Chapter 22
Lexi
“What are you doing today?” I startle at the sound of Sloane’s voice.
Spinning around quickly, I tilt my head back to look up at my hulking Alpha, who’s so close I can smell his burnt marshmallow scent, which makes my body tingle.
“Sloane,” I breathe out. “What are you doing here?”
He gives me a crooked smile. “Stalking you.”
That gets him a laugh. “Is that your new thing?”
He shrugs. “We can call it ‘watching over you’ if it makes you feel more comfortable.”
“I’ve been living in this town for ten years. Walked around these streets alone at night. I’ve never once been worried. It’s only when you came to town that I had to watch my back.” I grin.
“Well, I can watch it for you now. We’re harmless.” He waves me off.
“I wouldn’t go that far.” I raise a brow.
“Okay, fine. But we would never hurt you.” That I somehow believe.
“Lexi,” Beth calls my name. “Order’s up.”
“Thanks.” I turn around and take my hot chocolate and donut. She gives Sloane a wary once-over before turning away.
“She doesn’t like me,” Sloane sighs. “What did I ever do to her?”
“Maybe it got around town that one of the new Alphas in town was caught urinating in public and flashed two of our elderly residents his dick.”
Sloane’s face splits into a playful grin.
He follows after me as I start to leave the shop.
“In my defense, it was either pee outside or pee my pants. And baby, I’m too sexy to be a grown man who pisses himself.
Now, cumming in my pants, that's another story.” He winks.
“Wanna try it out? See if you can be the Omega to get me there?”
I spin around, forcing him to stop. We come chest to chest, and I look up at him.
“Baby, we both know I’d have you cumming in your pants in mere seconds. And if I’m not mistaken, Emmett was the first one to get you there.” I smirk.
He grins down at me. “Are my Omegas gossiping about me? Did he tell you how good I am with my tongue? I can show you.” He winks.
“He did.” I clear my throat, trying not to get turned on thinking about the details of his and Emmett’s escapade.
We talked about it after our bath. By the time we were done, we ended up having some amazing sex. Maybe I should thank Sloane? No. He would get too much of an ego boost if I did.
He’s already cocky enough as it is.
“Maybe later. If you're a good boy.” I try to make it sound playful, but it comes out as more of a breathy statement. I can’t lie and say I haven’t been thinking about how his tongue would feel between my legs.
His nostrils flare. “Fuck me, Kitten. What are you thinking about?”
“Like I said, be a good boy, and maybe you can find out for yourself.” I spin around and continue my way down the street.
It’s been getting colder every day. It’s going to snow soon, and while I love how beautiful it makes our little mountain town look, I do not like how hard it is to get around after the first big snowfall.
Lots of plowing, and it’s a bitch to get the main road in and out of town cleared. But we’re always on top of things.
That’s why Emmett is helping out around town today. Making sure everyone is ready for the winter.
“Where are you going? Your house is that way?” Sloane asks, trailing behind me.
“Gold star for you,” I reply back, taking a sip of my hot cocoa. It warms me up on the inside. I’m dressed in jeans, a wool coat, a hat, and gloves, paired with a cute pair of winter boots.
“Lexi,” he groans. “Why are you being so mean to me?”
I sigh. “Because I don’t know how to act around you. Well, around Alphas,” I admit.
“We’re human, just like Emmett,” he teases. “Just treat us like you treat him.”
“If that’s the case, then I’d probably be taking you home and fucking you right now.”
He lets out a choked sound. “I wouldn’t object to that,” he rasps out.
A smile finds my lips. Of course, he wouldn’t. Sloane is a flirt, it’s just his personality. And I like it. He’s fun.
“How about this instead. Hang out with me today. Let’s spend some time just you and me, get to know one another without anyone else around. I bet by the end of the day, we will be vibing so hard you’ll be obsessed with me.”
I snort out a laugh. “More like you’ll be obsessed with me.”
“Kitten, that ship sailed the moment I laid eyes on you.” He’s walking beside me now. I cast a glance up at him. His blue eyes make me shiver, in a good way.
“Fine.” I look away. “But I have plans, so you’ll have to come with me.”
“Yes!” He fist pumps the air. “Alright, my Kitten, where are we going?”
“Where is Aiden?” I ask before I forget.
“He’s stalking Emmett,” Sloane chuckles. “We decided to split up, each getting an Omega.”
“What?” I look at him with amusement.
“Aiden already got you to himself, and I already had Emmett to myself. So, we switched. Sharing is caring, you know? And we both want to bond with you equally, not just as a pack.”
“Oh.” A warm feeling flutters inside me. “That’s actually really sweet.”
