Chapter 17 Jesse
seventeen
Jesse
“What?”
Harder than I’ve ever been before, I open all the windows, trying to take the pressure off. I can barely think straight with her perfume up in my nose, like she’s grabbing my cock in her hands. I definitely can’t drive safely like this.
An Omega perfumes when they are pleased, when they are spoiled as they should. Pleasing them is a raw need inside every Alpha. They are the sun, and we follow them wherever they go. I didn’t think it would be like this without scent-matching.
It’s too easy to make Veda perfume. I’m not complaining, her taste is delicious on the tip of my tongue.
I want to bury my head between her thighs and never leave.
I want to make her come again and again, let her ride my tongue for her enjoyment until I can’t breathe.
Of course, I’m not allowed to do that. She’s not mine to keep. It doesn’t matter how I feel.
But moments like this make my mind wander.
She was never treated right. A healthy Omega wouldn’t perfume for something so freaking small. A healthy Omega is a spoiled Omega. Yet I know Veda doesn’t know softness. It cuts me when I do the simplest things for her, and her eyes shine with gratitude.
Why doesn't she expect me to feed her every morning? Why does she look close to tears when I found a Brazilian artist for her to listen to?
If she wasn’t ever treated right, why can’t I keep her? I’d cook for her every day of her life. I’d make sure she’s comfortable and has everything she needs. I’d introduce softness into her life. I’d show her that the greatest gift she could ever give me is her smile.
I don’t need anything else to survive.
“I heard you guys talking about my smell. I’m showering so much, Jesse, I promise. I think I’m nose blind. I can’t smell what you guys are talking about. I’m so embarrassed.” She buries her face in her hands so the next words are muffled. “I’m sorry!”
It takes me a moment to understand what she’s talking about, but when it finally clicks, laughter bubbles from my chest, impossible to hold back. It’s criminal that her mind goes to the worst-case scenario every time.
“Sweetheart…” I shake my head, at a loss for words.
She eyes me through the gap between her fingers and then shifts on the seat, moving a half an inch from me. Yeah, that won’t work for me. Growling, I grab her knee to keep her in place.
The space between us is already torture. I need her closer, not farther away. Her leg is warm beneath my palm and so damn soft that I groan, which kicks off another wave of her perfume. I roll my shoulders, trying to grip to the very little sanity that’s left.
“Your scent is delicious, Veda. It’s so fucking sweet it’s hard to think.”
“Oh—” She hiccups. “I thought… No one has ever said that to me. I didn’t think you meant it as a good thing.”
Of course she didn’t. My fingers flex over her leg, carving into her flesh. “It’s so good, sweetheart. You smell like sugar, like a whole damn bakery.”
My tongue peeks out, and I lick the air. I’m so damn hard I refrain from humping the fucking air. I don’t want to scare the girl, and goddammit, Veda is the scared type. She’s always waiting around, assuming she’s the punchline of every joke.
Nah, I refuse to let her think the worst of me for even a second. It doesn’t matter if I have to show up for this woman again and again, she’s going to learn to trust me.
“It’s ironic that a celiac smells like a bakery,” she wrinkles her nose in the cutest way.
I chuckle, nodding, but I don’t take my hand off her leg. Now that I've started touching her, I don’t think I can stop. Unless she asks me, I’m not going to miss a golden opportunity like this.
Veda doesn’t ask me to move my hand. Instead, she parts her legs just a little more and relaxes back in the seat.
Her ease shows she believed my explanation, so I can relax too.
We listen to the music in silence. The notes carry the stiffness of my shoulders.
Veda looks through the window, lost in thought, and I let her be.
It hits me that this might be the last moments before she discovers who she really is.
We're so worried about the consequences of discovering an Omega that we forgot that her life is about to change. Nothing's gonna be the same for her, and it’s not just for being an Omega, but because she’s one of the last of her kind.
My thumb grazes over her skin. Every touch brings chills down my arms. She's wearing a denim skirt today, and it looks great on her, like everything else. I keep touching her, waiting until she tells me I’m not allowed, but instead, all she does is sigh and perfume the car.
Fuck. I'm painfully hard. This is an impossible situation. The more she perfumes, the more I crave it. It makes me crazy to just sit here and scent it, with no way to claim her. I shift in my seat. I don’t want to draw attention to the tent between my legs.
She trusts me right now, and I don’t want to break that trust with a hard-on.
We leave our corner of the world and get on the highway.
Our small Alpha-Omega township is not far, but it is remote.
I wonder how it would be for them when they see Veda.
I don’t know much about life with Omegas around.
By the time I was old enough to have memories, our ways were dying out.
Mom used to tell me stories about mating celebrations.
The township used to party for three days straight when a pack scent-matched.
