Chapter 5 Timber
Timber
I’m a simple person; I don’t ask for much. All I want to do is work out and go to bed, and my personal space is one thing I always want to maintain.
But there’s something about the spark in Luke’s hazel eyes that makes me think his idea of personal space is a lot different than mine.
I really like the way he stands. Even though he’s at least a foot shorter than me, his shoulders stay back, and he meets me head-on with a bold look that says he’s not intimidated, like a lot of omegas are.
I’m pretty sure I haven’t met a beta like him before. Though professional sports does attract a certain kind of person, he’s not like them.
I signal for Luke to follow me through the large living room. The stairs to our bedrooms are on our right, and I lead him through a door into the open-plan kitchen and dining room.
“You know, for a nutritionist, you’re pretty skinny. Do you not like your food?” I ask.
Luke arches a brow as he smirks. “I love my food. My body is just so smoking hot it burns up calories like lightning. It doesn’t matter how much I swallow, I can always take more.”
He laughs as he swans into the kitchen like it’s already his, heading straight for the fridge, leaving me standing there, numb. I’m only misinterpreting his words because I’m tired, and it has nothing to do with how my eyes are drawn to his ass.
It isn’t like he said it with a flirty tone, or he winked like before. We’re having an everyday conversation. I’m the strange one for getting turned on as a quick image dances across my mind of Luke on his knees.
I nearly slap myself before I walk after him.
He’s twenty-five, I shouldn’t be thinking these kinds of things about him. There’s no way our first meeting could create sparks in my body as I realize I’m paying way more attention to the shape of his.
I’m just imagining it. It’s because I can’t get the way Kane ground himself against me out of my head since last week. That’s all.
But then Luke opens the fridge, standing up on his tiptoes to look at the top shelf. His T-shirt rises up his back, revealing the bumps of his spine, and a strange shudder goes through me that makes me pause two feet away from him.
The image I pushed away is flooding back, and it’s so much clearer. Of Luke gasping, Luke choking, Luke reaching for me with a cheeky smile with his face covered in my…
I cough, slamming my hand against my chest to wake me the fuck up. I don’t know what the hell is happening to me. He’s a beta. He’s supposed to be safe.
The last time I felt like this was with my ex-wife, and that thought is enough to bring me back to reality as Luke pops his head out from behind the fridge door.
“Seriously? Is this all you have?” he asks.
“Is that a problem?” I reply as I move closer.
Luke’s brow flattens as he glares at me, and I glare straight back. It isn’t like I want a nosy beta poking through my fridge.
“There’s just protein bars, milk, and supplements in here!”
I stand behind him, taking a proper look. It’s a wasteland, but I haven’t had time to go shopping in ages. Besides, the only textures I like are milk and those bars.
The fridge is bigger than me, and it completely dwarfs him. I’m pretty sure he’ll get lost in there if he falls inside.
Not that I’m thinking of pushing him in or anything.
“There’s half a loaf of bread, too.” I sweep my hand over the nearly empty top shelf until my pinky finger taps something. “And I have an egg at the back here,” I say, squinting at it. Though it’s lived there for so long, I’m surprised it hasn’t hatched.
Luke sucks in a harsh breath as my chest knocks against his shoulder, and my gaze drops between the fridge and my arm.
He tilts his head, directly underneath me, another look of shock on his face. I’m practically crushing him. I get the hint and shuffle back. Invading his personal space on day one definitely isn’t the best move.
I probably just imagined the red flush on his ears and the jump of my heart as he spins around and meets me with a determined look.
“I didn’t think you were healthy, but I thought you’d at least have something in the house.”
“I’ve been having milk, protein bars and smoothies for the past five years, and there hasn’t been a problem,” I say, folding my arms and leaning back against the granite worktop. “Then I’ve got a ton of vitamins I take every day, and I’m good to go.”
A storm clouds his face, which sets off another bunch of annoying feelings bouncing around my body, all of them mainly starting in my crotch.
“Five years!?” he gasps, his eyebrows hiking higher with every second. Which is actually cute. “You’ve been eating like this for five years and you’re still playing professionally?”
“Well, if it’s not broke, don’t fix it.” I shrug.
He blinks once as he takes a breath. “Wow, okay. I totally get it now.” He shakes his head, the strands of dark hair poking out from underneath his beanie wafting around. “How the hell do you keep up your muscle mass like that?” he asks as his gaze dances over my chest.
“I eat a lot of protein bars…” I trail off as my shoulders drop. “Look, there’s no point trying to feed me, okay? I’ve had loads of nutritionists but it doesn’t make a fucking difference when I can’t taste shit, so why bother?”
“I don’t just care about what you eat, Timber. I want to take care of how you eat, as well.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“What’s this?” he asks, suddenly opening his mouth and pointing to his tongue and the silver ball in the middle. My eyes widen as he confirms he really does have a piercing there. I’ve been wondering since he arrived how many piercings he has, and where they are.
I shoot my gaze away, the muscles he was talking about tensing up. I like how I have to look down at him, and his expression makes me enjoy it too much.
“What the fuck are you doing? I’m not a kid.”
“Come on, Timber,” he teases. “Play with me.”
He’s doing it deliberately. There’s no way I can look at him sticking out his tongue and react normally.
“It’s your tongue,” I mumble.
“Nu-uh, it’s not just my tongue. It’s a sensory organ. It’s not only for tasting, but feeling.” I look back at him to find an even brighter smile. “I don’t lick something to taste it, I want the texture, and the experience of eating.”
I have to be seriously messed up to have a little bolt of heat go straight to my cock as soon as he says ‘lick’.
“So, I’m not just here to take care of your health, but I want to make sure your tongue is happy, as well as the rest of your body.
If your tongue likes how it feels, you’ll want to eat more, and then we can get you to a place where you’re healthy again.
” He beams at me, totally innocent, not a worry in the world.
And why would he think the hockey player almost twice his age is getting turned on at how he’s phrasing things?
“I’ll go shopping tomorrow and get us stocked up so I can start cooking. When do you leave for your next away game?”
“Friday,” I reply stiffly.
“Perfect, so I have a week to make you fall in love, and then you’ll come back home begging for more. Trust me, Timber, I’m good when it comes to flavor, and I think I can already guess what kind of textures you like the best.”
I force myself to stay still, apart from the scowl I can’t hide. This is not going well.
“How long are you here for again?” I ask, knowing four months is too long, and he laughs. I’m not sure I can handle this type of person. Kane is bad enough.
I’m already wiped out from the back-to-back home games we’ve played this weekend. I don’t have the headspace to figure out if Luke knows what he is doing or if I’m just horny.
“I want to make your tongue happy, Timber. But I need you to work with me on that.” He leans in closer, and I automatically edge away, my back digging into the counter. “Will you help me? If we do this right, soon your mouth will water every time you see me.”
I look down at him, holding his hands behind his back, a clear look in his eyes. Desire curls through me as the corner of his lips hitch, and I’m pretty sure I’m fucked.