Chapter Five
Vanessa
I cough loudly and then let out an awkward laugh as I rush toward Mom and Zayne. "Mom, whatever it is you're saying, just don't. Please."
"Nessie! I was just catching up with Zayne." She gives me the side eye before shaking her head and muttering, "I'm never going to get any grandbabies if you keep dressing like that."
I give her my best pissed off look and plant my hands on my hips. "We're leaving now before you say anything else to embarrass me."
Mom turns to Zayne and plants a kiss on his cheek, making him blush.
Yeah buddy. Those glasses can't hide that adorable tint on your cheeks.
"You remember what I said, young man. Take care of my daughter."
He nods and hurries away, dipping his head to hide the blush. He grabs my suitcase and loads it into the backseat before opening the passenger door for me. "Need help getting in?" he asks gruffly.
I look at the big step and frown. I was short even for an omega, and I just knew I was going to look like a clown trying to get into the truck, but I couldn't really think of a way to avoid it.
Zayne doesn't wait for my answer. He grabs me around my waist and lifts me into my seat like I weigh nothing. I yelp, scowling at him, but he just smirks. "We'll never get there if you take this long to make decisions."
I look out the window at Mom, who has the same curves I have that didn't typically allow men to pick us up like that. Zayne was big and strong, and I couldn't deny how much I liked him lifting me so easily. Mom must be following my thought process because she gives me a big smile and two thumbs up.
"Don't do anything I wouldn't do."
"That is a disgusting thing to say to your daughter, Mom."
"It's not disgusting. It's natural and beautiful."
I turn to face Zayne with my best puppy dog eyes. "Zayne, please take me away from here. I've been traumatized enough by these people." I still throw Mom a wink and reach out to grab her hand. "Love you. I promise I'll check in."
She squeezes my hand. "You better."
Zayne closes my door, after double-checking that my seat belt is in place, and says something to Mom that makes her laugh before walking around and getting in his truck. He starts it up and backs out of the driveway as Mom waves from the porch.
"She's lost her fricking mind, I swear."
"She's always been this way, baby girl."
I shift in my seat so I can face him. "You think so? I don't remember her or my dads ever being this bad when I was still living here. The shit I heard her say last night…" I fake gag. "I'm going to need therapy until I'm eighty."
"How bad was it?"
"Bad."
He pulls onto the highway, leaving Stonybrook behind us. His one hand is holding the steering wheel while the other rests on the gear stick between us. "Can't be worse than listening to my brother-in-law singing All I want for Christmas three times last night."
I tilt my head back and laugh. "As bad as that sounds, I think I still win."
"She told me she wouldn't be upset if I sink my teeth into your neck this weekend, and if I could knock you up, she would leave everything to me. Is that worse?"
"I'm going to kill her."
"Wait until she updates her will, please."
"You know what? Let's not talk about my mom. She's clearly losing it in her old age." I look out the window, rubbing at my cheeks, hoping my blush would fade. "Tell me what's new with you. What have you been up to?"
He stares at the road. "Working."
"Daddy George mentioned you own a security company."
He nods. "Started it with one of my friends."
"He also told me you enlisted after graduation, but he didn't give me many details."
"Good to see you're still as nosy as you were back when we were kids."
I shrug. "Well, it seems like the three of you know what I've been up to for the most part. It's only fair that you tell me what you've been up to."
"I joined the army and did two tours before retiring and starting the security company with Fritz. That's about it."
I look at the faint scars peeking out from where he has his sleeves rolled up and sigh. I hate the idea that he had been hurt. I also hate that he was even in the army to begin with. Would he have still enlisted if I had been around? He never could say no to me.
But I had left, and maybe I was being selfish, but I'm glad I didn't know about it until after he retired.
"Why didn't you follow my instructions from yesterday, baby girl?"
"What instructions?" I ask, frowning.
"I told you not to use your scent blockers again. Why didn't you listen?" he asks, one brow raised.
"I was in a rush this morning and completely forgot," I admit, giving him a sheepish smile.
"I should put you over my knee for not listening," he says, and I giggle. "What's so funny?"
"Why did I know you'd want to spank me for not listening?" I tease, sounding more flirty than I meant to.
Oops.
He winks at me. Winks at me! Before returning his gaze to the road. "You're going to be a good girl when we get to the cabin and hand them over."
"Why?"
"My alpha needs to scent you."
I stare at him with my mouth open. "But, why?"
I sound like an idiot.
"He needs to know if you belong to him."
Is it getting warm in here?
"Your alpha? Not you?"
