Chapter 26
Chapter Twenty-Six
Sage
Shopping with Riley is a whole experience, and my head feels loopy as we scramble into the backseat of Brooks’ truck.
I’m not sure if it’s the sugar-caffeine combination hitting me, or the intoxicating feeling of one scent-match spoiling me while the other keeps us safe.
Either way, I’m giddy, and I fall into Riley when Brooks takes a sharp turn.
When I turn to look up at him, our mouths are inches apart. I freeze, breath sawing in and out of my lungs as my eyes drop to his lips.
My brain shuts off. No thoughts, no hesitations. Just desire and the heady sense of choice.
I surge forward, and my lips meet theirs.
Pillowy softness. Warm breath.
My hands raise to cup his face, cradling his jaw as I hold him to me. Riley’s hand clenches where it rests on my waist, his fingers dipping beneath my shirt to scorch along my skin.
I gasp, and Riley’s lips stretch into a smile against mine.
Time slows to a crawl as I whimper into his mouth, and he tenses, then presses more firmly into me. Just as I part my lips, ready to taste his mouth on mine, the truck jerks.
Time snaps up to full speed as we’re torn apart, and I turn wide eyes to the front where Brooks grimaces, an apology on his lips. Riley tugs me into their side, pressing a kiss to my temple, and I sigh into their embrace.
My cheeks heat as I replay what just happened. I’ve never been so bold in my life.
I can’t believe I did that.
I kissed Riley.
I’m practically vibrating out of my skin when we pull up to the lavender farm, and both Riley and I leap out of the backseat. Hand-in-hand we run inside—smack into Neveah.
Riley bounces off of her as he rounds the doorway, and I bounce off of him. Luckily, Brooks wasn’t too far behind, and he steadies me while Vee reaches out to straighten Riley. She raises one eyebrow at us, gaze darting up to Brooks for a moment.
“How was your date?” she asks.
“So good!” Riley gushes before I can so much as open my mouth. “We went to the coffee shop and she got a milky way, loved it of course, then we went to the bakery and tried all the best things. She loved those too, lemon best, obviously.”
Vee’s eyes start to widen as Riley keeps talking, and she darts a look at Brooks again. I’m just standing here with a stupid, giddy smile on my face, but I tried to put it away and I simply can’t.
I think it’s stuck.
Also my heart is pounding. Hard.
“—Then we went to the clothing shop and we found a couple things she likes but she wanted to keep wearing my clothes,” Riley is still talking, his words coming out faster and faster.
“I think I’m forgetting something but then we went to the candy shop because she hasn’t had candy, Vee!
And we each—” He pauses, looks around for a split-second, checking both his hands and mine to see they’re empty. “Our candy!”
He turns to sprint back to the truck, but Brooks throws an arm out and catches him around the waist.
“Slow down there, Ri,” he says, amusement lightening his tone. “I’ve got both bags right here.”
Riley snatches the bags and spins back around to face Neveah, holding them up in both hands. “And we got candy!”
She waits a second before responding. “Is that all?” she asks with a wry smile.
“Oh!” Riley says, throwing one hand up to interrupt her. “And Brooks makes a really good alpha daddy watchdog.”
He scrambles away as soon as the words are out of his mouth, cackling like a lunatic. I can’t believe he did it! I am far too much of a chicken to poke at the alphas like he does.
I spin around to see Brooks’ reaction. His neck is tense, tendons standing out as he clenches his jaw and his lips pinch together. His scent is bright though, so I don’t think he’s mad. Then his lips twitch before he forcefully scowls and narrows his eyes as he watches Riley run away.
“Is there steam coming out of your ears?” I ask, then slap a hand over my mouth, horrified.
“Oh, you want to be on my spanking list, too?” he says.
I drop my hand and my mouth falls open. My thighs clench together, and my perfume saturates the air.
Vee steps up behind me, trailing one finger lightly down my neck and arm until I shiver. There’s definitely slick starting to pool between my legs, another foreign sensation that I’m not sure what to do with.
“I think she just might,” she purrs into my ear.
“No!” I squeak, then slip out from between them to sprint after Riley.
Riley tries to get another date day, but Brooks says since it’s his day off, it’s his turn to take me on a date. He also says Riley owes it to him, since Riley ended up taking over so much of our first date when we came here to the lavender farm.
Riley concedes easily; I think they were just trying to rile up Brooks again.
I put on the playlist from the demon hunters movie we watched the other night, bobbing my head and singing along as Brooks drives us away from town.
He has his pretty auburn hair up in a bun as usual, and I clench my fists in my lap to resist digging my fingers into it.
I want to yank him down to me and cover him in my scent.
Get those full lips to smile at me, and maybe see how his beard feels against my skin.
