6. Chapter Six
Chapter Six
T he afternoon sun shines brightly upon Linnara Lake, the light reflecting off the water. Ripples dance across the surface as a couple of ducks swim lazily in the fresh water. They’ll be getting ready to migrate soon, moving onto their breeding grounds.
One side of the Lake is enclosed by a wooded area, the leaves on the trees various shades of orange, red, and brown, lots of fallen leaves already scattering the forest floor. The other side faces the university campus, an open lawn sprawling to the edge of the first buildings and the cafe Saylor will come from, currently occupied by a small university fall festival and giving me a nice casual activity for our first date.
Saylor.
The thought of my little omega and her intoxicating pumpkin spice scent has my cock twitching in my sweatpants. There are way too many people bustling around, setting up their stalls and tents. Adjusting my semi-hard package, I resume pacing along the shoreline.
Corey had been about to start work when we’d approached Saylor in Sip ‘n’ Study. Although he’d kept a straight face and been fully supportive of her meeting me solo, I had felt his heavy disappointment and envy through our pack bond. I’ll have to make it up to him later. When I check our connection, the envy is still there, but there’s excitement and curiosity brewing beside it now.
We spoke about Saylor last night, discussing what to do about the mysterious pumpkin spice omega whose scent calls to both of us with an intensity I hadn’t thought possible. It’s been a few years since Corey and I packed, and we haven’t even been considering adding another member.
But ignoring a scent match—a rarity not bestowed upon many in our community—isn’t something either of us wants to do. Saylor is beautiful and intriguing. She’s nothing like any other omega I’ve met. From our few short meetings, it’s clear she’s full of sass, not quite as submissive as most of her kind. And I guess I kind of like that.
Lost in my own thoughts, I don’t notice Saylor approaching until a hint of her spicy scent floats to me on the chill autumn breeze. Grinning, I spin around, spotting her a few yards away.
Mine.
My alpha is ready to claim her, despite not really knowing anything about her. Hell, I didn’t even know her name until this morning.
Striding across the space, I close the distance between us, quickly scooping her up into a hug, needing to feel her petite form pressed against me like it was the other night.
“Woah, easy there, Muscle Man,” she laughs, placing her hands against my chest and pushing away from me. “Let’s work up to intimate embraces, maybe have a conversation first.”
Fuck, she’s right. “I’m sorry,” I say, lowering her to the ground and stepping backwards, creating some space between us. “I got ahead of myself. I do that sometimes.”
“No worries,” she says through a smile that has my heart thumping in my chest. “The pull is kind of hard to ignore, huh? ”
“Understatement of the year,” I mutter as she moves to my side, taking my hand in hers and grinning up at me as she winks.
“Let’s go for a walk around the lake, then maybe check out the festival? They should be open by the time we lap around.”
“Sounds amazing,” I say, leading her to the gravel walking path a couple of yards from the bank and beginning to walk at a leisurely pace. I don’t want to rush this time with her. Not even a little bit. I inhale deeply, taking in her scent and allowing myself to calm.
“Is Corey joining us?” she asks, a small line forming between her brows as she frowns. My eyes are drawn to a few wayward strands of hair dancing across her face in the breeze, and I watch as she tucks them behind her ear. A vision of my hands running through those silky strands, tugging her head back while I devour her lips, consumes me.
Her frown subsides as my scent joins hers, visibly relaxing her. I’m not sure she even notices as she steps closer to me, grasping my hand more firmly than before.
“Sorry, Pumpkin, he had to work,” I say, shaking my head to clear those images. My attraction to this omega is undeniable. The desire to protect and comfort her is welcome, but overwhelming and more intense than I could have imagined. I love Corey, and I’m protective of the smaller alpha. But he doesn’t need me to fight his battles for him. He’s more than capable of doing that on his own. It doesn’t quite satisfy those protective alpha instincts. Not like Saylor does.
Lifting our hands in front of us, I twist my wrist, showing her the bite mark there representing the bond between Corey and I.
“He’s disappointed, and somewhat jealous,” I tell her as her chocolate brown eyes glance up to meet mine.
“Mmmm,” she ponders playfully. “Well, he’ll just have to make it up to me. Let’s make this date one to top.”
Not one to shy away, I say, “Challenge accepted.”