He looks over, and the only way I can describe his gaze is hungry. "Baby girl, I knew you belonged to me since we were in second grade and you punched that fifth grader for making me cry."
I squirm in my seat. It's a good fucking thing I'm wearing the scent blockers and scent-blocking panties. I just perfumed, and this car would be engulfed with my scent without them.
Zayne Frost wants me!
"We will discuss it more at the cabin," he murmurs, squeezing my hand.
The cabin is two hours away, and the drive takes us through the same valley it always has. Everything around us is covered in snow, and it's all breathtakingly beautiful. It almost feels like no time has passed since the last time we took this drive.
"It's been so long since I've been here," I say, breaking the comfortable silence between us when he pulls into the tiny gas station we always stopped at as kids. "I wonder if Old Man Grump still works here."
Zayne gets out of his truck and stretches. "Why don't you go find out?"
I give him a mischievous smile. "Oh, I will. Do you want anything?"
His eyes roam my face, and then they settle on my boobs before meeting my eyes again. "Nothing you can get from in there."
His words register, and I sit up straighter.
My panties are fucking soaked, and again, I thank the gods that I forgot to not use the scent blockers.
I try to gracefully get out of the truck, but I end up slipping and barely manage to catch myself before hitting the ground.
I make the weirdest little shrieking sound, and I wish the floor would just open up and swallow me whole.
"Ness?" Concern fills his voice as he comes over to my side of the truck and looks me over. "You okay?"
I play with my sweater and force a smile. "Yep."
The corner of his lips tilts up, and he gently grabs me by the hips. Pulling me closer, he runs his hands up my sides and back down to my hips. "Any injuries?"
Moisture pools between my thighs, and I clench them tight. Licking my lips, I ask, "Does my pride count?"
He nods, a grave expression on his face. "For some, it counts the most."
I have nothing else to say. I can't put a sentence together when all I want to do is stretch up and kiss him. Standing here, with Zayne's hands on me, his body heat warming me, I can't think of a reason not to kiss him.
Standing on my tiptoes, I circle my arms around his neck and press my mouth to his. It's probably not a very smooth kiss, but I need to kiss him more than I need to breathe.
But he doesn't kiss me back.
And I'm left standing here, my lips pressed against his, feeling like an idiot. Again.
Of course, he didn't want to kiss me. All that talk in his truck was just to make me feel better. He was probably hoping that by the time we got to the cabin, I would have forgotten.
They probably only invited me to come out of pity.
I move to pull away, but when I do, his hand tightens on my hips, and he pulls me flush against him and kisses me back.
Tilting his head to the side, he deepens the kiss, and when his tongue demands entry to my mouth, I open up for him willingly.
Zayne growls, the sounds going straight to my pussy, and pins me against his truck, kissing me like he would die if he stopped.
I gasp into his mouth as he squeezes my ass, and instinctively, I lift my thigh, wrapping it around his leg.
My skin feels like it's on fire as I arch into him, needing to be even closer. I let out a needy moan when I feel his massive, hard-on poking at me through his jeans. I have the insane urge to tilt my hips up so I can feel him against my core.
Zayne swears and breaks our kiss as I do just that. Looking down at me, his stormy gray eyes are dark with desire and need as they flash between mine. With another low growl, he closes the distance between our lips and kisses me again.
I moan when his hips grind into mine, the friction lighting up every nerve ending. I kiss him harder, dragging my teeth over his bottom lip.
A throat clears somewhere near us, and Zayne breaks free from the kiss, shifting his body to cover mine from whoever was there. "We don't need help."
"Mind moving the show along?" Oh god, I recognize Old Man Grump's voice and die a little inside. It feels like a bucket of ice-cold water has been dropped on my head.
I straighten and close my eyes as shame washes over me. I can't believe I lost control like that. It's never happened before.
That's because no one has ever made you feel like Zayne before.
"Got it," Zayne says, and I hear footsteps retreating. He turns to face me, cupping my cheek. "Sorry, Ness."
I open my eyes but keep them firmly on the ground. "You don't have to be sorry. I kissed you first."
He tilts my head up to look at him. "You just beat me to it. Go get those snacks you wanted while I get gas, and we can get up to the cabin."
I shake my head. "I don't want to go in and face Old Man Grump. I'll be okay without them."
He hesitates for a second and then nods. "Let me help you back up."
Before I can protest, he's already lifting me into my seat and buckling me in. I hold my breath when he stops just a few inches from my face and looks me over. I want him to kiss me again. I want it so badly. All these years apart didn't change how much I crave him. Them.
"You don't make this easy, baby girl." He plans a soft kiss on my forehead and shuts my door.