Chapter 34
ADAM
It was drizzly and gray outside, but my muscles ached to move. My wolf was growing restless inside his cage of flesh and skin, but I couldn’t let him out right now. It didn’t feel safe with Father breathing down my neck.
Still, I needed to do something, else I was going to go mad.
I leaned against the doorframe of the kitchen, my hip propped against the jamb, watching Fletcher awkwardly flip a pancake and nearly miss the pan entirely.
I bit back a chuckle. He was getting the hang of cooking, slowly but surely. One day, he’d be a pro. He’d learned from the best, after all.
“Hey, Fletch? What do you say we go to the gym today and hit the pool? Maybe swim some laps?” I suggested.
Fletcher glanced over at me, his expression so dumbfounded it was adorable. “Wouldn’t that be…inappropriate? I thought we were trying to be inconspicuous.”
I shrugged and pushed off the wall, joining him near the oven. A mixing bowl of batter sat, dripping, on the counter beside the stove, while a plate of lopsided, half-blackened pancakes stacked six tall was on the back burner. Which was, thankfully, turned off.
“Father knows we’re roommates. Roommates do bro things together. We just have to be careful. Nothing flirty. Just two guys going to work out at the gym together. Think you can keep your hands off me long enough to do that?” I winked at him.
He threw his head back on a laugh. “Coming from the guy who knotted me twice last night? I think you’re the one with the problem, babe.” He waved a hand in my direction. “Sure. Let’s go. Help me finish up, would you? Your pancakes always look so much nicer than mine.”
“It’s all in how you flip them,” I replied breezily.
Half an hour later, Fletcher and I were in the water at the local YMCA, the bite of chlorine strong in the air. My lungs and my limbs burned in the best of ways, and Fletcher’s laughter echoed in the indoor pool room as he beat me at the breaststroke—again.
I swam down the lane with powerful strokes, tapping the side of the pool with one hand before treading water. Fletcher leaned back against the concrete edge, his auburn curls slicked back away from his face in a way that made them look almost ruby-red beneath the harsh fluorescent lighting.
God, how was he so damn gorgeous? I wanted so badly to reach out to him, to run my fingers through his damp hair. To kiss him and pin him against the pool wall and tell him how beautiful he was to me.
But I couldn’t. Not here, not now.
As if sensing my moment of weakness, Fletcher hoisted himself up out of the pool with only his upper-body strength. He stood, water dripping in rivulets down his toned, muscular back and legs.
Somehow, that was worse. I forced my gaze away and swam over to the steps to get out as well. By the time I made it over to where our towels were waiting on us, Fletcher already had his wrapped around his shoulders.
He offered me a small but lopsided smile. “Ready to head out?”
I nodded and scrubbed the towel over my damp hair before drying my body best I could.
Fletcher took off towards the men’s lockers.
I fell into step beside him. I’d just opened my mouth to ask him if he wanted to grab lunch after this, when suddenly, a familiar woodsy scent made my wolf’s hackles rise.
“Adam! Hey!”
Shit! I quickly threw my towel around my neck, to hide any hickies I might’ve had from last night’s lovemaking, and turned in time to see my friend Gale jogging over to us.
I pointed at the sign directly above that clearly said, “No running.”
Gale rolled his eyes, like he couldn’t quite believe me. “Always a stickler for the rules.” He jabbed a finger in Fletcher’s direction. “Is this your new roomie? Alpha said that you were shacking up with an Omega, but I didn’t quite believe it. Wow.”
Fletcher froze, a deer in the headlights of an oncoming car. He knew the danger we were in. I needed to cover our tracks, fast.
I huffed, keeping my expression carefully guarded. “So what if he is? Contrary to popular believe, Alphas and Omegas can live together peacefully. It doesn’t have to be all about mates and marking.”
“Right.” Gale didn’t sound convinced. “So you brought your ‘roommate’ to the gym.”
“Sure. I thought we’d come for a swim. He’s fairly new to town and I had a couple of guest passes left over.
” I didn’t miss the way my friend eyed me though, suspicion clear as day.
Judging me while trying to decipher exactly why we were spending time together, and deep in my soul, I knew my father had sent him to snoop. Bastard.
Fletcher offered a meek smile. “Adam’s a nice guy. He even said he’d be willing to help me out in the weight room.”
Gale cocked his head, then gave Fletcher a slow once-over. “You look pretty good to me.”
I clenched my teeth to bite back a growl.
Fletcher sort of laughed. “Um. Thanks? It’s all the outdoors work I’ve been doing. Adam hired me as his groundskeeper, so I’ve been working my tail off.”
“What happens when winter comes?” Gale asked, glancing between us.
“Snow shoveling, I guess? I could go around to other people in the neighborhood and offer to scrape their drives. I’ll figure it out.”
“Mmm.” Gale let out a low hum, then turned to me, a glint in his eye. “Speaking of figuring it out, congrats on the engagement, Adam. Miss Aria is quite the catch.”
I forced a smile. “She is.”
“She’s really everything you could want in an Omega—and in a wife.” The other wolf’s lips curved in a smirk as he lowered his voice. “Rumor has it, she’s still a virgin too.”
I snorted. “I don’t want to talk about that. We hardly know each other.”
“Yeah, but virgin pussy is the best pu—”
“That’s enough, alright? Gale, god!” I growled at him, my hackles up now.
Gale responded by huffing out a low laugh and shaking his head. “You’re such a fucking pansy these days. Why are we friends again?”
We’re not. “You tell me,” I muttered.
He shrugged. “Well, whatever. Do what you want. I’m going to go bake in the sauna. You two have fun in the locker room.” He made a jerk-off motion with one hand, laughed, and kept walking.
My stomach was in knots. I looked at Fletcher, who seemed a little more pale than usual. Neither of us said a thing as we got changed and left the gym. We didn’t even bother to grab lunch after. We were both too unsettled by Gale’s crude remarks.
On the drive home, Fletcher finally relaxed a notch. “Is he always like that?” he asked. “I thought you guys used to be friends? No offense, but he doesn’t seem like the kind of friend I’d want to have.”
I sighed and curled my fingers loosely around the steering wheel. “He…didn’t used to be. He’s changed. I think Father’s been feeding him lies.” I shook my head. “I’m sorry, Fletcher. Maybe you were right. Maybe we shouldn’t have gone out.”
“It’s okay,” he told me, patting my knee. “What’s done is done, right? He gave me the ick, though.” He wrinkled his nose. “I think we need to be a little more careful.”
“Yeah,” I agreed. “Keep your eyes open. I don’t know what my father’s playing at, but I think he’s suspicious, and that’s not a good thing.”
Fletcher’s sigh sounded disheartened. “Can’t we just stay inside forever? Close all the blinds and have groceries delivered to the front door? We could be hermits. It could be fun?”
I squeezed his fingers in mine. “I wish, baby.”
If only it were that easy. I’d do it in a heartbeat, just to be with him.