“See?” he teases. “I’m not always a cocky fucker. I can be sweet when I want to be.”
“You, my dear Sloane, are one interesting Alpha.” I look up at him again.
There’s a flash of insecurity in his eyes. He doesn’t seem like the kind of guy who cares what others think, but maybe he does with me.
“Is that a bad thing?”
“Not at all.” I laugh softly, taking his hand in mine.
His touch soothes something inside me, and now all I want to do is ask him to hold me.
His hand tightens around mine. I watch him out of the corner of my eye, his attention focused on our joined hands. Then he pulls his phone out, and I grow confused.
“Hey.” He talks into the phone. “Guess what I’m doing? Holding our Omega’s hand. Suck on that, fucker!”
He hangs up the phone, and I gape up at him. “What was that?”
“Aiden told me I was going to scare you off if he left me alone with you. I had to prove the asshole wrong.” He holds up our joined hands, grinning like an idiot.
“Oh my god.” I burst into giggles. “You’re crazy.”
Why is this man so damn cute?
With his hand in mine, we continue down the road playing twenty questions. By the time we get to where we’re going, I’m in a very good mood. That is, until I see the chaos unfolding before me.
“What the hell?” Sloane mutters.
This morning I got a call from Bitsy, an eighty-year-old Omega who’s lived here for the last seven years.
She asked if I could come over and help tidy up her place because her granddaughter was going to stop by for a visit.
I said yes because it's something I often do. Bitsy is the sweetest, and while she can still care for herself, overdoing it isn’t ideal for her age.
So, I come and clean her house once a month.
She doesn't talk much, plays music in the background, and lets me do my work. Then, when I’m done, we have tea and cookies, and chat a bit before I leave.
The fact that there are five kids running around the front yard, the garage door is wide open, and two golden labs are barking up a storm as they chase after the laughing kids, has me in shock.
“Oh, Lexi, thank goodness you’re here!” a frazzled Bitsy says from her front step.
“Bitsy, what is going on?” I ask her as I make my way up the driveway, Sloane right behind me.
“Missy ended up coming early. When she got here, her husband, Jim, was a mess, and she was in the car crying. I was so confused! Then Jim told me Missy was in labor and needed me to watch the kids. I hardly got a few words out before they took off.”
“Well, that’s fucking rude,” Sloane mutters.
“And who are you?” she asks.
Sloane looks at me, not sure what to say. “This is Sloane. He’s new to town.”
“Nice to meet you, Sloane.” She turns back to me. “I have no idea how to deal with taking care of five children. They’re all out of control! They came inside, went right for the cookies, and that seemed to make things worse. I don’t know what to do.” She sounds so upset.
“How about this?” Sloane claps his hands. “You got a backyard?”
Bitsy nods. “Yes, it’s fenced in. There’s a playset for the kids, too. I was trying to get them to go back there and run off their energy, but they’re little escape artists, I tell you.”
“Not to worry, I got this.” Sloane turns to me. “Kitten, would you mind going inside with Bitsy and making the two of you a cup of tea?”
“Okay, but are you sure? I can help.”
“I’ll be fine. You two go relax.”
Sloane turns around. “Alright, you little rugrats! Who wants to play tag?”
The kids start to cheer, eager to play with the random man.
Huh. Maybe their parents should be teaching them about stranger danger.
I’ll have to talk to Missy about more than one thing, it seems. She should know better than to drop five kids off on her elderly grandmother.
Where is her mother? Wasn’t there anyone else she could have called?
“Let’s take this to the backyard. We don’t want anyone to get hit by a car.” It’s highly unlikely that would happen because the only real place with traffic is downtown.
The kids follow after Sloane as he heads around the house.
I head inside with Bitsy to the kitchen.
“Thank you again for this. Your Alpha friend is very kind.”
“He is,” I agree, adding water to the kettle before placing it on the stove.
“Is he yours?”
“He is.” I turn to face her, smiling.
“What about that Emmett of yours? Is he okay?”
“He’s perfect. They’re his Alphas too.”
“Alphas! More than one?” She looks surprised.
“Yes,” I chuckle. “Two, both are our scent matches.”
“Congratulations.” She smiles brightly. “I hope they treat you well.”
“So far, they've been amazing.”
After pouring us each a cup, we watch as Sloane runs around the backyard with the kids. They’re laughing and happy. Something about seeing him be so great with these kids has me excited for our future.
He’s going to be an amazing dad. I can tell how much he loves kids from the grin on his face.
“You like this man, don’t you?”
“I do,” I answer, not looking away. “I’m going to go help him. Are you okay in here?” I turn to face her.