Chapter 28
Chapter Twenty-Eight
TALLY
T he television is on, and the shower’s running. The lingering scent of chocolate and pepper floats through my apartment like an expensive room de-mister.
A blistering heat races over my skin, and my steps slow as I reach the space between my bedroom and the second bedroom. I’m seriously torn between what I’d like to do and what I should.
God, this pack is testing me.
The takeout box in my hand is the thing moving my thoughts from the naked and wet Alpha in my shower to the Omega I’ve been avoiding.
For too long. It’s the right thing to do, and I know I’ve been avoiding seeing him.
And the reasons why. Jesus, he’s fucking stunning, but his looks aren’t what’s kept me away.
I knock on the wall where the walk-in closet once was.
One second standing there, and already his distinctly herbal, earthy, almost, slightly spicy scent has my head spinning in slow circles.
Closing my eyes sounds like a good idea, but it somehow intensifies his sage and sugar scent, making a wave of desire undulate over me.
“Tally?” Rafferty’s seductive purr interrupts my daydreaming, also adding to the flare of heat racing through my blood.
My eyes flutter open, and I have to immediately look away from his stare. His pretty azure blue eyes are like a mirror to my soul, his emotions mimicking mine—awe and wonder, fear and worry, blazing lust.
Rafferty takes a step and mutters under his breath, swaying on his feet like he’s been drinking.
“Shit, Tally. Your scent is a bit like a sledgehammer to my brain, and a vise to my dick. Don’t get me wrong, I like it.
A lot…” He stammers his words, losing them completely, reverting instead to sweeping his arms wide in welcome.
I’m not sure I could stop myself from moving if I had a gun pressed against my temple.
I berate myself for having stayed away from him for so long.
But part of it was this—scent-matched Omegas—isn’t something I’ve read much about.
I might have to find some spare time. Or I could just learn about the concept with him.
A small press of his hand on my lower back as I pass through the recently cut-in door, and his touch brings an echo that travels through my body. From the bottom of my feet to the ends of my hair, everything buzzes as if I have a live wire held against my skin.
He closes the door, shutting us away from the others. Alone.
Rafferty walks past me, muttering under his breath still, spinning as he goes to take my hand in his. Things are happening on so many levels, it’s hard to keep up with everything—the sights, the scents, my emotions, my physical responses to him.
Perhaps, though, it’s only happening like it should.
Maybe it’s the way nature intended. It makes sense.
With Alphas, it can be this fast, but with Rafferty, these racing moments might simply be our Omega sides aligning to each other like scent-matched mates are meant to.
It’s the only explanation I have to work with.
Rafferty’s eyes are on me. They haven’t left me since I knocked on his wall. His gaze is physical, like a caress. Mind-blowing logic, but making sense too.
“I didn’t think you’d come,” he says when I drag my eyes off his body and back to his face.
“I seriously wondered if I should. Weird, huh?” I reply quietly, losing my train of thought by the way his hand feels in mine.
I couldn’t even tell you what his home looks like. The colors on the wall, the furniture, the lighting, the smell… None of it is as important as him.
He leads, and I follow until we end in front of an oversized chair tucked into the corner of a room.
We sit together. Rafferty has a scent-soaked blanket in his hands, and when he drapes it over our shoulders, the scent of him is enhanced by chocolate and cinnamon drapes.
I make a noise in the back of my throat, and he snuggles even closer.
But because there are two of us, and the rule of snuggling is, you always need lots of blankets, he grabs another one.
And this one has only been touched by Tynan.
His lemon verbena is so fresh, but it’s also the missing piece, tying them all together.
My head falls backwards and Rafferty curls the blankets in a fist, bringing them both up so I can press my face into the soft, luxurious, and seriously yummy-smelling fabric. When I moan, Rafferty only laughs. But it’s full of understanding, encouragement, even.
“Shit,” I whisper after a few nose rubs, “I brought you some pastries from the bakery, but I don’t know where they are.”
He chuckles again before reaching forward, lifting the box off the floor and dropping it onto the cushion beside us. Rafferty holds me close, my back to his chest, his mouth dipping down to glide along my skin. “You're the best gift I’ve gotten in a while.”
“I bet you say that to everyone,” I tease, and it’s as easy as breathing. “I’m serious, though, apparently you really like what’s in the box.”
