Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
SASHA
“Fucking leave now.” He places the plastic cups filled with liquor and beer on the white table.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t believe we’ve met.” Carson flashes his white teeth, pouring on his Charleston southern charm.
I hate to admit it — that’s partly what attracted me to him.
“I’m Sheriff Drake. And you’re sitting next to my omega.”
I shrug Carson’s arm off my shoulders. “You know why we broke up. I became so busy with the gallery, I didn’t have time to stroke your ego every two seconds. So you slept with Carla.”
“That’s not what happened, Sasha. You only cared about the business. I became an afterthought.”
“An omega like Sasha deserves to be cherished. She doesn’t need to worry if her alpha is going to be there for her when she needs him.” Gavin stalks over.
“She doesn’t have to wonder if I’m a secure alpha. She already knows I am.”
I stand to my feet, whining as I place my hands on his broad chest. Carson stands behind me. I’m caught in the middle of two alphas.
Would Gavin shift and tear Carson to shreds? My heart is beating against my chest at a rapid pace.
“That’s pretty dirty of you to move in on another alpha’s omega,” Carson snaps.
Gavin’s big hand pulls me against his muscled frame. He purrs to calm me down. “It’s all right, little omega. You’re safe.” Gold rings appear around his pupils.
Tyson and Jax snarl. Shit, they’re wolves too.
My arm curls around Gavin’s waist and I look up at Carson. “I’ve moved on. Go back to Charleston.”
I’m being polite telling him to leave. Because if he doesn’t get out of here, I won’t be able to save him.
“You can leave my town on your own, or I’ll have you escorted out,” Gavin growls.
“We’ll talk soon, Sasha,” Carson says before walking away.
Jenny exhales, ”That was intense.”
“Yeah, I just wanted to enjoy the festival,” I sigh.
“And we will. Have a seat.” Gavin glances at his watch.
“At eight they’ll open up the dance floor. You and I are dancing,” he tells me.
“I’d love that.”
Gavin sinks into the seat beside me and curls his big hand on the back of my neck. If the townspeople wondered if we were together before, now they know I’m not just his secretary. I belong to him.
“Wolf shifters are bad ass. It’s been a while since I’ve seen one in person.” Evie grins.
“Jax and I are wolf shifters, too,” Tyson confirms.
“This is a shifter town,” Jax adds.
Evie’s intrigued gaze lands on Jax. “What does your wolf look like?”
Jenny nudges my arm.
I glance at her.
“I’m going to go. This has turned into a couples table and I’m the seventh wheel,” Jenny says.
“I had no idea Gavin was coming, let alone his brother and best friend. We can talk tomorrow,” I smile.
“That would be cool.”
We all say our goodbyes to Jenny.
“I can’t believe your asshole ex showed up. If I wasn’t in front of my entire town, I would’ve ripped him apart,” Gavin confirms what I already knew.
“Everyone can stay at my cabin tonight. I have more than enough room,” Gavin says.
“Oh no, big guy,” I start.
“We’ll stay in separate rooms.” His nose runs along my ear. “When we have sex for the first time, we’ll be alone.”
“Okay.” I smile.
“Tara, Evie, we’ll be safe at Gavin’s tonight,” I tell them.
“Sounds good,” Evie replies. “Our hotel room will be available tomorrow, and then we head home the day after.”
“You’ll have to stay longer so we can show you both around,” Jax offers. “I’ll take care of the hotel expenses for the rest of the week.”
“Thank you, Jax,” Evie says with a smile. “That will give Sasha and me time to meet and go over the details of the painting she’s selling for me.”
“Yes, because I have a buyer,” I yell.
Genevieve and Tara do a little dance in their seats.
We burst into laughter.
After too many drinks, Gavin has coaxed me onto the dance floor. We do the two-step line dance. I keep checking on my sister and best friend. They look happy with Tyson and Jax. Returning my attention back to the sheriff, we move our feet to the beat. I wouldn’t have ever guessed he could dance.
This day turned out to be my favorite so far. If Carson hadn’t come, it would’ve been perfect. However, I refuse to let him ruin my day.
When we get to Gavin’s cabin, the six of us relax on the sofas. Gavin pulls me onto his lap.
“We should play cards,” I announce.
When I peek back, he’s smiling. I didn’t think he was capable of smiling this wide.
“Tyson, will you grab the cards?” Gavin asks.
“Sure thing.”
Gavin gets up to prepare cocktails.
