Chapter 4 Atlas #2
The air was tinged with many sweet, delectable things, but nothing was as distinctive as Jazmine’s scent. I glanced at the door, impatient for the moment she’d return.
A loaf of bread sat on the windowsill to cool while several trays of baked goods lined the kitchen island.
I set the flowers down and took a deep breath, savoring the scent of sweet cookies and warm bread.
My first-hand knowledge of omegas was sub-par at best, but I had watched enough TV and read enough books to know that cooking in such large quantities was a pre-Heat ritual to nourish their bodies before expending large amounts of energy during a cycle.
Jazmine was more than prepared.
When she finally slipped back into the cottage and closed the door behind her, a sheepish flush covered her cheeks.
“Sorry about that,” she said, her fingers lingering on the ties of her robe. “Motherhood is a full-time job.”
“That’s all right.” My gaze dipped to the long, smooth column of her neck. God, she had beautiful skin—all dark and supple as though waiting for my teeth…
No. Stop.
This was not about marking—far from it. I was only here to be a companion for her Heat.
Impersonal, I reminded myself. Detached. Professional.
I held out the roses to her.
“These are for you.”
Her smile revealed incisors that were charmingly crooked.
“Thank you, Arya,” she said, her fingers brushing mine as she brought the bouquet to her nose.
“Atlas,” I said tightly, knowing there was no point in hiding behind a false identity when her daughter already knew my real name. I bet Rosie was looking me up on social media already. “My real name is Atlas.”
Jazmine paused, staring up at me, her dark eyes soft.
“Atlas,” she said, the two syllables landing like hard punches to my middle. “It suits you.”
The way she said my name made my mind leap ahead to all the other ways I might hear it—whispered, gasped, dragged out in a shiver, maybe even screamed raggedly against my skin. Oh, this was bad…
“Before you judge me, I need you to know that I’ve never done this before,” she admitted, walking around me to retrieve a vase from the top of a cabinet.
“I would never judge you,” I said, tracing her every movement with my gaze.
“Wouldn’t you?”
I didn’t mean to stare. It was just… movement did something to me. I’d often creeped myself out by people-watching, studying the way they occupied space or analyzing the way they turned or touched things.
I could lose hours simply watching someone from across the room.
Jazmine was a pleasure to observe. She moved in her space fluidly, like she was familiar with every inch and every nook.
She brushed her fingertips across a few glass containers before picking up a vase, and I noticed her shoulders were slightly misaligned under the robe.
Perhaps she favored her right side? Most people did.
As she straightened, I watched the way her robe swayed around her legs when she closed the short distance between the cabinet and the kitchen island. Every shift of her weight, every little flick of her wrists, every sway of fabric—nothing escaped my notice.
Movement made sense. Coupled with pheromones, it told me things about people that words simply couldn’t.
I told myself to keep a distance, but it was hard not to take up all the space in the small kitchen with the breadth of my frame. As surreptitiously as I could, I pressed myself against the countertop across from the island and gave Jazmine space to work on the flowers.
“An omega paying an Alpha for companionship isn’t something to be proud of,” she said, her eyes trained away from me.
A grimace fought its way to the surface.
“I don’t think any less of you, Jazmine. Dating is hard.”
She scoffed slightly as she trimmed the ends of the roses with a meticulous snip.
“It’s okay. You don’t have to coddle me,” she said quietly, glancing up from under her lashes. “I’ll be honest with you, Atlas—I turned forty last month and it forced me to take a long, hard look at my life. I didn’t like what I saw.”
“Why not?” I asked, gathering the shorn ends of the roses to place in the compost bin.
She shrugged, causing the edge of her robe to fall slightly off her right shoulder. More skin—the dark expanse of it made my mouth water.
I couldn’t imagine an omega like her having any trouble liking what she saw in the mirror. Didn’t she realize how painfully attractive she was? How soft she looked? How I could imagine burying my nose into the nest of her hair and breathing in the scent of her skin…
“I’m peri-menopausal,” she said quickly. “My Heats are few and far between, and my doctor says I might have a few more if I’m lucky. That’s why I…”
She swallowed hard, turning away to fuss with the roses in the vase.
“That’s why you decided to try AlphaNet,” I completed for her. “To celebrate one of your last Heats.”
Her smile was sad, emphasizing the creases along her mouth.
“I got tired of enduring them alone.”
Her scent was working on me, slowly shaving away the modicum of decency that every Alpha was trained to put up as a child. We were told to keep our spirit animals under lock and key, but sometimes…
I inhaled a thick cloud of Jazmine’s scent. God, it wasn’t her full Heat yet, but it was close enough that my Alpha was cataloguing the changes. She was sweet around the edges, warm in the middle, with just a hint of earthy spice. Her shifting pheromones clung to the air like steam.
