Chapter 10
. . .
BEAU
Archer gasps as Ruby calls him her arch-nemesis. Which, to be fair, is a really weird thing to declare to your scent match you’ve only just met.
“XrixQueen?”
Ruby claps her hands together in delight, and the next thing I know, she’s in the kitchen, bundling Archer into a hug which has both omegas purring.
What the hell is happening?
“I can’t believe it. There’s no way.” Archer’s voice is awe-filled, and when Ruby releases the hug, a tear runs down his cheek as he grins from ear-to-ear.
They both look so happy that my alpha is pleased, but the rest of me is confused and more than a little awkward at their… reunion?
Archer pulls her back into a hug, and Ruby’s purr grows louder. “I knew we’d spend time together tonight,” she says with a soft giggle, then sighs, nestling in against his shoulder and inhaling. Her voice grows huskier. “Best Valentine’s Day ever.”
The more they hug and giggle, the more I feel like an intruder. They know each other somehow—that much is clear. The way Archer looks at her is filled with pure adoration, and Ruby’s smile is brighter than I’ve seen it all night.
My stomach twists into a familiar knot, an echo of rejection and lack of belonging that’s taken root in the core of me. At least this time I found out right away that I’m the outsider. Maybe that’ll make it easier to forget them.
I shift in place, my skin feeling too tight as the need to get out of here wars with my alpha growling at me to stay with my scent matches. It’s hard to think clearly with Archer’s scent saturating every inch of his apartment, but the longer I stay, the harder it’ll be to keep away.
Archer notices my movement, his gaze darting over to me, and he gives me a sheepish smile, pulling back from Ruby but still keeping his fingers interlaced with hers. “Shit, you’re probably really confused right now,” he says, chuckling. “We know each other from gaming together online.”
“Ah. Right. Small world.” The game they’re both obsessed with and probably have spent hundreds of hours playing together. Dammit.
“I knew you lived in the city, and I can’t count how many times I thought about asking you to hang out in person, but I didn’t want to make things weird.” Ruby squeezes his hand, laughing when Archer gives her an incredulous look.
“You’re kidding! I had at least five separate elaborate schemes concocted to use as an excuse to meet you, but I was too chicken. I didn’t think you’d want…”
Ruby’s gaze meets his, desire flaring in her eyes. “Oh, I want.”
Archer’s strawberry and chocolate perfume grows stronger, and it looks like they’ve forgotten I’m here again as they stare at each other.
I clear my throat. “That’s, uh, super cool. Wonderful, really.”
“Yeah!” Archer says brightly, but Ruby’s keen gaze watches me assessingly.
She brings Archer’s hand to her lips and places a kiss on it. “Should probably go get your meds and see if they’ll help.”
“Oh! Yeah. Duh. Of course. They’re in my nest. I’ll just…” He trails off, reluctantly releasing her hand and giving another adorable little wave before scurrying to a door on the other side of the room and shutting it behind him.
As soon as he’s out of the room, Ruby moves over to me, a frown twisting her lips. “Hey. What’s wrong?” The words are gentle rather than accusatory.
I blink at her concern. “N-nothing.”
She rolls her eyes and presses a finger against my chest. My breath hitches at even that small amount of contact. There’s the slightest hint of a sugary, citrusy scent now that she’s close to me, and my alpha is eager to lean down and rub my face against her neck to get more of it.
“I thought you said you needed honesty. That goes both ways.”
I flush. “It’s not a big deal. I just… I think I should go, right?”
Ruby scowls, the look somehow still sexy as hell on her. “What? Why?”
“You and Archer know each other. He’ll be more comfortable if he doesn’t have a stranger—an unknown alpha—in his space.
Especially if the suppressants don’t work and he doesn’t want to go to heat services…
” I clear my throat, ignoring how my dick thickens at the idea of Archer’s heat progressing.
“You can take care of him. You like him and he likes you, and you’re very good at taking care of omegas. ”
She waits a moment, letting me open and close my mouth a few times, trying to find a way to explain more eloquently, and failing. “Okay, I understand where you’re coming from.”
I’m not sure if I want to sigh with relief or cry that I was right about not being needed.
“But,” she continues, sliding her hand so her palm is resting flat against my chest, and looking up at me through her thick dark lashes.
“You’re a part of this, Beau. Me and Archer knowing each other doesn’t change that.
It doesn’t mean you’re not wanted.” She smiles, a hint of teasing sparkling in her eyes.
“And I certainly don’t mind the idea of spending extra time with you to get to the same level of familiarity. ”
Some of the tension in my chest releases. “If you’re sure you don’t mind…”
She chuckles, low and breathy. “No, big guy, I don’t mind. I sincerely doubt Archer will either, but let’s ask him when he comes back in to make sure we’re all on the same page.”
“Oh, I don’t want to make him uncomfortable.”
Ruby scoffs. “He said he wasn’t. Besides, you’re our scent match.”
“Am I yours?” I don’t mean to ask aloud, but there’s this pathetic, annoying voice in my head telling me that the matching service made a mistake and I’m somehow Archer’s match, but not hers.
Her brow furrows. “What do you mean? Of course you are.”
