hand working the gear shift as we navigate a curve. “I know checking out a psychotic bull wasn’t exactly on your afternoon agenda.”
She laughs, that bright sound I fucking love. “Are you kidding? I wouldn’t miss this for anything. I’m very interested to see how this goes.”
“Yeah?” I glance over at her, catching the smirk playing at the corner of her lips. “You think I’m crazy, don’t you?”
“Never.” She holds up her hands in mock innocence. “But it’s definitely terrifying. I think it’s great you’re coming to see him first, though. Maybe you can make a connection. He’s just an animal, so you never know how he’ll respond to someone who takes the time.”
“That’s surprisingly optimistic.”
“I remember when he was born.” She settles back in her seat, a nostalgic smile crossing her face.
“I was in high school, and we were doing practical experiences at local farms. I got placed at the farm where Brutus was born, and I helped bottle-feed him because his mother wasn’t producing enough milk. ”
I stare at her. “You’re telling me you bottle-fed the demon bull?”
“He was adorable back then.” She giggles, and fuck me, the sound goes straight to my cock. “Feisty, even as a calf. Always headbutting everything, trying to escape his pen. But he’d get all soft and snuggly when it was feeding time.”
“So he wasn’t always a psychotic menace intent on terrorizing an entire town?”
“Apparently that developed later.” She grins.
I bark out a laugh, shaking my head. The road curves again, and I ease the Mustang around a bend, taking in the view.
Rolling hills dotted with horses. Cows grazing in the far distance.
It’s beautiful out here, quieter than the arena, more peaceful, but my attention keeps drifting back to the woman in my passenger seat.
Her scent is everywhere, caught in the leather, clinging to the air, sinking into me like it has teeth.
Being boxed in with her like this is heaven and hell at once, because there is nowhere for it to go and nowhere for me to hide from it.
Every breath drags her deeper into my chest, warm and sweet and sharp enough to make my pulse kick hard, and my control frays around the edges.
She is close enough that the heat of her skin keeps brushing mine, that one bad decision would have me hauling her into my lap just to breathe her properly, and the thought hits like a craving I can’t swallow down.
I grip my knee, jaw tight, forcing myself to stare out the windshield instead of at her mouth, because if I look too long, I’m going to do something reckless, and part of me is already smiling at the idea.
I shift in my seat, adjusting my cock as subtly as possible.
Last night didn’t help. Crawling into bed with her—feeling her warmth, breathing her in while she slept—was supposed to calm me down. Instead, it just made everything worse. I spent half the night hard as a rock, trying not to wake her or roll her over and bury myself inside her.
And then there’s the knowledge that Carter already has. That she screamed for him, begged for him, let him mark her as his.
I’m not jealous. Not exactly. I’m genuinely happy for them, but knowing how she tastes, how she feels? That’s information I don’t have yet, and it’s driving me fucking insane.
“So,” I say. “That’s fucking wild about the financial guy. Holden or whatever.”
June’s expression sobers. “Yeah. Seth’s going to dig into it more. I had to tell you guys as soon as I found out.”
“Any idea what his angle is? What he gets out of sabotaging the rodeo?”
She shakes her head, brow furrowing. “I keep wondering the same thing. What does he have to gain? I can only imagine that maybe someone’s paying him. Someone who wants the circuit to pull out of Honeyspur Meadow.”
“Or he’s the one stealing,” I add, glancing over at her. “You’d be surprised what people will do for money. I’ve seen guys on the circuit do some shady shit when they got desperate. Throw their events, rig equipment, sell information to competitors.”
She’s quiet for a moment, clearly processing. “It’s going to look terrible for the whole committee. For the town, even. Pete’s going to be devastated when he finds out one of his own people did this.”
My chest twists at hearing the agony in her voice. I reach over without thinking, settling my hand on her thigh. The moment I make contact, I know it’s a mistake.
Her skin is warm through the thin fabric of her skirt, and my hand fits against her leg like it was made to be there. She tenses for a second, then relaxes into the touch, and that tiny acceptance has my blood running hot.
