27. Lucy
CHAPTER 27
Lucy
Things between Liam and I were super weird, and I couldn’t keep ignoring it. That I’d done so for this long was already out of character for me, and if I kept pretending…
“Can I ask you something?”
He nodded and for a second I thought he was going to brush his thumb over my cheek, but he reached for his water glass instead and I hated how disappointed I felt even if I was also relieved.
I was so tired of feeling conflicted. It was fucking exhausting.
“Is it a legacy alpha thing to pick up on an omega’s preferences and needs without directly asking about them?”
Liam’s slight smile disappeared and his gaze shifted to the lights of the city instead of me for the first time since we’d gotten here.
There was definitely something bothering him, and it wasn’t the death of his brother. That was a different emotion, but maybe this weird rage that was just under the surface of his skin was somehow related.
“To some degree,” Liam finally admitted, setting his glass down. His gaze dropped to study the water in the glass and I wondered if I’d accidentally pushed him over the edge with my stupid mouth. “All alphas are sensitive to the needs of an omega, even ones we aren’t bonded to, but legacy alphas are even more sensitive.”
It was strange. Liam was giving off the same air that Frankie did sometimes, as though he needed to take care of me to settle some of his rage. I would never pretend to understand why alphas got like this, but doing things for me had always helped calm Frankie down.
Maybe that’s why he’d arranged this dinner without asking me.
Alphas could get even more violent if someone other than an omega was around them when they got all weird. That he hadn’t snapped at any of the servers or the hostess was already an impressive display of restraint, and it explained why he kept ignoring them.
But I had no idea why I was the one who could settle someone as powerful and intense as Liam Valor.
I sipped at my water and considered what I knew about him?—
“Everything about you is a mystery,” Liam murmured, interrupting my thoughts. I flicked my gaze back to him when my heart rate picked up for some unknown reason. “You make your external preferences pretty obvious. It’s not difficult to pick up on, and your scent is faint but I can still get a hint of your emotions even with those scent damn blockers on. I just can’t stop wondering why you wear them like that.”
His glowing red eyes met mine and it shocked me enough I reached up to touch my scent blockers to make sure they were still there, as if they’d magically disappeared since the last time I’d checked.
It was an anxious tic, but it settled me every time so I hadn’t ever tried to keep myself from doing it. At least not until those dangerous red eyes dropped to watch my hand mess with them .
“People don’t like it when they can’t see if you’re wearing scent blockers or not,” I managed, reaching for my water to keep my hand busy so I didn’t pick at the black adhesive under my turtleneck. “Up until recently, I didn’t need to wear scent blockers at all since no one could detect my pheromones, but I wore them anyway.”
There were so many reasons why I wore them, but none of them were the reason why Liam wore his.
I spun the stem of the glass between my thumb and forefinger, wondering if I should explain. His rage seemed to be easing with each word I spoke though, just like how his touch had eased that awful sensation in my chest.
Thinking about why that might work was worse than explaining the reason I chose black over clear adhesive, so I took a sip and shrugged. Opening up to him was a risk, but things between us were already weird and complicated.
“People like to intimidate those who they see as weaker,” I reminded him. “They want to solidify their place in the world and remind themselves they’re better.”
Liam handed me one of the menus and I took it, knowing he could never possibly understand what that was like from my position. He was a legacy alpha. Power and strength were his birthright.
“Those kinds of people would see a lack of scent blockers as a weakness and they’d use that as an excuse to sink their teeth into my flesh, tearing me to pieces just because they can, infusing their scent into me whether I wanted it or not…” I stared at the menu without really seeing it, remembering the first time I’d learned how important such a small piece of adhesive could be. “It took me a very long time to remember they weren’t the only ones born with teeth. I had them too.”
Without a word, Liam took the menu from me and pressed his thumb to my upper lip, pushing on the skin to expose my canines to him. “They’re dainty and cute, but definitely sharp.”
Everything this man did shocked me .
No one else touched me like this, as if they had every right to. But it wasn’t just his brazenness that shocked me really – it was the fact that I kept letting him do it.
Each and every time his skin made contact with mine, a small thrill went through me. I relished in the sensation of his touch and attention no matter how annoying he could be, because every little thing he did told me he was listening and absorbing everything I said and did.
It was incredibly flattering, if a bit embarrassing.
Liam took advantage of my momentary shock and gently took my chin between his warm fingers, pulling me forward to brush his lips across my cheek in the softest, sweetest kiss.
I couldn’t move.
The sensation that washed over me when he pulled away terrified the living fuck out of me and I couldn’t move . I wasn’t even sure I was breathing at this point, because Liam Valor had just kissed my cheek like this was our thousandth date, not our first.
Fuck, this wasn’t even a real date. This was just him making sure I had something to eat. He was an alpha and I was an omega. It was in his very DNA to take care of me and I highly doubted it was more than that unless he was also hoping someone would get a glimpse of his new ‘girlfriend.’
Except we’d taken the back door and were using a private room where no one could see us.
So then, why would he do something so insanely affectionate when there was no benefit?
The hostess came back before I could gather myself and I heard Liam telling her he’d like one of everything on the menu, but there was a sound in my ears that was a lot like blood rushing through my veins and it drowned him out.
Shit, was I really reacting to something so small, like a pathetic little omega who was starved for attention?
My skin felt flushed and I pressed a hand to my cheek, feeling just how hot it was – almost feverish. My turtleneck suddenly felt too warm and I wanted to strip out of these clothes and put on something loose and comfortable, something that would hide my body from prying eyes…
This beautiful legacy alpha beside me was making me feel things I’ve never experienced before – things I didn’t know how to deal with.
Why the fuck did it have to be Liam of all people who made me react like this? He was a legacy alpha and I…
I was nobody.