Chapter 4 #2
“Should we give them a moment?” I asked, but Cade’s dark look had me laughing. He was already unbuttoning his own shirt and pants, adding them to the stack. Then he was sprinting out of the back door and rushing down the lane toward them.
He was never one for subtlety. I hoped our mate was ready for that.
It was starting to feel like I was always running behind them. Rushing wasn’t my style, I preferred to observe, then act. But right now I was cursing myself as I stripped down to my superhero boxers and sauntered out like I had all the time in the world.
That was because I hadn’t scented her yet.
“There he is,” Beck grinned, waving me closer. His dark eyes were practically sparkling as he gestured to me.
Then she turned those gorgeous blue eyes on me. It felt like the rest of the world was fading into the background. She was all I could see.
There was a gorgeous dusting of freckles over her nose and cheeks, then on her shoulders and dipping below her bikini. Her body was even more mouthwatering up close. She had soft curves, the kind that would fill my hands beautifully.
I felt my eyes drag slowly over every inch of her then flushed in embarrassment.
“Sorry,” I stuttered out. “I’m Spencer.”
“Grace,” she grinned, her smile adorably crooked and making her cheeks flush as she took me in. Then a laugh bubbled out of her as she reached my Batman boxers. “Really? I’m more of a Superman girl myself.”
I narrowed my eyes as my entire world shifted, putting her at the center. “Those are fighting words, omega.”
She giggled again and stepped closer, puffing her chest out like she could be intimidating at all. Instead, it had my eyes dipping to her full cleavage.
Everything about her was wild and free and fuck, I was already in love.
Then, I scented her. Sweet mint and green tea, so soothing and sweet that it had every knot in my body relaxing as it washed over me.
“Oh, you smell like a popsicle. Those red, white, and blue ones I get in the summertime,” she said, practically drooling over me.
Me. The beta who thought he was always left behind.
“You smell incredible, too, freckles. That sweet, minty scent is something I could breathe in for a lifetime and still never get enough.” To punctuate my words, I stepped forward, invading her space and running my nose along her jaw.
A small whimper escaped before she stepped back and flashed a grin, before bolting for the end of the dock and launching into the air. She curled into a ball, hitting the water with a hard smack.
“She’s fucking perfect,” I said, voice serious as I turned to our alpha.
He nodded, then frowned. “Yes, but we can’t have her past this weekend until the wedding is over. She practically ran from me.”
She just did the same to me as well, right off the end of the dock.
“What the hell do you mean?” I demanded, refusing to accept that answer.
She was ours. Why would we want distance now?
“That’s Hailey’s little sister, the one helping run this wedding.
She also refuses to outshine her sister like their family has always done to them.
That and something I haven’t figured out yet is holding her back.
So, we agreed. We get this weekend, no holding back.
Then Monday we play the part of casual friends and keep this a secret. After that, all bets are off.”
My gaze shifted to the water, seeking out the omega laughing and splashing with Cade. They looked so good together, his face losing the stress like it did when he painted. She was all smiles and sunshine.
“We have no choice. What kind of impression do we leave if we force ourselves on her when she’s setting a clear boundary. That’s not how I intend to start off pack life.”
“Just friends is going to be fucking torture,” I said on a sigh. “But I agree. She needs to know we’re a pack that takes her needs and boundaries seriously.”
He nodded. “The best I could do was ask for this weekend. Nolan and Hailey think we’re finalizing plans and testing out the venue. We have to take pictures and keep up pretenses. But at least we’ll get her to ourselves until Monday.”
“Why is this place empty?” I asked, giving my alpha the side eye. He was never afraid to throw our wealth around if it benefited him.
“They had a family reunion scheduled. It was canceled last minute because the daughter had gone missing from some hospital, so we were the only booking. The receptionist was quite the gossip, but accepted easily when I paid her well to keep it booked just for us. The resort is ours until the wedding week starts.”
“Does she know who we are?” There were too many times in our past that our business was all anyone knew about us.
"Not that I know of,” he said with a shrug. “Though, I have a feeling it wouldn’t matter to her.”
We both looked out at them as those words sunk in. She was adorable, and when those eyes were back on me, all the rest fell away. We could do this. For her.
“Come on, super hero,” she called out.
When I didn’t move, she swam over to the ladder and climbed out, hellbent on getting us in the water. Cade was watching her ass like he was memorizing it. Though, with an artist, nothing was sacred. He’d dedicate a whole studio to our omega’s curves in a heartbeat.
“What if I can’t swim?”
She frowned at that, looking over at me with a hand over her eyes to shield herself from the sun.
Her eyes widened as a slow grin formed over my face. Only when she dropped her hand and stepped back did I move.
“Hold your breath, freckles,” I yelled as I snatched her up and launched us both in the air. The water was just cold enough to shock at first, but was so refreshing. We broke the surface and she growled at me.
“That was evil, now I’ll have to call you a Villain,” she pouted, though she made no move to swim away.
“My name is Spencer,” I offered, releasing my hold so my arms were only loosely around her, hoping she wouldn’t be pulling away.
“You guys are just trying to make this difficult aren’t you? Couldn’t you be a little less charming?”
My head fell back as I laughed. It was the kind that burst out of you, loud and unbidden, nothing holding it back. The happiness of it flooded through me, the rush of serotonin something I don’t think I’ve ever experienced before.
“We need to negotiate these terms, freckles. I don’t think I can go long without you by my side. You’ve already ruined me.”
She let out a nervous breath. “But we just met.”
I buried my nose in her neck, breathing in her scent. It was sharper now, a bit of worry and lust mixed in. She wanted this as badly as I did. If she shifted closer, she’d see just how much, even in this cool water.
“I’ve been waiting for you for years, Grace. I’ll wait a little longer if I have to. You’re ours, though, we can’t just walk away. And no one has to know what happens behind closed doors.”