8. Greer
greer
I can’t get the Omega out of my head.
Dancing with her just added on to the obsession. Something that Callum is being a fucking gitter over.
“You danced with her, after that display?” Callum complains as we wander around the market getting fresh produce and meats for the week.
When we started Greer’s we knew that we not only wanted to give back to the community in the sense of providing good food and a sense of kinship, but we also want the money to stay in town, which means buying local as much as we can.
“She’s got your bollocks in a real fucking twist considering you want nothing to do with her,” I counter and he scoffs, haggling with the fish salesmen for the order he wants to place this week.
As if my thoughts and our argument manifest her, a tousled mound of bouncy dirty-blonde curls are headed my way.
She has a recyclable tote on her arm and a cheery Effie at her side. I grin to myself. Callum is going to lose his—
“Nan?” Callum says, noticing her and completely ignoring the fact that Maisie is with her.
“And Maisie, don’t be acting like you’ve forgotten your manners,” the old woman chides him, and if anyone can disarm Callum, it’s his nan.
“And Maisie. What are you doing at the market?”
“Are you forgetting that I run a very popular B&B?” Effie replies and Maisie is holding back a grin.
We’re getting into the down season, not that it matters. It seems like business for Effie has been slower than usual these past two years.
“You know I would do your shopping for you,” Callum replies. He handles a lot of the prep work for Effie along with Greer’s. He might be a prick sometimes, but he’s sweet under that facade he puts out.
“Yes. I have such good grandsons. Have you met Graham yet?” Effie directs the question to Maisie, but before she can answer Callum is inserting himself.
“She doesn’t need to meet Graham,” he snaps and I can see the wheels in Effie’s head turning. I haven’t outright told him she’s on a mission to pack these two Omegas up and get them to stay in Scotland. It would only piss him off even more.
Something tells me the younger Agnew brother isn’t going to be safe from his nan’s meddling either.
Effie looks around and then grabs Callum’s hand. “I forget where to get the best apples. Lead the way.”
Callum looks at me and Maisie with his typical ire, but goes off with his grandmother.
“So, is his brother as grouchy as him?” Maisie says, and I shake my head with a laugh.
“No, actually. The Agnew brothers are about as different as they could possibly be.”
“I get that,” she says and I arch a brow at her, then take her bag so she doesn’t have to carry it.
Her cheeks flush a delicious pink as she lets me.
“I mean, I really only have two nights to go off of, but you and your sister don’t seem worlds apart.”
“Really?” Maisie says in an almost hopeful tone.
“You’ve both certainly caught Alan’s eye,” I joke, and she bumps her shoulder into my side. “What are you up to today?”
“Alan and I have a date, obviously.”
She glances up at me from her glasses and I’m fully on board with Lain. Who cares if this ends in disaster? It’s worth finding out.
“I think I’d be a much better date than Alan, if you’re keen?”
“Don’t you have a business to run?”
“Ah, see, there are these people called employees. They make sure the place doesn’t burn down when I’m not there. Unless you’d really prefer Alan’s company, I’m not one to stand between an age-gap romance.”
“It depends. What do you have in mind?”
“Well, it’s a secret spot. You wouldn’t be able to tell a soul about it or else the fairies would be pissed.”
“The fairies?” she says deadpan, and I cover her mouth with my hand.
“Don’t even think about bad-mouthing them. They can be quite vindictive.” I can feel her smile under my palm and I slowly remove it. “Have you eaten?”
She shakes her head no, and we make haste through the market, picking up all the things for a picnic. Maisie hums and questions some of my choices, but doesn’t ask again where we’re going.
Until we’re in the car and the drive is longer than she expected.
“This isn’t a murder plot, is it? Take me out of town so that you can leave my body in some remote place where no one will find me.”
“Fuckin’ hell, Mais. You need to chill out on the murder pods,” I joke and she laughs.
“You’re probably right. You know, I thought the same about Lain. It’s not personal.”
“I’ll try to not be so soft-hearted about it.
We’re here, anyway,” I tell her as I pull the truck into the designated parking spot.
It’s the start of the week and there’s no one here.
While tourists are a huge part of our local businesses, it’s nice to have some local spots that haven’t been overrun.
I grab the tote from the truck and blazingly grab Maisie’s hand, making my intentions perfectly clear. She’s a little sheepish as she laces her fingers with mine, a pretty blush taking over her face.
Bonnie. Absolutely fucking bonnie.
“So, where exactly are we?”
“Well, it’s a wee bit of a lovers’ lane. Along with being a major hangout spot for the local misfits. Lain, Callum, and I have spent a few nights rightly pished, acting like we were truly seeing fairies around the lochan.”
“I can’t picture Callum drunk and joking about fairies,” Maisie says and I shake my head with a heavy sigh.
“I know he’s been a right arsehole to you, but I promise he isn’t always like that. These past years have been tough.”
I’m contemplating how much I want to divulge to Maisie. Do I tell her about Fiona? I decide against it, there’s no point, not if this is temporary. I’m mentally fortifying my heart for that possibility. I’ll be honest if she asks, but it’s not just my story to tell.
