Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
OLIVIA
With the door closed, Liam’s light blueberry scent surrounds me, drawing me closer, despite my complete shock that he’s here.
Corporeal. In Sawyer’s house. Statistically, the odds of me running into my crush from ballroom-dancing class are hard to calculate, but given that I don’t frequent social venues our families go to, the odds should be relatively low.
And yet, here he is. He’s as gorgeous as I remember, and I find myself studying his features. The strong line of his jaw. His short-cropped brown hair and clear skin. He’s grown up into a man. How did that happen? It feels like only yesterday he was sweeping me around the dance floor.
“Hi,” I whisper.
His lips twitch. “Hi.”
I bite my bottom lip. Where to begin?
Liam saves me the trouble of filling the silence. “I see you’ve met my pack,” he begins with a soft smile. “How do you know Sawyer?”
“My brother Henry and Sawyer are friends.” I swallow, throat dry from the nerves and Liam’s proximity.
“Oh, right.” His eyes flutter closed. “He told me Henry was the omegas brother.”
“Is that a bad thing?”
He opens his eyes, zeroing in on me. “Not at all. How have you been? You look amazing.”
“I’m good.” I literally just asked your pack to bang. My cheeks heat. “You, uh, look really good too.”
My gaze dips to his mouth. His lips are still as plush as I remember. Back then, I used to wonder how a beta had such kissable lips. I’d fantasize about pressing mine to them.
Liam closes the distance between us, hooking his thumb and finger under my chin and tipping my head back until our eyes meet. “I wondered if I’d ever get a chance to see you again, Liv.”
My eyebrows press together. “You did?”
He hums, studying my face, almost like he’s trying to memorize every line. “How was London?”
“How did you—”
“I might’ve been stalking your socials,” he confesses with a wry grin.
I have . . . a stalker? “Why?”
“Because,” he says, stepping into my space, mouth hovering inches from mine, “I’ve spent years wishing I was brave enough to ask you on a date.” His blueberry scent is so strong, my muscles relax in his hold.
Rationally, someone internet stalking me should be mildly concerning.
However, the evidence shows that it was only online, which is arguably less scary and far more common than if it was in real life.
Normal people social-media stalk all the time.
It’s practically part of the ever-evolving social contract.
His words play in my mind, and I tip my head. “You wanted to ask me on a date?”
“More than you know,” he says, voice strained.
Testing a theory, I wet my lips. His gaze flits to my mouth. Dilated pupils. Cheeks lightly flushed. Interesting. The science of flirting is fascinating. I think I’ve almost cracked the code. “Do you want to fuck me?”
“What?” he asks, voice pitching.
Or not. Did I read the room wrong? “You keep looking at my mouth. That’s a psychological and subconscious response to attraction.” I frown. “But you don’t want to fuck me?”
“Liv,” he rasps, thumb brushing over my lips. “Please stop saying fuck.”
“Okay,” I murmur, confused as ever. Science is usually easy. Attraction? That’s a mystery.
“As for your question,” he murmurs, eyes holding mine. “Fucking will come later, but for now . . .” He trails off and slowly brings his mouth to meet mine, giving me a moment to escape.
I fist his shirt in my hands as his soft lips smooth over mine.
His tongue traces the seam of my lips, and I gasp at the warmth and wetness.
Liam slips his tongue into my mouth, tasting me, and I follow his lead, gently teasing him with mine.
The forums online mentioned sucking on a lip, so I pull his bottom lip into my mouth, lightly sucking. He groans, the sound deep and low.
My core warms and my walls clench. That sensation is new, but it’s been happening a lot around these men. I sigh, surrendering to the kiss. After a moment, Liam pulls back, resting his forehead against mine.
“Wow,” he says with a laugh. “That was amazing, and when you sucked on my lip”—he pulls back to look at me—“god, Liv. You have no idea how much I’ve wanted to kiss you.”
“Even after all these years?”
He averts his gaze. “Is that weird? Me being obsessed with you for that long?”
“No.” I shake my head. “There’s a lot of behavior science surrounding attraction that turns into obsession.” A lot of it is about psychopaths, but Liam doesn’t strike me as one. I should be safe. “You’re not a murderer, right?”
“What? No,” he says with a hard laugh. “Do I look like a murderer?”
“Not really.” A grin pulls at my lips. “Just checking, because science.”
“Science, huh?”
I nod. “There’s a scientific explanation for almost anything.”
He hums, appearing thoughtful. “Whatever science brought you to my pack, I approve.”
The pack. Oh my God. The presentation. I haven’t even finished. “About that. I was in the middle of asking your pack to help Sawyer teach me how to be a good omega.”
“Who said you’re a bad omega?” he demands. The sudden sharpness in his tone has me searching his face. Why do I get the feeling he’d go and have a word with whoever it was? Picturing Liam scolding my mother is a funny thought.
“No one,” I say, waving my hand. “But I should finish my presentation. It won’t take long, and this is actually perfect. Our families are in the same social circles, and—”
“I’m not really in the same social circles anymore,” Liam says quickly.
I shrug. “That’s fine, too, but I should really finish what I started.” Before I lose all my confidence.
He holds out his hand, as if sensing my urgency. “Should we get back out there?”