“I haven’t really gotten to scent you,” I reply weakly.
She doesn’t argue. She doesn’t make fun of me. No, this gorgeous omega silently closes the remaining space between our bodies and wraps a hand around the back of my neck, pulling me down to press my nose against her scent gland.
I inhale, the sugared lemon and tart cherry and creamy vanilla still subtle under her remaining scent neutralizer, but undeniably perfect.
A deep groan rumbles out of me, and I press closer, sucking in another lungful. She purrs and I feel her drag in her own deep breath. “Mmm, you smell amazing. Crème br?lée is one of my favorite desserts,” she whispers.
Ruby pulls back, which is good because I was seconds away from grinding my stiff cock against her stomach. “That clear things up?”
I smile, the tightness in my chest all but gone now. “Hmm, I might need more to be certain.”
Ruby grins up at me, something wicked crossing her expression. The hand on my chest slides down to my stomach, and a jolt of lust hits me, so potent I feel dizzy.
“Ruby,” I groan, but she chuckles and her hand lifts off me before it gets too far down my body. It takes me a moment to register what she’s doing. There’s a soft rustle of fabric, and her eyelashes flutter as she sucks in a shaky breath.
“Here, try this,” she murmurs, stepping back just enough so I can see her pull her hand out from under her skirt. Her fingers glisten as she brings them up for me to inspect.
“Oh, fuck.” I smell her slick, better than any candy I’ve had. Better than anything I’ve ever smelled, other than Archer’s equally intoxicating scent.
Before I can stop myself, I wrap a hand around her wrist and bring her hand to my lips.
Her pupils dilate as I slowly open my lips and suck her fingers into my mouth, my cock bucking as her taste overwhelms me. She gasps as I swirl my tongue around her fingertips as I slowly pull off of them.
“Fuck, you taste…”
Unreal. Mind-bending. Like something I’ve been craving my entire life, without even knowing it.
A gasp, the sound of something dropping to the floor and scattering, and a curse, snap our attention toward the door to Archer’s nest. He grimaces as he stoops down to try to pick up the bottle of pills that he’s spilled.
“Shit, sorry, didn’t mean to interrupt.” He whines when some of the pills slip stubbornly across the floor when he tries to pick them up, and I’m by his side in a rush, needing to help.
“Here, why don’t you let me take care of this?” This close, I can see how sweat-damp and feverish he is.
“They’re not going to work. I looked it up.” His eyes meet mine, panicked. “O-once it starts, they lose efficacy. Can’t stop a heat in progress. God, I’m so stupid.”
Ruby is by his side in an instant, helping him up with an arm around his waist. “Hey, no, you’re not stupid. People miss doses, and it’s infinitesimal odds that you ran into your scent matches while your suppressant wasn’t at full strength in your system.”
“I don’t want to go to the clinic. Please don’t make me go there, I can’t stand the idea of my first heat being with someone who doesn’t even…who’s not…”
“We won’t make you do something you don’t want to,” Ruby soothes, guiding Archer over to the couch and stroking his back with soft purrs.
I finish scooping up the pills and put the cap back on the bottle. Seeing Archer in distress dispels the last remnants of my worries.
He’s scared and he needs help. I doubt he’ll want me actively involved with his heat, but I can still help. My scent match needs me, and I’d be a fool to let my past keep me from giving him anything he needs.
I find a clean washcloth in the kitchen and dampen it, and grab a banana and an electrolyte packet I see resting on the counter.
Ruby looks up as I approach while mixing the powder into Archer’s glass of water.
“Here. This will help cool you off a bit,” I murmur, draping the washcloth across the back of Archer’s neck.
He looks up at me with big, watery eyes and sniffs. “Th-thank you.”
“Do you think you can eat this?” I ask, kneeling down beside the couch and offering him the banana.
Archer blinks at me, a line forming between his brows.
“You said you haven’t eaten much of anything today. Getting something in your stomach will help ease your nausea. Drinking this should help with the lightheadedness.” I do my best to give him my calm, serious alpha face.
“Y-you’ve done this before?” It surprises me that there’s a hint of jealousy in his voice.
Ruby chuckles. “Yeah, sweetheart, but that’s a good thing. Makes him better at taking care of you.”
A flush spreads down Archer’s neck, his perfume thickening. “O-okay.” He takes the banana, and I have serious regrets about my choice of food when he puts the end of it in his mouth.
“Not to be crude, but there’s something else he could feed you that would help even more,” Ruby says matter-of-factly.
I sputter, almost spilling the water glass in my hand. “I…That’s…”
She winks at Archer, who laughs at her flustering me, the worry in his eyes lessening. “Speaking of which, once you finish that banana and your drink, we need to discuss how you want to handle your heat.”
Archer swallows his bite so fast he almost chokes. “I can’t go…”
Ruby strokes his back soothingly and meets my eye, giving me a questioning look. Silently asking me if I’m on the same page as her.
I nod, pulse hammering and mind racing.
How the hell did I go from dreading a blind date with one scent match to helping another scent match with his heat?
“It’s okay, omega,” she purrs. “If you want us to, we’ll help you.”