“I’ll warm up the brisket I bought at the festival.” Gavin sits me on the sofa, and he rises to his feet.
I’ve never felt so safe in all my life. Having a fated mate is great.
I’m finally letting myself be happy with Gavin. So far, my scent suppressants haven’t failed me.
Acouple of days later, after getting off work, I decide to stake out Jenny’s Airbnb.
I just wonder what she does from day to day.
She enters the house wearing a hot-pink bikini, a yellow bag slung over her shoulder.
Looks like she just came from the lake. She said she loves lying under the sun, catching rays.
I’m just trying to see if she has anything to do with the wire.
I don’t think she does — though Gavin’s voice is still in the back of my head, reminding me her ID doesn’t match a single word she’s told me.
Why would she give me her address if she was into shady shit?
Maybe she didn’t think I’d pay her a visit.
Well, I’m not really visiting. Just spying.
Last night was fun. I was careful not to drink too much.
I couldn’t reveal to Gavin that we were fated mates.
Still can’t believe they really exist. If I tell Gavin too soon, I’ll go into heat and possibly not crack my case.
Gavin said I could sleep by myself in one of his six bedrooms. When I came to early in the morning, my eyes dragged over the muscled man clutching me against his chest. I looked down at my body.
My hand slid over the black t-shirt he must’ve dressed me in.
He only made me swoon more by not pushing me to have sex.
My body slid over his lower half under the navy sheet.
Yup, question answered. He sleeps naked.
I dragged my lips along the ridges of his abdomen until my cheek brushed the hair at his base.
I wrapped my fingers around him, feeling the thick pulse of him against my palm, the weight of him heavy and warm.
My tongue traced a slow circle around the head before I parted my lips and sank down, cheeks hollowing as I sucked.
He sucked in a sharp breath through his teeth.
I stroked upward with my fist as I pulled back, feeling every ridge and vein drag against my lips, then sank down again. A thin thread of saliva slipped from the corner of my mouth and ran down the shaft over my knuckles.
His hips rolled up from the mattress. “Sasha.” My name came out wrecked, scraped raw from somewhere deep in his chest, and his eyes snapped open and locked onto me.
I held his gaze and moaned around him, the vibration pulling a grunt from his throat. His hand shot to my braids, fingers twisting and gripping at the roots, not forcing, just holding, like he needed something to anchor himself to.
“You’re doing a good job, little omega.”
The praise hit me low in my stomach and spread outward like heat.
My thighs pressed together. I knew exactly why it affected me the way it did.
This was the same man who had looked at me like an inconvenience the first time we met, like I was something to be relocated. Now his fingers tightened in my hair.
I cupped his balls with my free hand, rolling them gently, watching his jaw go slack. His head dropped back for a moment before he caught himself and looked back down at me, chest heaving, the muscle in his neck pulled taut.
“Take as much as you can.” His grip on my braids tightened, and he began to move, short, controlled thrusts that pushed him deeper until the head of him pressed against the back of my throat. My eyes watered. I breathed through my nose and held, letting him feel the constriction of it.
“Little omega.” His voice fractured. “I’m going to come.”
I slid my hand from his balls and pressed my palm flat against his stomach, fingers spread, feeling the muscles seize beneath my touch.
Permission given. His thrusts lost their rhythm, hips snapping and stuttering, and then he buried himself deep and held there.
The groan that tore out of him was almost pained.
I felt him pulse against the back of my throat and I swallowed, and swallowed again, my throat working around him.
His grip on my hair loosened finger by finger. I pulled back slowly, dragging my lips up the length of him until he slipped free with a soft sound.
“Open.” His voice was still rough, barely recovered. “Show me.”
I opened my mouth and extended my tongue. He took his cock in his hand and tapped the head against my tongue, once, twice, three times, watching my face with dark, half-lidded eyes.
“Good girl.”
The words moved through me like a current, and my fingers curled into the sheets. Every nerve in my body leaned toward him. I wanted to climb up his body and feel the knot of him stretch me open. The want was a physical pressure, a hollow ache low in my belly.
But I held still.
Jenny walking to her car pulls me from my memory.
Once she’s halfway down the block, I ease from my parking spot.
I keep my distance as she drives through town.
I almost lose her red Honda CRV when a big black pickup truck pulls in front of me.
Luckily, after he turns off, she’s still four cars ahead.
I told Gavin I’d be at Spout working on gallery stuff.