“I like what’s in my arms more.” His whispered words are nothing more than a lifeline for me to focus on, keeping me from asking him to drag his nose all the way down my body.
He presses one of his thighs between mine before reclining on his side and dragging me down next to him. His arm goes around my tummy as he reaches for the parcel I brought. And while he touches the box of pastries, he doesn’t pull it over.
I twist around, and he’s so close, his breath blows over my cheek, his eyes watching me closely. I could seriously get lost in his eyes; the blue is so vibrant and alive, exactly how he makes me feel.
I have to put some space between us, not much, because there’s this crazy, strange but beautiful desire to continue touching him.
“Before we talk about bringing me gifts, Tally, I want to know if you feel what I do?”
My eyes flare, not in fear, maybe intrigue, because I have to know if we’re on the same page. “Tell me what you feel?”
“Like, I’m surfing my dream wave.”
“You surf?”
“Ack, no.” He laughs. His Irish accent is getting somehow thicker.
Goddamn, it’s so damn sexy listening to him.
He keeps talking, ruining me with each word he speaks.
“I’m terrified of the water. That doesn’t matter, because it’s exhilarating, life-changing and the world is moving differently.
I don’t think the world will ever look the same, and I don’t want it to.
I want this ride, Tally. With you. And I don’t want it to stop. ”
“You don’t know me!”
He rolls his eyes before pulling me closer. Rafferty shuffles our positions, so we’re lying on our backs, our legs intertwined like a tangled ball of yarn.
“I know this.” He nuzzles against my neck, his lips ghosting against my scent gland.
“You feel like fire against my skin, and when you’re not next to me, I feel like I’m lost in a snowstorm.
Your scent is impossible to wash away, and I love the way it’s all I can smell.
And then”—he drops his voice and his gaze—“you being next to me is how life should be.
So, I don't care that I don't know too much about you, because what I do know is enough. I trust my nature. Besides, we have the rest of our lives to find everything out. I can’t wait to do it, either.”
My world tunnels, everything he says is the only thing I can focus on. His explanation is brutally easy to understand, terrifying to hear. And I try to push him away. The trust thing is like a knife in my soul. “Rafferty…”
He smiles triumphantly when I struggle past his words.
“Ssh,” he declares, cuddling more. “Let’s eat the treats you brought me.”
“Your brother got them for you. He took me to breakfast to your favorite place, which I think might be mine too. Although, to be fair, I haven’t seen what else is on offer.” I ramble on and on, making him smile more.
With one hand, he opens the box and starts eating, the crumbs falling over my face.
“Rafferty!” I laugh.
He looks down at me, shock darkening his face, but in the next blink, he gets a wicked glint in his eye. His hand tips so the icing sugar from the chocolate croissant, and all the tiny flakes, hit my mouth.
“I am so sorry,” he says seriously, his accent thick. The growing smirk and heat in his eyes at war with his apology. He leans so close I can see the smallest flicker of gold in his blue irises.
I poke my tongue out, tasting the icing sugar before I taste him.
His tongue barely touches mine. It’s not tentative, it’s outright teasing.
He does it again, the barest brush. This time, he doesn’t pull away; he flickers his tongue against mine before dipping down to lick the icing sugar from around my mouth.
By the time he’s done, my heart is beating like a hammer and my panties are soaked.
“Rafferty?”
“Hmmm?” he hums as he keeps lapping my lips, my tongue, my skin.
“Why did you smile that night?” It’s something that’s been on my mind for a while.
“You saw that?”
“I mean, you have a very pretty cock. Watching you work yourself was admittedly very distracting, but I saw you smile as if you heard me.”
“Right when you were getting impatient, wasn’t it? What were your exact words again?” he whispers as his finger curls around my aching nipple.
The memory of watching him is as real as him here now. “‘Come on, give me what I want.’”
His eyes flash with desire, his lips ghosting over mine as he twists time, drawing us back to this moment. “Okay.”
My arms go around his shoulders, pulling him closer before a sudden urge to feel his skin on mine has me clawing his T- shirt over his head. I drop his shirt onto the pillow under me so his scent surrounds me. And then he slides down my body, his mouth taking the place of his fingers.
My hands are in his hair, releasing it from the band, so I can feel each strand of hair like a kiss on my skin.
I kick off my shoes before wiggling my hips up. He doesn’t stop kissing as he helps me out of my pants. I claw his boxers down his hips.