Matehood is a secret to our people, and it hurts that it’s all in the past now.
Veda is going to attract all the packs back.
Everyone who fled the township will come back once this is announced.
The hand gripping the wheel gets tighter, willing the tension to roll off me.
Is she going to find a pack? Scent-match and be my parents' neighbors? I shake my head. No, that feels wrong.
She shouldn’t be desired just because she’s an available Omega. This woman is the most precious thing, regardless of her classification. She’s incredible because she’s Veda, and anyone who doesn’t see that is a fool.
Why can't it be us?
The daring idea feels right, just like her under my palm. I let my mind run amok, imagining every scenario where she’s ours. I would take care of her, treat her right. Derrick and Major, too. I know he has an attitude, but I trust that he would protect Veda with his life.
The possibility grows in my chest, and with each mile I press on, the more I wonder if I should just steal Veda. A stolen mate was never done before, but things changed.
The world is different, and the stakes are high.
We don’t do three-day celebrations anymore, and according to Carver, folks are trafficking Omegas. Buying them. Is it so wrong that I want to protect her from it all?
I glance at the beautiful woman beside me with something weighing on my chest. It's a mild day, the breeze coming in brushes her curls away from her face, and she closes her eyes in silent satisfaction.
Her skin is warm under the sun, the long lashes fanning against her cheeks.
She's the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, and just like that, stolen matehood sounds like the perfect idea.
We move away from the highway, and I make a turn, following Major’s car. There’s no one here but us, and eventually I have to take my hand off her as we reach the dirt road between the mountains.
Veda sits up, taking everything in as the mountain range closes on the car. We wobble over the rocks, and I have to take it very slowly, making sure the sudden change isn’t upsetting her.
“It’s not far from here,” I say with a smile. “Just a little awkward to reach.”
“I’ve never heard about a township between a mountain range.” I hear a hint of fear in her voice.
“It’s not in the middle exactly. More like behind it.”
She looks around, but we can barely see the highway we left behind with the red dirt raised under the wheels. Her eyes are as wide as saucers, and her perfume has changed from sugary to a sour smell that makes all my hairs stand up. I feel her fear vibrating from across the car, and I hate it.
She has the right to be suspicious. We are virtually strangers, and I’m driving her to the middle of nowhere, where a car shouldn’t even fit. It doesn’t matter how justified it is.
With a curse under my breath, I stop the car and unbuckle my seat belt and then hers.
She watches me with confusion in her eyes, but I don’t say anything as I reach from behind her and pull her all the way to me, sliding her over the cab of my truck.
Breasts flush against my chest, and I look right into those pretty brown eyes as I catch a rogue curl with the pad of my fingers.
“I promise that all that is beyond this mountain is some overbearing mothers. Both mine and the Wilde boys will smother you with homemade food and compliments.”
She chuckles, and a little tension leaves her body. I know she’s not sure just yet. I can scent that she’s scared, so I keep going. “I will never do anything to hurt, sweetheart, that’s the god’s honest truth.”
She nods and shakes her head. “I’m sorry, it was silly of me.”
Not that she did anything to look suspicious, yet here she is, apologizing for it. I tip her chin up with my finger so I can look straight back at her.
“Nothing is wrong with self-preservation. You don’t know me enough just yet. I don’t mind to prove every day that I’m worth your trust.”
Something changes in her gaze, and from a scared puppy, she turns into the Omega I know. Her perfume returns, soft at first, but it makes me groan, regardless.
“Your perfume, sweetheart. How could you ever think that you smell bad? Damn, it’s the most delicious thing I’ve ever scented.”
Her eyes glaze over, and she licks her bottom lip. “What perfume? I’m not wearing any.”
I chuckle darkly. “This one is all you. You smell so good, I want to eat you up.”
It’s not planned, but the words do something to her, and she pounces on me.
I’m stunned when her lips come to mine, but I’m a smart motherfucker, and I won’t let that end in a soft peck.
I forget where I am and sink my fingers in her hair, keeping her from pulling away.
My lips open to hers, my tongue seeks her taste, and it all clicks into place when she kisses me back.
Veda is just as sweet as her perfume. Her kiss is soft, but I can’t hold myself back. I ask for more. My teeth graze her bottom lip, and I lose my goddamn mind when she whimpers against me. Yes, this woman is mine. She and the pack will learn that very soon.
“Now, what do we have here?”
Veda gasps and jerks away, and I curse internally. Three rapid knocks on the car's hood let me know we are definitely not alone anymore. If I thought we had a little privacy at this secluded section of the dirt road, I'm just about to be proven wrong.
I swallow all the naughty thoughts I have about the woman in my arms and turn to the window, not slightly surprised by the person watching me.
“Howdy, Dad.”