I didn’t tell him my real plan because I knew he’d talk me out of it.
I sat outside Jenny’s place for two hours.
I texted Gavin earlier, telling him I was fine and to focus on work.
The longer we drive, it feels like we are driving out of Lupton.
The sign on the side of the road that reads Lunnerville confirms it.
If something happens, Gavin can’t save me.
She turns off into a thick wooded area, and my heart lurches in my chest.
Shit, it’s almost nine o’clock at night.
I ease to a stop at the turnoff and peek down the road. Her car comes to a stop. I kill my engine, jump out of the car, and barely close the door.
I need to be as quiet as possible. The second my feet leave the gravel, the woods swallow every other sound in the world.
Pine needles carpet the ground, soft enough to muffle my steps but sharp enough to catch at my ankles.
The air is thick and green — damp earth, crushed moss, the sweet rot of last year’s leaves still breaking down somewhere underfoot.
Somewhere off to my left, water moves over rock, low and constant.
A squirrel startles me, running up a tree a few feet away.
I release a breath, trying to keep calm.
Sweat gathers at the back of my neck despite the shade.
My own heartbeat is the loudest thing out here, thudding so hard I swear it could give me away on its own.
Walking through the grass sounds loud, but I don’t stop. I halt behind a tree, my back pressed to bark rough enough to catch on my shirt, and I breathe through my mouth so the sound of it doesn’t carry.
She gets out of the mid-sized SUV and slams the door.
“What the fuck was that the other day?” She shouts, raising her hands in the air.
“Calm down,” a voice I’d heard so many times I’d never forget.
When he saunters into view, my heart sinks to my feet.
He curls a hand around her neck, yanking her forward. I gasp and clap a hand over my own mouth half a second too late, praying the sound got lost in the trees.
“Don’t you raise your voice at me. Do you understand, little beta?”
“Yes,” she chokes out.
“We need to talk first, then you can suck my dick.”
He’s been rough with me before, too. Shit, I should’ve known that’s who he really is — a narcissistic abuser. He hides his dark side so well behind that pretty-boy demeanor.
He tosses her backward as he releases her. She stumbles back, coughing.
“I felt blindsided the other day, Jenny. You said he was possessive over her. You didn’t mention he’s claiming her as his omega.”
He paces back and forth, losing control. “She’s fucking mine.”
“I thought I was yours,” she whimpers.
Learning that she’s been working with him to spy on me infuriates me.
A small part of me feels bad for her. She thought she had a chance with him.
Poor thing, she doesn’t get it. He needs several women stroking his ego.
Thank goodness my STD test came back clean.
His infidelity made me steer clear of alphas and betas ever since.
He smiles, then reaches for her face. She flinches. Carson strokes her cheek. “What’s going on with the paperwork? And when will the painting be shipped?”
As shocked as I am, I raise my phone, pointing my camera their way, and record the meeting. My hand is shaking. I press it flat against the bark to steady it.
“I just have to forge a few more documents, and then the painting will be shipped.”
He smiles brightly. “Then we’ll be two hundred and fifty thousand dollars richer.”
He raises a finger. “That reminds me. She’s selling Genevieve’s painting next. I want that sale intercepted too. That painting will be worth three hundred and fifty thousand dollars, easy, in a year.”
I shove the phone into my pocket.
I confided in that asshole during the time the gallery was closing. Carson made it seem like he was just checking on me. Clearly, he was trying to see what I’d found out. I just don’t get it. He’s so talented in the art world. Instead of building his own empire, he chooses to sabotage mine.
The anger bubbles up inside. Tingles shoot through my arms toward my fingertips.
Shit, no. Not now.
The energy flows through my fingertips and zaps the grass around the tree, a hiss and a snap like static discharging all at once. Remaining still, I don’t move from my spot behind the large tree, every muscle locked, waiting to see if the sound carried.
“What was that?” Carson asks.
“I don’t know,” Jenny says.
The bunny I almost set on fire hops through the grass in their line of sight, twitching its nose like nothing at all just happened to it.
“It’s a bunny,” Jenny announces, relief in her voice.
“Is that smoke?” Carson asks.
I peek down, noticing the grass is on fire — a small, guilty curl of it, orange eating through green not two feet from my shoe. My feet work quickly, stomping it out, the smell of scorched earth rising up sharp and acrid, catching in the back of my throat.
“Show your face,” Carson demands.
“Oh, fuck,” I mutter.