Chapter 5
Chapter Five
Cormac
It’s a damn good thing I’m excellent at controlling my micro-expressions. Charlotte seemed much happier to see me at the library, and for some reason, I assumed that would spill over into excitement to run into me at the Christmas market.
I’m reasonably handsome.
Sure, I’m on the slender side, but I’m the strong type of skinny. Okay, I’m not jacked or anything. I’m athletic and bony. Neither makes me sound comfortable to cuddle with, but that’s what pillows are for.
I’m financially stable, ruthlessly protective of those I care about, and I’ve never had a wandering eye.
I’m a catch.
At least, I think I am.
I could be for her.
All those positive attributes have to make up for a bit of light stalking, right?
In my opinion, they do.
I’ve never been so enamored by another human being. Sure, I’m no stranger to stalking targets in my professional life, but I’ve never turned into a straight-up creepy stalker over a woman.
I’d like to believe that I haven’t now.
I’m just keeping an eye on someone more vulnerable than myself. That’s a trait any good protector should have.
I only have two small bumps on the road to making her mine. First, I need to win over the skittish woman. Second, I have to break the news to my brothers that I won’t be joining them in the pack we always thought we would form.
“Cormac?” she asks, reminding me that she asked a question. “What are you doing here?”
Lifting the gift bag in my left hand, I give it a gentle shake.
“I lost a vicious game of rock, paper, scissors. My brothers sent me to get our housekeeper’s Christmas gift.
She mentioned wanting figurines to match a set, and apparently, I had to get here before they sold since they’re one of a kind.
” I shrug, offering Charlotte a boyish smile.
“I’m the youngest, so my brothers gang up on me. ”
“Oh,” she says softly, glancing over her shoulder once more.
Something has her on edge.
Could she have sensed me watching?
It’s always a possibility, but it could also have something to do with the men who approached her friend.
The terror on Charlotte’s face when her son ran off was enough to force me to abandon my post of keeping an eye on her to instead track the boy. He’s fast, and I couldn’t move too quickly, otherwise I would have given away my presence.
I only made it to Lucky as Charlotte’s friend carried him back toward where I last saw his mother. He was sans his hot chocolate but in one piece.
I was torn between following the men that Charlotte’s friend was practically running away from and ensuring Lucky made it to Charlotte.
I chose the latter, even if my instincts wanted to inflict pain and suffering.
Hell, I don’t even know what they did, but my gut was sure they deserved it for something.
The scent of Charlotte’s pheromones points to fear, and it sets my instincts on edge.
“Is everything okay? Did something happen?” I ask, staring straight into her bluish-green eyes. “I don’t mean to overstep, but you seem uncomfortable…”
Her head shakes, then nods, and I’m more confused than ever.
“It’s been a long day. I think I freaked myself out over nothing.” She laughs, but it’s forced.
I nod and move behind her, placing my palm on her lower back. “Whenever there’s a question, it’s better to be cautious. How about I walk you to your car and wait while you get settled in?”
“Thanks, Cormac.” Her head gives a wobbly nod of agreement, and I guide her toward where I assume her vehicle must be parked. It’s where she was originally headed before I made my presence known.
Normally, I have no reason to be jealous of my brothers.
Patrick is saddled with running our family, since Malachy is declining as he slips over the line from feral to full-blown rabid.
Poor Malachy is the eldest, and he’s supposed to be the head of our family, but with how fast the decay is spreading, he handed everything off to Patrick last year.
If the other Boston crime families realized how bad off Malachy was, they’d circle like sharks. The three of us sat down and came to the decision that it would be safer for Patrick to run things, at least until Malachy can bond an omega.
The omega that he’s promised to is a whole different clusterfuck that I try not to think about if at all possible.
It’s a fecking mess, as my dads would have said.
All of that combined is why I rarely wish I could trade places with my siblings, but both are more physically imposing than I am.
Malachy is a beast at six-seven while Patrick is two or three inches shorter.
I’m a respectable six-one, but that is on the shorter side for an alpha. Add in the whole I’m a skinny fuck thing, and I can’t help but wonder if she even believes I’m capable of keeping her safe.
I am, but perhaps my insecurity is talking.