Nodding, I slip my palm into his. My stomach flutters as his fingers close around mine. I study his profile as he leads me out of the room. He’s so beautiful. More handsome than I remember. How am I going to get through fake dating these men if I can’t stop crushing on them?
The rest of the pack is clustered together, speaking in hushed tones, but as we emerge from the hallway, they all perk up. Sawyer clocks Liam’s hand holding mine. I brace for some type of annoyance, but a big smile breaks across his face. Hayes and Wilder are grinning too.
“Look who’s back,” Sawyer says, gaze flitting between us. “Everything okay?”
“Why would you ask that? Of course everything is okay. Why? Does it not seem okay?” I say too quickly. Crap. Quick. Distract them. “Liam kissed me.”
Liam glances at me, features contorted into a comical expression. “Are you tattling?”
Shoot. I am. I wince. “Sorry.”
The pack shares a laugh. Sawyer stands, making his way over to us. He stops in front of me, gaze roaming over my cheeks. They’re probably tomato red. “Can we talk to Liam for a moment?”
“Of course, then I can start the presentation over.”
Amusement flashes across his features. “Right, the presentation.” He reaches up and brushes his thumb over my cheek, scent marking me. “Give us a minute.”
Liam follows him back to the pack, and I go to my laptop, trying to act uninterested in their sidebar.
I set the computer back in presentation mode.
My gaze zips to the pack. Their voices are too low for me to make out much of anything, but Wilder looks at me, eyes sparkling with mischief.
He winks, then focuses on whatever Sawyer is saying.
My heart bangs around inside my chest. I breathe in slowly, forcing myself to read over my notes.
An ROI on a fake-dating situation was hard to quantify.
Sex was the obvious one. There’s cooking and cleaning as well, but the pack seems to have that under control.
Here’s hoping intercourse is enough to entice them into teaching me all I need to know.
The pack breaks apart, returning to their seats, and I stand, clearing my throat. “Ready?” I hold up the clicker, prepared to launch into the presentation.
“We have a proposal,” Sawyer begins.
“Oh. Well, um, I’d really like to do the slides before I hear that.” Before I lose my nerve. There are only so many times I can be interrupted on this topic before I get too embarrassed.
“Forget the slides,” Hayes gruffs.
Wilder sends him a warning look.
“What?” he asks his twin before pinning me with his penetrating gaze. “Come sit down, Liv.”
Lines crease my forehead. Slowly, I set the clicker down, fighting a frown, and move to the couch. Does this mean they don’t want to help Sawyer? Probably because I’m too awkward. I pinch my eyes shut as I sit beside Hayes. God, maybe my mother is right. I don’t know anything about being an omega.
Hayes huffs and tugs me into his lap, wrapping me in his arms. His scent instantly coils around me.
“What are you doing?”
“You’re thinking too loud,” Hayes mutters, tugging me against his back and nuzzling his face into my neck. Shivers shoot down my spine and my pulse thrums. He inhales and groans. “Just listen to Sawyer,” he murmurs against my skin.
My gaze strays to the alpha. “Okay,” I whisper.
Sawyer looks exasperated by Hayes, but he shakes his head, focusing on me. “We talked things over, and we’d like to officially court you.”
I blink. “Like fake-dating court me?”
His features soften. “No, baby. Like court you, court you.”
My pulse jumps. “But the presentation—”
“Liv, stop talking about the presentation,” Liam whispers.
“I worked hard on it,” I murmur back.
“I know you did,” he says with a smile. “But you don’t need to convince us to fake date you when we’re all dead set on actually dating you.”
“I don’t know the first thing about being a good omega,” I counter. Why I choose to raise this point is beyond me, but it feels necessary to inform them.
Hayes kisses my hammering pulse, arms tightening around me. “You are a good omega.”
“My mother—”
“Frankly, fuck your mom,” Wilder says, cutting me off. He holds up his hand. “Sorry, but if she makes you feel less than, she sucks. Liv, you don’t need to act a certain way. The right pack will want you for who you are now.”
“Which is why,” Sawyer says, wrangling control of the conversation, “we’re asking you if you’ll allow us to court you.”
I bite my cheek, studying each of the men in front of me, then glancing at Hayes, who's still rubbing himself against my neck. What an alpha. “I don’t want to disappoint you.” There it is.
The fear that settles against my chest like a weight.
That, despite their assurances, there will come a point when they realize they don’t want me.
They’ll want the ideal omega my mother always talks about.
“Trust me, you won’t.” Sawyer spreads his hands. “What do you say, Liv? Do you want my pack to court you?”
Yes. What’s more than yes? “Absolutely.”
Hayes exhales against my neck. “Good omega.” His lips brush against my throat.
Those words caress my skin, and my lips part in surprise. I had no idea I needed that praise. The rest of the pack notices my shock, and determination flits across their faces. Why do I get the feeling they’ve all made it their personal mission to praise me as much as they can?
My heart races and my stomach flutters. “So, what now?” I rasp the question.
“Now, it’s fun and games,” Wilder says with a wicked grin. Liam and Sawyer smirk, and Hayes’s mouth moves to the shell of my ear. “Get ready to be swept off your feet, vixen.”