I should move my hand back to the gearshift and focus on the road like a responsible adult.
I don’t.
Instead, I watch her from the corner of my eye as her breath catches. Her scent deepens, taking on that honeyed warmth that tells me she’s as affected as I am.
“I’ve got a surprise for you tonight,” I hear myself say.
She stares over at me, eyebrows raised. “Oh? Tell me more.”
I flash her a grin. “I’m taking you somewhere after we finish here. You’ll see.”
“That’s very mysterious of you.”
“I’m a mysterious guy.”
She snorts. “You literally cannot keep a secret to save your life, Kai.”
“Okay, that’s fair.” I laugh, and I let my hand stay where it is on her thigh a beat too long, thumb tracing slow, lazy circles like I’m marking time. Like I’m testing how much she’ll let me get away with. “But I’m keepin’ this one. You’ll just have to trust me.”
Her eyes narrow like she’s pretending to be suspicious, but then she smiles. Soft, genuine, lighting up her whole face like the sun decided to pick favorites. Fuck me, she’s beautiful. She’s the kind of stunning that makes you forget to blink, the kind that digs in deep as though it has claws.
“So,” she says, voice turning teasing, as if she knows exactly what she’s doing to me. “What was with you all coming to my bed last night?”
The question catches me off guard, but I don’t let it show. I keep my grin in place. “Did it bother you?” I ask, casual, like I’m not watching her mouth every time she speaks.
“Actually…” She pauses, and I watch her think, her lashes dipping as she searches for the right words. “It was so calming. I had the best night’s sleep of my life.”
Something hot and satisfied spreads through my chest at her response. Possessive, too.
“It’s the growing bond,” I explain, keeping it light even as my gut tightens. “Alpha and Omega pull. It’s buildin’ and drawin’ us in.”
“Kai…” Her voice does that soft warning thing, like she wants me to stop and also doesn’t want me to stop. I move my hand away to change gears, already missing her touch, and she’s tugging down on her skirt.
“You do know you’re ours now, right?” I say, and I let the joke fall away, let her see what’s underneath. “There’s no going back from this. Not for any of us.”
“Let’s not talk about—”
“You can’t keep dodgin’ it, June. You can pretend you don’t feel it, but your body’s not faking it. You melt right into us.”
Her throat moves when she swallows. “It’s not that.
” She bites her bottom lip, and I have to force my attention back to the road, because if I stare at her mouth too long, I’m going to crash.
“I just… I still don’t know what I want.
Or what I’ll do. My parents want to sell my real estate business, and—”
“Then perfect,” I cut in, because the idea hits like lightning and I’m the kind of man who grabs lightning with both hands. “You come with us. Be our on-tour photographer. You’re already taking pictures for the rodeo anyway, so why not make it official?”
She just stares at me. “But what if I don’t want to leave this town? What if I want to settle down?”
My hand stills for the first time, fingers on the steering wheel. I glance over, meeting her eyes, and my smile turns slow and serious.
“Then we settle down,” I say, like it’s obvious.
Like it’s already decided. “You think I can’t plant myself somewhere if it means I get to wake up with you every morning?
You want roots, doll, we’ll grow ’em. You want a home, we’ll build it.
You just gotta stop talking like you’re doing this alone. ”
Settle down. She said “settle down.” A house most likely in town. Sharing her bed. Kids running around with her curly hair and my eyes, or Seth’s jaw, or Carter’s smile. A family. A real one, not the broken mess I came from.
I’ve thought about it before. Mentioned it to Seth and Carter in those late-night conversations where we got too drunk and too honest. But to hear her say it and know she’s thinking about it too—
Fuck, for June, I’d give it all up. The circuit, the competitions, the constant movement. All of it.
I reach over and take her hand, lifting it to my mouth and pressing a kiss against her fingertips. She doesn’t pull away. Her breath catches, and when I look over at her, her eyes are wide.
“We would give you the world if you asked for it,” I say quietly. “All three of us. So there should be no doubts. We’re meant to be together, and nothing is going to come in our way.”