Chapter 17
Revea
I’m so warm and comfy, I don’t ever want to wake up. I keep my eyes shut, refusing to move. My alarm hasn’t gone off; it must be too early, but what is that clicking sound? It’s like someone is typing...
I shoot up, and a cushion goes flying.
“Are you okay?”
I slowly turn to my right, where a set of blue eyes meet mine.
Sylvan is here. In my office. But he’s not at the desk anymore. He’s sat on the sofa directly opposite, with the cushion I just threw on his lap.
Fuck, did I fall asleep? I look around and see too many cushions, the throw, a blanket. Oh god, did I make a mini nest before I passed out?
Fuck me.
“Revea?”
“I’m fine!” I jump to my feet and rush over to my small bathroom, shutting the door with a sharp slam.
I spend a few minutes recovering, using my spare toothbrush, redoing my bun into something more respectable of a hair stylist, washing my face, and adding a little makeup from the overnight bag I keep in here. Then I pause, staring at myself in the mirror.
Why am I even bothered about how I look? I slip my glasses back on with a sigh. He’s already seen me, already judged me. I remember that lingering look when I first came into the office three hours ago.
I take a deep breath, stand tall, and give myself a reassuring nod in the mirror.
When I come out, Sylvan is back at the desk, typing away, and I wonder if I could maybe slip out, leave through the front, go the long way round to my car—
“I want to show you something.”
I didn’t even make it past the sofa.
I close my eyes, count to three, then turn back to the desk. Thankfully, he’s focused on the screen. Even when I’m standing right beside him, he doesn’t look up.
“I’ll talk you through the changes I’ve made, okay?”
Now, he looks up at me. All I manage is a nod, but that’s enough for him to begin.
At one point, he shows me something with writing I can’t make out even with my glasses, but when I bend down to get a closer look, he stops talking.
“You’re too high up,” he states, then promptly reaches for my waist and pulls me down.
Onto his lap.
“Now you can see...” He might as well be speaking Latin because all I can focus on is the way his one hand claims half my waist while the other uses the mouse to indicate certain things.
“I shouldn’t be sitting here like this,” I blurt, and he immediately stops, turning to look at me.
I think this is the closest we’ve been. I see specks of green in his eyes.
“Why?” His brows furrow.
“It’s kinda inappropriate for me to be sat on your knee…”
“It is?”
I nod.
“Why?”
“Because...” I flounder, “because it’s... intimate.”
“Oh. Because we’re close?” As if to hammer that point home, his fingers graze up over my ribs.
“Yep.” My voice goes a little shrill, and I hate myself for it.
“I don’t mind,” he says, clearly oblivious to my struggles as he continues telling me about the update to my firewalls.
Right, well… I guess if he doesn’t think this is inappropriate, I’ll just stay here until he’s finished. Rather than making a big deal out of nothing. Yep. That makes sense.
Eventually, the shock of being sat on his lap fades as I get enraptured in all the details. I start asking a couple of questions, and I think he likes that. Every time I say something, his grip gets a little firmer on my waist.
“So this way, when staff log in, they’ll get a text to their phone, and they enter that code?” I ask, leaning slightly to the side to look at the example on the screen.
“Um-hm.”
“Oh, that’s easy. And I guess if... if...” There’s something brushing my neck. “…they forget their phone, they can always...” Something soft over my pulse point. “Sylvan, what are you doing?”
“Trying to scent you,” he says as his nose grazes my throat.
I freeze. “Why?”
“I’m imagining how good you’d smell freshly fucked and knotted.”
Oh my fucking—
I shoot off his lap, but he’s quick, military trained, and I find myself caged on the desk. His strong arms trap me on either side as he lowers himself until our eyes meet.
“Was that too blunt?”
“Just a tad,” I breathe. “You went from firewalls to... that.”
“Hmm. But you asked, and I don’t lie.”
I swallow. “I’m starting to get that now.”
He doesn’t move. I don’t move. We just keep staring at each other until the blues of his eyes start to twist into something softer, wary.
“I’m messing this up,” he says, dropping his head as he steps back. Then quieter, “I always mess things up.”
I’m leaning forward without even realising, the sadness in his tone pulling me in. “Sylvan, it’s fine. You haven’t messed anything up, there’s nothing to mess up,” I reassure him softly, desperate to make him look at me again.
He does, but his gaze is still unsure, unable to meet mine fully. “You don’t like me.”
My breath catches at the sudden sting in my chest. “What?” I say quietly, not really sure how else to respond.
