Chapter 15
Fifteen
Truett
T hat had been fucking torture. My balls felt like they were going to explode.
I’d sat across from Strat and Otillie-James fucking Baler, watching them flirt and eye-fuck all night long. When she’d fed him that piece of chocolate, I’d contemplated picking her up, laying her across those damn desserts and fucking her right there, in front of Strat damn Wilmington and the whole world.
Then, when the only person she could think of was me, I’d spread Strat over her and fuck him too.
I clenched my jaw so hard, it was a wonder it didn’t break. OJ kept looking at me with those inquisitive eyes that saw far too much, and I knew that as soon as the door closed on my Maserati, she was going to bombard me with questions.
As I pulled out into traffic, I was proved wrong—she waited until we were on the freeway. “So, when did you realize you wanted to bone Strat Wilmington? Is it a new thing or…?”
I growled at her. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
She snorted a disbelieving sound. “Bullshit. You looked at him like he was a lollipop you wanted to suck all day long.”
I shot her a disapproving look, but she glared back at me defiantly. Something about that look made me want to put her on her knees and watch her suck my cock. I had no doubt she’d even blow me defiantly, looking up at me with those wild eyes that made me hard as fuck.
She reached across and put her hand on mine over the gearshift. “I don’t care if you like men, True. Or women. Or whatever. I don’t think Sonny would care either. I mean, if he doesn’t already know.”
For fuck’s sake. “I’m bisexual, Juice. Is that what you want to know? Sonny already knows. That’s definitely something you should talk to him about, though.” I wasn’t here to out my best friend.
She tilted her head. “Is that why you guys don’t have an Omega yet? Do you and Sonny…?”
“Fuck?” I supplied. She nodded, and I sucked my back teeth. “That’s none of your business.”
She huffed, and it was cute as hell. I couldn’t tell her that the main reason we didn’t have an Omega was because of her, though. That Sonny and I both had unresolved feelings for the woman beside me, who I’d lusted after and resented in equal measures over the years.
Crossing her arms over her chest, she gave me a grin. “Fine, but you can tell me if you find Strat Wilmington attractive. Actually, you don’t need to. I know you do; I’m not blind.”
That was debatable, considering that both Sonny and her new friend Lance looked at her the same way, and she was wildly oblivious.
“Fine, I find Strat Wilmington attractive. Are you happy?”
Smug little wench just smirked at me. “Yes, I am. You should pursue him. He wants you too. He kept throwing you longing looks.”
“Jesus, Otillie-James. I don’t need a matchmaker. I get laid just fine.”
Her eyes shuttered, and I wanted to bite off my tongue. She was silent for a moment, and then continued, her tone no longer teasing. “I just think you’d be good for each other. You respect his skills as a lawyer. He’s handsome, intelligent, and would push your buttons. Sonny would enjoy spoiling him, even if he doesn’t like to be spoiled. He’d be good for you both. That’s all.”
I was fucking this up.
Screw it.
I pulled over into the parking lot of a big box store. Shoving the car into park, I looked over at her. This was a bad idea, but enough was enough.
“Sonny and I aren’t looking for an Omega, Juice.” Sucking in a deep breath, I hoped Sonny would forgive me for what I was about to say. “We aren’t looking to add anyone else to our Pack. Because we’ve both been in love with you , ever since you fell out of that damn tree and right into my arms. We don’t have an Omega, or a Beta or anyone else, because no one ever measures up to you.”
I was breathing heavily, my heart pounding in my ears as she stared at me, her lips slightly parted. She was frowning, like she couldn’t understand my words.
Leaning forward, I captured her lips with mine. Maybe she would understand this better. I poured every ounce of yearning into what might be my only chance to kiss her. I was going to make it memorable. I’d have to hang onto the memory for the rest of my life if this went badly, so I was going to make it worth it.
She was still beneath my lips for a moment. So long, that I began to panic that I’d fucked everything up. Just because I wanted her, didn’t mean she wanted me too. Maybe I’d misread everything.
But then she kissed me back, and it was with such fervor, there was no doubt in my mind. I unclipped her belt and grabbed her up, pulling her into my arms and onto my lap without removing my lips from hers. She had these sweet, soft curves, with skin so smooth, I had dreams about touching every inch of it.
