Chapter Five
Anathea
I’d taken one bite out of my sandwich when that blasted chime rang out. A customer.
After chewing at rapid speed, I popped out from the back and noticed a man looking very out of place.
I let him squirm a little bit.
He wore some kind of uniform, and my first thought was firefighter. My gaze darted to the candle section, thinking I’d missed some kind of fire.
One customer thought it would be fun to light a few with his personal lighter. It wasn’t.
“Can I help you?” I asked more for me than him.
“Hi, are you the owner?”
Morgana had stepped out for a bit. “She’s not in. Should I call her? Is something wrong?”
A man in uniform carrying a clipboard and asking for the owner didn’t seem like a friendly visit. “Nothing wrong at all. Just a fire inspection. As long as you can give her the report, it should be fine. You can do that, can’t you, darlin’?”
Goddesses, all of them, the way he said darlin’…that word weaved its way up my spine and settled somewhere between my core and my thighs, throbbing there for entirely too long.
I choked on my next words, making him smile. “Yes. I can give it to her.”
“I’m so glad.” He shook his head. “I’m getting ahead of myself. I’m Carter Neal. I’m with the fire department. We do these surprise inspections from time to time.”
He even flashed his badge. Sweat broke out along my brow.
Were my heat suppressants not working? Because it seemed like every alpha who came in here had me hot and bothered and all kinds of needy.
The one the other day with the girl who bought the opal, and now this one. Carter. That name would sound nice in the throes of…
“Miss? I asked what your name is.”
“Oh. Me name. My name. Shit. Anathea. I’m sorry. I’m not usually so flustered.”
He winked at me. Winked. I almost gushed slick. “That’s okay. Why don’t you give me a tour of the place, and we can go over any infractions. That way, you can tell the owner and explain things.”
My brow furrowed. That didn’t seem like the routine way to handle a surprise inspection, but then again, I’d never been involved with one. Only saw them on TV.
Getting near this alpha was equally intriguing and terrifying. I didn’t like the effect alphas were having on me lately.
“Sure,” I answered before my brain caught up to the danger.
We started in the back and stayed there quite a while. He took pictures of some things and wrote notes. He explained everything, and I was happy when he told me there weren’t many infractions.
“Is there an alarm under the counter? Cameras?”
“Yes to both,” I said when we arrived back in the sales area.
“That’s good. A beautiful woman like you shouldn’t be alone at night without security.”
I rolled my eyes but my cheeks heated. Damn my body betraying me like this. “Every person, man or woman, regardless of their looks, should have a safe place to live and work. Don’t you think so?”
He looked down and shook his head, hiding his stunning blue eyes. What a shame. “I didn’t mean anything by it. I was trying to compliment you.”
“Thank you. And…I’m a bit touchy. Sorry about that.”
Carter raised his head and laughed. “My pack and I don’t mind touchy omegas. Trust me.”
I froze. His words splattered ice water over my body and any reaction it had to his smell or flirting. “Your pack.”
“Yes. There are three of us.”
I felt the seizing up as my walls rose and my heart hardened into stone. “I see. Is this inspection done, or is there somewhere else I can show you?”
Carter’s eyes widened. Good. Maybe he got the hint. “I’m done.” He tore a page from the clipboard and handed it to me. “Please give this to the owner. My contact information is at the top in case anyone should need or want it.”
“I’ll let her know. Have a nice night, Carter.”
“You too, Anathea.”
I shut the door and for the rest of the shift tried not to think about the two alphas who had me hot and bothered.
That night, I got home and showered and changed into some comfy clothes while I heated up a serving of soup. It wasn’t much, but it was cheap and, with a grilled cheese, it turned into a full meal.
“Shit!” I yelled as I reached for the handle and ended up touching the side of the pot. Pulling my hand away, I saw the palm was red and already beginning to blister.
It hurt like hell.
Damn it all. I had to go to the clinic for this one. I hated the omega clinics back home. They always treated omegas like they were fragile and stupid. Explaining things to us like we were toddlers.
Maybe this one would be different. Either way, I had to go.
I walked the few blocks to the clinic, making sure to check my surroundings and keep my purse and phone close. Not because of any dangers of the city but because of me and always wondering if someone was looking for me even though I knew they weren’t.
“Welcome to the City Clinic. Ouch! That looks painful. Elias, can you take this patient?”