He frowns, stepping a little closer. “First impressions are important, and I gave a bad impression. I was blunt and rude. I’m always blunt and rude.” He drops his gaze. “But I don’t normally care.”
His brow furrows deeply while I sit here, heart pounding. He was nuzzling my throat seconds ago; now, he won’t even look at me.
“You’re right. First impressions can be important...”
He nods dejectedly, but I’m not done.
“However, I think how people behave after is more important. People fake first impressions, I know I have, especially in this business.”
I shrug.
“You sometimes have to pretend you’re something you’re not, or something more.
But you didn’t, Sylvan. You’re just you.
” I lower my voice. “You weren’t trying to impress me or upset me.
You work incredibly hard, you’re incredibly skilled at what you do, you’re able to self-reflect and learn, and admit when you’re wrong—a skill most alphas tend to lack,” I add in a murmur before leaning even closer. “And I like that about you.”
He finally looks at me, so I add a small smile when I repeat more clearly, “I like you, Sylvan.”
The second those words click in Sylvan’s high-functioning brain, those baby blues darken, and his large hands slide back on the desk, trapping me again.
“And you like the twins?” he asks in a low rumble.
“Erm... yes?” But this feels like a trick. “But—”
“We never like the same women.”
That sudden statement shouldn’t make my skin tingle, but damn, my omega is trotting around in delight.
“Never,” he repeats.
Now I’m squirming on the desk, trying to edge back while he leans even closer.
I raise a hand, and he stills, staring at my palm, then up to my gaze. “But,” I try again, “as friends, Sylvan.”
He frowns once more, but this one seems a little softer, and there’s a tilt to his lips that wasn’t there before.
“Friends.” He nods. “But your pupils are dilated…” His fingers slip to my wrist. “…and your pulse is racing…” He leans in, inhaling beside my throat.
I try to hide my shiver, unsuccessfully.
“And your scent...”
The low groan Sylvan produces sinks into my bones. I don’t think I’ll ever forget that sound.
“I can barely scent you, but I know you’re aroused.”
I think I’m in shock. That’s what I tell myself when his nose nudges my jaw and his hand drops from my wrist to my knee.
“I bet,” he whispers in my ear, “if I slipped my hand between your thighs, you’d be wet for me.”
My muted whine shocks us both. His hand tightens around my thigh, lips brushing my cheek.
“You still think we’re just friends, omega?”
Holy shit. Alpha Sylvan is hot.
So hot, I’m forgetting that we’re in my salon, on my desk, with my staff and clients just below.
I flinch back, his dark blue eyes locked on mine. “Let’s just... pause. Okay?”
He stares at me. “Why?”
I take a deep breath. “Sylvan—”
His chest rumbles pleasantly. “I like it when you say my name, omega.”
Oh, Jesus Christ.
“Syl—listen. I’m not looking for anything right now, okay? I have this five-year—”
“—business plan. I know. The twins told me, and I saw it on your system. Impressive.”
I fight back the urge to preen under his brief compliment. “Right, well...” I say slowly, giving my brain time to catch up. “As you most likely saw. It’s a very tight plan. There’s no wiggle room, which means I only have time to focus on my business right now. Only that. Nothing else.”
He nods, and I take a deep breath. Finally, I’m getting through to him—
“You need to meet our pack alpha.”
What the fuck?
“Erm, no, no, I don’t.” I laugh out a brittle sound, trying to hide my omega’s excited keening because she’s already imagining the type of pack alpha these men would have.
Someone more dominant? I can’t even picture that when I have this man before me.
He reaches out suddenly, holding my jaw so gently. “I didn’t mean to upset you. I seem to keep doing that.” His thumb brushes over my cheek. “Sorry.”
“No, I’m not... You didn’t upset me, Sylvan.” He looks so sad that I find myself covering his hand. “I just need you to understand that this business is really important to me.”
“I understand,” he confirms, before adding, “And my business is really important to me, so are my packmates, and yet... here we are, Revea.”
His little smirk is devastating. Combined with the soft purr on the ‘r’ of my name, this alpha is just as dangerous as the others.
“Has anyone ever told you you’re very good at flirting?”
His smirk widens, and the scar through his lip tugs, and damn, he’s got no idea how hot he is.
“No.” His eyes dart to my mouth. “But I’ve been told I’m good at other things.” The hand on my face slips down to my throat, wrapping around it in a firm but soft hold. “I could show you—”
There’s a short knock before my office door is opened abruptly.
“Sylvan.” The warning growl causes no reaction from Sylvan.
But my heart is pounding. I think he feels it, because that little smirk curls back on his lips.
“Valentin,” he returns casually, eyes still locked on me.