Eventually, my mind drifts back to our mystery date. Brooks’ scent is so cozy and comforting, it’s almost impossible to not be half-hypnotized by it.
“Where are we going, anyway?”
“I didn’t want to say it in front of Riley, because I know they’d be jealous. But I wanted to take you to the beach. What do you think?” He glances over at me, a note of uncertainty in his gaze.
“I’ve never been,” I say. “But that sounds amazing.”
“Perfect,” he says. “Because we’re here.”
His words jolt me out of the stupor I was in as I stared at him, blind to all else around us. He pulls into a spot along the road with sand dunes on either side, spiky green grasses waving in the breeze.
“This doesn’t look like a beach,” I say, then frown. “And also, I don’t have a bathing suit.”
“I brought you a couple gifts, although I suppose that gives away what they are,” Brooks says, rounding the truck to my side and opening the back door. “Here.”
He places three different bags onto the seat, and I open them to find a skimpy black bikini that makes my cheeks instantly flush, a one-piece that’s a beautiful, vibrant turquoise color, and another two piece. This one looks more like a sports bra with matching, high-waisted bottoms.
“Hop in and try them on, you should have plenty of room. I’ll keep watch out here,” Brooks says.
I definitely don’t have the confidence to pull off that bikini, but I slip into the one-piece and instantly love how it makes me feel.
Pretty and sexy, with the cut-outs on the sides and lacy pattern running over my breasts.
I wrap one of the towels around myself and hop back out of the truck, then Brooks hefts a cooler into one hand and a big beach bag in the other.
We climb up the short dune, and my breath catches in my chest when we reach the top. Now that is a beach.
Soft sand as far as the eye can see in either direction, and the water is like a painting. Shades of teal and blue in broad strokes stretching all the way to the horizon.
“Wow,” I say, breathless.
Brooks smiles down at me, and I realize he’s waiting to continue walking until I’ve looked my fill. We head down the sand dune toward the water’s edge, picking a spot with plenty of space.
“It will probably start to fill up more in the next couple of hours,” Brooks says. “We can stay for as long as you like.”
He drops the bag and cooler, and I wander closer to the water to dip my toes in.
“It’s cold!” I say with a laugh, turning to see Brooks’ eyes crinkled in amusement.
“Yes, well, it’s quite a big lake. It’ll warm up a little more over the next couple months, but not much.”
When I head back over to him, he’s spread a wide blanket over the sand, kicked off his shoes, and is taking off his shirt. His muscles bulge, biceps looking like they’ll rip right through the fabric if he’s not careful, and my eyes drift lower as his muscular stomach and chest are exposed.
He has the perfect amount of auburn hair dusting what look like rock-hard pecs. His abs aren’t as chiseled as I would have expected, which simply reinforces that his muscles are the result of the hard work he does every day.
“See something you like, Petal?”
My eyes snap up to his and I bite my lip, then nod.
“Words, Sage,” he purrs, taking a step closer to me.
I gulp. “Yes, Brooks. I see a lot that I like.”
He steps close enough to touch, and I reach out, trailing my fingers through the hair on his chest, then run my hand down his side until it reaches his swim trunks. I skim my fingers along the top edge, tickling his skin, and then dip the tips of my fingers beneath the hem.
Brooks sucks in a breath, then grabs my wrist. His hand closes around it entirely and my breath catches, but his grip is loose, gentle.
When I look up though, his eyes are blazing.
“Careful, Petal,” he says, his voice low and rough. “We don’t need to be giving anyone a show.”
He reaches down with his other hand to readjust himself, and it’s then that I see the massive bulge between us. My eyes flare, my cheeks flood with heat, and my pussy clenches with want.
I look back up to his eyes, pleased and desperate, and a little confused about how I’m having such a strong, visceral reaction. He releases my wrist, then strokes softly up my arm with the backs of his knuckles until he gets to my jaw.
He tips my chin up gently, staring deep into my eyes, and my breath hitches in my chest.
“Can I kiss you, Sage?”
“Yes. Please, yes,” I say, my voice breathy.
I clutch the towel to my chest, and the fingers of my other hand wind into his hair as he bends down to meet me. Slow, so slow.
A whine climbs up my throat, and that snaps whatever restraint he was trying for. Brooks surges down, erasing the distance between us as he scoops me against him. Then his lips meet mine, soft and full, so warm.
He tastes incredible, hints of his chamomile scent swirling around us, and I suck his lower lip into my mouth. He groans, a rumble I can feel where my chest is pressed to his.
At some point, I must have let go of my towel. It’s still pressed between us, and I hate it. I want more of his skin on mine, and I curl my arm around his neck, tugging him closer to me as his tongue sweeps into my mouth.