“So, Muscle Man, you own the gym in town? Am I remembering that from the note in the safe haven bedroom?” Saylor asks as we near the wooded area beyond the lake, fallen orange and bronze leaves crackling under our feet.
“You are,” I say, my eyes scanning the wooded area as a shadow flits across my peripheral. More than likely it’s just a stray animal, but my guard is always up these days, having witnessed too many alphas acting on their feelings of entitlement towards omegas.
“I inherited it from my uncle about five years ago now. I’d already been working there as a personal trainer, but at nineteen I really did not know how to run the business. Uncle Rhys had built up quite the loyal customer base, and they stuck around, guiding me through the transition. I was lucky to have them. School wasn’t my forte, so I left and managed the gym full time.”
There's a stab of pain in my chest as I talk about Uncle Rhys. He’d been my only family at that point and losing him had been… hell. It had been hell. As the grief washes over me, my coffee scent dulls and I know Saylor scent it, even before she speaks.
“I’m sorry. I can’t imagine losing someone and trying to step into their shoes at the same time.” She gives my hand a reassuring squeeze.
“Thank you,” I say through the lump in my throat, squeezing her hand back. “It wasn’t easy, and I guess I was lucky to have the community around me.”
“Time doesn’t make it easier, does it?”
“No, not really.”
We continue our walk around the lake, quiet for a few minutes, the only sound the gravel crunching beneath our heels and the occasional quacking from the ducks on the lake.
“Tell me about you, Saylor. What’s your calling?” I ask as we complete our circuit around the lake and start moving toward the festival, music now floating to us across the space, the smell of freshly popped, buttery corn on the air.
“Well, as you know, I work at Sip ‘n’ Study. I’m a shift manager there and actually really love it. There’s just something about the buzz of people coming through for their morning coffee, or muffin and being a part of their day that makes me feel good. I’m also studying business in the hopes of building my own coffee empire someday.”
“Must be why you agreed to this date,” I say with a wink as we pass through the opening gates. Saylor giggles, letting out the cutest little snort, a sound that really shouldn’t cause my cock to stir, but somehow does. My spicy little omega is alluring in every way.
“Would you like something to eat, Pumpkin?”
“Gods, I could kill for a caramel apple.”
“Coming right up. No murders on the first date.”
“No, we should save that for at least the third,” she says with a straight face, and it’s my turn to snort as we approach the vendor.
“One caramel apple, please,” I ask, handing over some cash as Saylor chooses an apple coated in a thick layer of caramel, crushed biscuit and peanuts. “Thank you.”
“How do you feel about the house of horrors?” I ask Saylor, watching as she takes a bite of her juicy apple, and licking her lips, leaving behind a smidge of caramel at the corner of her lush lips.
The urge to lick the caramel away, to discover how she tastes, overwhelms me. My hand rises, cupping her cheek as I step closer to her. Our eyes lock as I lean in, pressing my lips to hers.
The second our lips meet, my spicy little omega perfumes for me, her pumpkin spice scent thickening in the air, strong and heady, causing me to groan against her mouth. She stiffens for a moment before relaxing into me.
My thumb strokes along her jaw, my other hand wrapping around her waist and drawing her closer as I lick her bottom lip, tasting the sweet, spicy combination of candied apple and pumpkin spice.
The feel of her body flush against mine, and the way her lips part, opening for me, our tongues dancing together, feels so fucking right. My scent strengthens, joining hers as our kiss deepens, her arms wrapping around the back of my neck, a gasp escaping hers as our kiss deepens and I lose all sense of where we are, and who might be around us.
There is only her—only us—in this moment. The sounds and smells of the festival fall away as we explore each other, tasting and nipping, finding a rhythm together. One that is so natural I can’t help but feel it’s meant to be.
Heat pumps through my veins as the kiss continues, and I suddenly wish we were alone and able to explore the physical connection more than this.
But we aren’t. We’re here to get to know each other, on a deeper level than the attraction we clearly both feel.
Breaking the kiss, I press my forehead to hers, the two of us panting as we catch our breath from what is one hundred percent the best kiss of my life.
“I love Halloween, love the House of Horrors,” she breathes. “Not as much as I loved that kiss, but I would like to go.”