“I’m sure,” she says, though her tone is disbelieving.
“Ah. Here we are.” Regretfully, I let go of her hand as we approach the small shore and I toss the old blanket onto the sandy, rocky shore.
I take a seat and she joins me as I take out items from the tote.
“Alright, you’ll have to let me know your favorite,” I tell her, using the pairing knife to cut small little slices of each of the cheeses I bought at the market.
She hums at the different options until I hand her a cracker with Strathdon Blue on top. She slightly gags and shakes her head as I laugh, pouring her a glass of Irn-Bru. Luckily, that seems to take the taste out of her mouth.
“All of them except that one,” she says, taking another sip.
“Cannae blame you.”
“Which is your favorite?” she asks and I swipe the Crowdie on two crackers.
“You can’t go wrong with a staple,” I tell her and she nods, pushing the cracker into her mouth.
With the tea sandwiches between us, we eat and stare out at the calm water before us.
“Does it ever get old?” she asks, waving a hand at the water. “How beautiful it all is?”
“Never,” I reply easily. “When you have something perfect, you learn to cherish it, see the beauty in it every day.”
She’s leaning on her elbows as she turns to the side to face me.
“How do you not have an Omega?” she blurts, and then quickly covers her mouth. “Don’t answer that. That was incredibly invasive of me.”
Alright, so I guess I’m indulging a bit into our history.
“We did. Things didn’t work out. It was the hardest on Callum,” I say.
There, she has the gist of it, but not all the gory details.
“I could ask the same of you, ye ken, why no pack?”
“Me?” she says in a perplexed tone.
“Aye.”
She snorts, crinkling her nose. “I haven’t really given it much thought. I’ve been so focused on my career, I don’t date. I always go to a heat facility when necessary. I’m not all that sure I’d even be a good pack Omega.”
“That sounds extremely lonely,” I say softly, and she gives me a weak smile.
“I guess it is. I…it’s been easier to take the deodorizers, scent blockers, heat blockers, really anything that’s on the market to dull being an Omega, I guess. Losing Mom, my job, being here, I think it’s only hitting me how on autopilot I’ve been.”
Her words are so shockingly honest and vulnerable I can’t help but to reach out and comfort her, running my thumb against her cheek.
She leans into the touch, nearly rubbing against my palm like a needy little kitten. Poor thing is touch starved, among everything else she’s going through.
There’s this deep, possessive part of me that wants to wrap her up in a blanket and take care of her.
“Not that you asked, but I think pack life would suit you. Seems like you could really use someone taking care of you for once.”
She swallows thickly, not moving her face from my hand. “I don’t even know what that would look like.”
“It would look like having breakfast in bed, people who know all the things you like and dislike, having a shoulder to cry on, not having to make decisions constantly,” I ramble off.
“That all sounds like a fairy tale,” she whispers.
“It doesn’t have to be.” I lean closer in her space, wishing that I could scent her. What would it take for her to trust an Alpha enough to go off scent blockers? The idea of being that Alpha is heady and consuming.
Her breath hitches, and she doesn’t break eye contact with me as I get even closer.
“I’m going to kiss you now,” I tell her, wanting to give her an out if it’s too much. Instead, she closes her eyes and I take the opportunity.
My hand slides further along her neck, my fingertips touching her curly hair as my thumb glides along her jaw. I take a moment to take in how soft and trusting she is before I press my lips against hers.
She’s so soft and small.
I devour the little gasp she lets out when we kiss and I just know that she’s likely going to rip my heart out. Yet, I can’t help myself.
Maisie shifts on the blanket, getting even closer to me, and I place a reassuring hand on her waist. She slowly lowers herself onto her back, and I automatically crowd on top of her. Maybe it’s for the best that I can’t scent her, because then I’d surely be completely fucked.
Who am I kidding, I already am.
She has my jumper fisted in her hand and she kisses me hungrily.
She’s ravenous for touch, and I want to give her everything she needs.
Carefully, I adjust my weight, placing a thigh between her legs. She has on this wee little leather skirt and these dark tights that cling to her legs. The feral part of me wants to rip the thin material in half, slide down her body and taste her, but I know that would be too much too soon.
Instead, I push the weight of my thigh against her center, which elicits the sweetest moan from her lips.
The birds are chirping, the soft wind whipping around us, but Maisie steals all my attention with how perfectly she fits beneath me.
Her hips buck up, legs spreading wider, causing her skirt to rise as she grinds up into my leg. A growl of pleasure rips out of my throat along with a sudden purr from my chest that I couldn’t hold back if I tried.
The vibration seems to make her even more needy as she rubs herself against my thigh.
I pull back from the kiss and smile as I look down at her. Dark blonde curls are splattered against the blanket, glasses askew, her lips and chin pink from our kiss and the rub of my beard.
“You’re so damn bonnie,” I tell her, watching her skin flush even more. “Fuck, I wish I could scent you,” I tell her, going back in for another kiss.
Maisie’s fingernails drag against my scalp as I grab her hip, pushing our bodies even closer together, creating the most delicious friction.