She doesn’t shy away from my touch, but she does continue to peek over her shoulder, as if she’s checking to be sure we aren’t being followed.
Most of the criminals of the city would see my face, know I’m one of the O’Connor brothers, and walk the other way.
If they chose stupidity…
Well, I’m always armed and unafraid of teaching anyone a lesson about why my family is feared even to this day.
We make it to Charlotte’s SUV, and I split my attention between being aware of our surroundings and watching her get the boy into his car seat. He’s over half her height, which my brain seems to have trouble processing.
How she’s even able to lift him and tote him around is hard to comprehend.
Are all toddlers that massive?
Or is it because Lucky is a future alpha?
I’m sure his father must have been, right?
Is he even a toddler, or does he qualify as a preschooler at his age?
Fuck.
I’m obsessing again.
This is a bad sign, and it’s the number one reason why I haven’t let myself look into Charlotte and her history.
Okay, I know where she lives and where Lucky’s day care is. I also maybe stalked her to the parking lot where she works, but there are five or six businesses that all use that collective lot.
I drew the line at popping into each one to see if I could casually run into her.
See, you do have boundaries.
She seemed agitated that day too, which was a big part of why I chose not to try my luck.
And fuck.
Now I’m wondering if she’s running from someone. That would be a good reason to be so on edge, but it could also have something to do with the fact that she’s an unbonded omega. Most families with omega children keep them close until they bond. That, or they hire private security.
Goddammit.
I’m fixating, and that’s never a good sign.
Charlotte gets the little guy into his car seat and turns around, nearly face-planting into my chest.
My hands fly to her hips, and I steady her before taking a quick step back. There’s no way it doesn’t look like I was crowding her space.
“I’m sorry,” I sputter, my breath forming a large cloud of condensation. “I wanted to ensure you were safe while your back was turned.”
“Thank you.” She grabs the door, pushing it closed. “Here, give me a second to get the heat running. I don’t want him to wake up because he’s cold.”
I nod, and Charlotte steps around, opening the front door and climbing in enough that she can start the SUV. If I wasn’t a selfish fuck, I’d tell her to climb inside and get warm too.
The hum of the engine starting fills the air, and I avert my eyes as she stretches over to bump up the heat.
Omegas tend to be fuller figured than a beta of the same body type, and Charlotte is no different.
She’s soft and curvy in a way I adore. By my estimation, she’s a bit shorter than the average height for her designation, coming in at around five-four or five-five.
She also has the hourglass figure that omegas are known for, even if her top half is a bit smaller than her bottom.
Maybe that makes her pear-shaped? Fuck if I know, but whatever shape she is, I’m attracted to it.
I glance away as she climbs from the vehicle to avoid having her think I was staring at her ass. Even if I was tempted, I can pretend to be a gentleman.
The cold is brutal, and her cheeks are pink. I ache to brush my fingers over her soft skin and tell her she has nothing to worry about.
I won’t follow her home directly—there’s too great of a chance she would spot me—but I will camp out just down the street from her front door. That way, if anyone does pop up, I can kill them before they can even make it inside.
“I’m sure you need to get home to settle the little one into bed,” I say, nodding toward the back seat.
“I do,” she agrees. “But I wanted to say thank you. I appreciate you watching over us while I got him buckled in.”
“Of course. It was no bother.”
Her hands land on my sides as she stretches up, and I instinctually lean down to meet her.
“No, seriously, thank you.” She plants a quick kiss on my cheek, and I fight the growl that aches to rip from my chest.
Fucking hell.
I want her.
Need her in a way that’s hard to explain.
That’s surprising enough, but adding in a bonus human being makes it even more shocking. I’m generally indifferent to the existence of children. I don’t hate them. They have nothing to fear from me. But I’ve also never been interested in getting to know one.
However, I’m fond of Lucky simply because he’s an extension of Charlotte, and I think that says it all.
She spins around, climbing into the driver’s seat before stretching an arm out to grab the door handle. “Have a good night, Cormac.”
I step out of the way, and she closes the door. It takes until she’s in the process of pulling out of the parking spot for me to realize…
I never asked for her phone number.
Motherfucker.