“Truett,” she breathed, and I groaned. I’d dreamed of her saying my name like that. I reconnected our lips, plundering her mouth with my own. My Alpha was rolling around happily inside me, demanding we fill her up, knot her, bite her, make her ours, but I pushed all that down. She couldn’t take my knot, and I would never hurt her. Never.
She was making breathy little moans, and I swallowed them down like the sweetest candy. God. I had to stop before I fucked her in a damn parking lot.
Drawing back, I tried to suck in air. She looked at me, wide-eyed and almost shocked, and I was at a loss of what to say. My dick was hard as a bar beneath her asscheeks, and I was hoping she was confusing it for the steering wheel or something.
I cupped her face lightly. “I’m sorry for the… ineloquent way I said all that. But I meant it, OJ. You’ve always been the one for us.”
She shook her head, and my heart fractured a little. “No, you’ve had girlfriends. You’re a Pack. I’m Unshown. You’ve never said anything. I don’t… I don’t understand.”
Blowing out a breath, I knew I should put her back in the passenger seat for this conversation. But I couldn’t, because this might be the last time I got to hold her like this. “You have to know that you being Unshown means less than nothing to us. We don’t want you for your designation, OJ. We’ve always loved you for your heart.” I’d just dropped the L word again. Sonny was going to kill me.
“At first, you were too young. And you were his stepsister. Then you seemed happy when we left, so we thought maybe it was one-sided. We couldn’t stay away, though; we had to move home. While we were gone, you turned into this strong, independent woman who didn’t need or want us. We decided not to say anything—we didn’t want to blow up your family, just on the off chance you might want us too.” It all seemed like such bullshit now.
Oof. I hadn’t expected her to punch me in the chest, though when it came to Otillie-James, maybe I should have.
“Are you telling me, Truett Heathstone, that the six years I’ve been pining after you assholes, you’ve been pining after me too? Do you know how ridiculous that is?”
Now it was my turn to blink uncomprehendingly. “You’ve been pining?” The idea of OJ pining over any man, Alpha or not, seemed ridiculous. She’d barely liked Sonny when they first met, and honestly, everyone tended to like Sonny. I was more of an acquired taste, and I hadn’t thought it was a taste OJ ever intended to try.
“Uh, it appears so.” Instead of saying anything else, she gripped the back of my head and kissed me again. Her tongue battled with mine, and her sexy little body turned, so she could put a knee on either side of my thighs. Her breasts pressed against my chest, and I held her hips tightly against me.
This had to be a dirty dream. Everything about this night had been straight out of a fantasy. There was no way that Otillie-James was on my lap, grinding down on my cock.
Fuck.
I wasn’t sure how long we kissed for, but eventually, she pulled back, her lips pink and swollen, her hair messed up. Her wrap dress had slipped to the side, and her lace-covered breast was right there, in front of my eyes. Better yet, in front of my mouth. I leaned over and took her rose-pink nipple between my teeth, and sucked hard.
“Oh my god ,” she moaned, and I knew this was getting out of hand. With willpower I didn’t realize I still possessed, I pulled back and lifted her carefully back onto the passenger seat. Breathing heavily, I tried to get my Alpha under control. I desperately wanted to drag her into the back seat and fuck her senseless.
But I also wanted to do this right. Which meant I was going to have a stern word with my Alpha and my dick about the benefits of delayed gratification.
“Otillie-James Baler, if you’ll let me, I’d like to court you.” The solemnity of the statement was lessened a little by the bulging tent in my pants and the breathlessness of my voice.
Her smile faded a little. “What about Sonny?”
“I’ll talk to him.” And by talk, I meant he’d kick my ass across the Chalmers estate and back again.
She shook her head slightly, like she was mentally going through all the ways that this wouldn’t work. “What if you find an Omega, and she hates me?”
“What if we find an Omega, and he wants you just as much as we do?” We both knew I was talking about Strat Wilmington.
She swallowed hard. “What if I like someone else too?”
I had a feeling she wasn’t talking about Strat. I had a feeling I knew exactly who she was referring to, and I wasn’t quite sure how I felt about that.
Shaking my head, I gripped both her hands. “We can play the what-if game all day, OJ. The fact is that I would do just about anything, accept just about anything, to have you.”
Because when it came down to it, I’d tried the alternative. I’d tried a life without her, and now that I had the taste of her on my tongue, I knew I’d never be able to live without her again.