She kept smoothing her robe as she moved, as though she wanted to make sure that her skin was covered. She breathed a little too deeply, her chest rising and falling beneath the fabric. I wondered if her omega instincts were kicking in behind her ribs, waiting for permission to be set free.
I felt the pull of her Heat like a thread tugging at my belly.
She blinked hard, swaying on her feet.
Was she fighting it?
I reached out to place my hand on hers, stilling her nervous movements. God, her hand was so small under mine.
“You don’t have to endure this Heat alone,” I said, edging closer to her warmth. At her nod, I pressed myself against her back, trapping her between me and the island.
Oh, she was soft.
I breathed in the scent of her skin, filling my lungs with heavy gulps of her sweetness.
It had been so long since I’d held anyone in my arms—maybe I’d forgotten what it felt like. The deep, instinctive ache filled my chest, awakening the annoying beast that screamed to do more than just hold a willing omega.
My belly tightened with something embarrassingly close to hunger.
When she spoke, her breath shuddered from her lungs.
“You have no idea how long it’s been since I—”
She paused abruptly, cutting herself off before she could say anything truly vulnerable. But I found that I wanted to hear it. I wanted to bask in the depth of feelings she held out of my reach.
I spoke instead, using my words like an archaeologist to chip away at a particularly difficult chunk of stone.
“It’s been a while for me, too,” I confessed, wondering how much of her I was allowed to touch. If I placed my lips against her neck, her shoulders, the curve of her ear, would she push me away? Would she want more?
Her soft laughter surprised me. “I don’t know if I believe that.”
A frown touched my brows. “What don’t you believe?”
“Atlas,” she said, and I wondered if she used that tone to scold Rosie when she was misbehaving. The sharp note spilled down my spine like a brush of electricity.
“You cannot expect me to believe that someone like you lacks company.”
“That’s because you don’t know me,” I said, my breath brushing her curls.
“I know the package you come in.” Her words wavered. “It’s very appealing.”
“Well.” A touch of warmth bloomed on my cheeks. “Maybe you shouldn’t judge an Alpha too quickly. Some of us are shy, awkward beans.”
That brought forth more of her laughter. She leaned into me, letting her weight settle into the lines of my body.
“You feel so good, Jazmine.” My voice dropped a notch. “And your scent… you’re close, aren’t you?”
She squeezed her eyes shut and nodded slowly.
“I…” Her throat worked as she stalled. “I’m nervous. I haven’t been with an Alpha since my divorce.”
My eyes dipped to the base of her neck where the smoothness of her skin was marred by a circlet of teeth marks. My fingers ghosted over the faded indents.
Jazmine quivered at my touch before turning her head to meet my eyes.
“She’s not in my life any longer,” she said. “She moved out five years ago.”
“I guessed.” I brushed her mating gland yet again and watched her eyes glaze over slightly. “There’s no hint of Alpha in this house.”
Her lips pressed tightly together.
“I’m telling you this because I wanted you to know that I don’t usually do things like this,” she insisted.
Her curls were soft beneath my fingers.
“Neither do I.”
She didn’t believe me—I could see in her dark eyes that she didn’t.
“Perhaps we should get to know each other first,” I suggested, wondering if my eyes were crossing with each inhale of her scent.
“I suppose that would make things less awkward.” She huffed a laugh that held little humor. “What would you like to know?”
In times of fear, I always reached for the comfort of familiar things. As Jazmine met my gaze, waiting for me to say something more, I blurted:
“I like the airplane wing in your yard.”
Her brows rose as though surprised by the change in topic. She turned to stare out the window, putting some distance between us. My fingers almost wrapped around her arm to pull her back.
“I acquired it in a trade.” She played with the ties of her robe. “Although to be honest, I’m not sure what to do with it.”
“It would make a great art piece for a collector if you clean it up.”
She was almost hesitant as she said: “I was told it’s not functional anymore.”
“It might not be, but it would look pretty cool with a new coat of paint.”
“Are you interested in upcycling?” she asked. “If you are, I could show you around. The yard’s full of interesting things that could be art if you look closely enough.”
“Yes,” I said quickly, the knot of anxiety in my chest easing a little. I wanted to know more about this omega, even if it was through her collection of scrap metal. “I would love that.”
Her smile held the tiniest crease of doubt.
“What?” I asked.
“Nothing,” she said, shaking her head. “Let’s go. I’ll show you around.”