Chapter 2 #3
The fast flutter of her pulse at the base of her throat gave her away.
I knew from her file that she’d been stuck at the OMA for nearly six years, suppressing her heats the entire time.
She’d been just as isolated as every other Omega in the place.
Sure, she probably had an impressive collection of high-end silicone stand-ins to take the edge off, but no textbook or toy could actually prepare her for the real thing.
Or the reality of being trapped in a truck with a fully aroused male.
Did she know how hard I was right now? And she hadn’t even touched me.
Down boy, I willed my cock, doing my best to think of anything that would tame my “situation.”
But the fact that this Omega wasn’t meek was the biggest turn on. She was armed with nothing but theoretical knowledge and sheer audacity, and it was the sexiest fucking thing I’d ever seen.
“Then hold on to your hat, Sweetheart,” I managed to say, my voice coming out an octave lower than usual. “Because I have no doubt an ‘enthusiastic’ welcome is exactly what you’re gonna get.”
I shifted gears, the old transmission grinding a familiar complaint as we turned onto the two-lane highway. For a few miles, the only sound in the cab was the hum of the tires and Dusty’s soft, rhythmic snores from the back seat.
I watched Julia out of the corner of my eye.
She was staring out the passenger window at the endless, unbroken stretch of green plains like we’d just landed on Mars.
Put together as she was, she belonged in a penthouse, not heading toward a cattle ranch.
But instead of shrinking into the worn leather seat, she visibly squared her shoulders.
“So,” she started, breaking the quiet. “Since I’m about to meet the rest of the welcoming committee, you should probably tell me who exactly I’m supposed to be making this lethal impression on.”
She was fishing for a lifeline. Information to keep herself from walking in completely blind.
I kept my eyes on the road, so I wouldn’t lose my mind staring at her.
I was so taken with her, I could drink her in for hours.
Already, I was wondering what her golden skin would feel like beneath my fingers, what those sexy eyes saw when they looked through me, and how silky her dark brown hair was.
Her lips were pink, full, and bow-shaped, and her nose was straight and downright dainty. She was so fucking perfect.
Clearing my throat, I gave her the condensed version.
“There are five Alphas in Pack Tate, and me, the Beta. Stetson Tate is our pack leader. He owns the ranch and carries the weight of the world on his shoulders. Then there’s August Boone, though everyone just calls him by his last name.
The man is built like a mountain, but he does all the cooking.
Colt Calhoun is the quiet one—takes the hardest jobs, has the hardest edges. ”
“That’s three,” she noted, her tone sharp and attentive.
“Then there’s the Beaumont brothers—Ransom and River,” I finished. “Identical twins. Professional bull riders and a walking hazard to themselves and everyone around them.”
“Bull riders,” she repeated. The words sounded foreign and slightly dubious coming from her mouth.
I could tell she was piecing it all together, building a mental map of the men she was about to face and prepping her armor for every angle. I loved how fiercely her mind worked.
But a cold bead of sweat trickled down my spine as I made the final turn onto the dirt road leading to the property.
The wooden archway of the Double T Ranch loomed into view.
As the truck followed the long, sweeping curve of the dirt road, the sprawling, three-story main house of timber and river stone rose up against the backdrop of the mountains.
I watched Julia’s dark eyes widen as she took it in.
It was an expensive build on an extensive property, but there was nothing “city” about it.
The house may be beautiful, but it was also rustic and deeply lived-in.
The kind of place built by calloused hands and weathered by long winters.
“Wow…” she breathed, taking it all in.
Her gaze tracked past the wraparound porch to the lower paddocks, and she suddenly went very still.
Boone was out by the barn, effortlessly hauling a pair of massive hay bales that would have broken a normal man’s back. Further down the fence line, Colt was muscling a restless roan gelding, the pure, physical power of the Alphas undeniable even from a hundred yards away.
Julia’s jaw actually popped open.
Instantly, the cab of the truck flooded with another delicious wave of sweet oranges and warm fig as her Omega reacted to the sight of them.
Oh, yeah. That’s a good sign. Fucking hell, she smelled sweet.
I hit the brakes and threw the truck into park, cutting the engine. She already had her hand on the door handle, her Omega obviously in control as she practically vibrated with the need to close the distance.
“Hold up a second, Sweetheart,” I said, scrubbing a hand over my jaw. Reality was crashing down on me fast. I was about to drop a match into a powder keg. “Before you go out there and knock ‘em all on their asses... there’s somethin’ you should probably know.”
Julia paused, looking back at me with those all too observant eyes, her orange-blossom scent pulsing with impatience. “What?”
“They, uh...” I swallowed a nervous laugh, bracing myself for the whirlwind I was about to unleash. “They don’t exactly know you’re comin’.”