32. Thirty-One
Thirty-One
Cozette
Just before dinner, Jeremiah’s phone rings, and I notice the way his brow furrows in frustration as he looks at the caller ID.
We’re laying on the couch together in the living room while Micah and Manny cook, and Ridge and Zeke are spread out in the chairs on either side of the couch. Some tv show is on that Zeke picked, but it’s clear that none of us are giving it much attention.
“Data,” Jeremiah says in a clipped tone, his lips pressed into a thin line.
Jeremiah listens to the voice on the other end before he sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose as his eyes close and he responds with an annoyed, “I’ll be there in a few hours.”
He hangs up the phone, casually slipping it back into his pocket, and I nestle into his embrace. Extending my hand, I delicately brush my finger along the creases between his eyes until, gradually, the tension melts away, and his face softens.
“What’s wrong?” I ask him softly, feeling Zeke and Ridge’s eyes on us.
“Nothing. I just need to go meet an old friend. I owe her one,” he murmurs, pressing his forehead against mine.
My face scrunches up in a frown as I feel a tight knot form in my stomach when he casually brings up meeting another woman. My frown deepens as I realize that what bothers me more is the fact that it’s a woman, and not that it’s an old contact from his dark past.
He grins mischievously when he notices the pout on my lips, leaning forward and playfully nibbling on my bottom lip until I let out a gasp and squirm in his arms.
“You can come with me.”
“Hey, woah now. Is that really a good idea? I mean, where are you even going to meet this person?” Ridge chimes in, and when I tilt my head back to look at him, I see him sitting up straight in his seat with a scowl as he stares over at Jeremiah.
I can sense Zeke’s agreement with Ridge as I meet his worried eyes, his frown telling me everything he doesn’t say.
“She’ll be safe. I’d never let anything happen to her and everyone there will know not to fuck with her when they see she’s with me. To be honest, I’m a little offended you think I’d ever put her in danger,” Jeremiah bites out through clenched teeth, his eyes narrowed on Ridge.
Since their tussle at Mama’s, this is the first time they’ve truly clashed over anything that has to do with me. They’ve had their fair share of petty arguments, typical of a household full of strong-willed alphas, but nothing too consequential, so the mere idea of them regressing over something as trivial as me going with Jeremiah causes my muscles to tighten.
I quickly roll off the couch, narrowly avoiding Jeremiah’s reaching hands, driven by the urgent need to defuse the tension before it escalates. Rushing over to Ridge, I immediately plop down in his lap, curling up and feeling instantly at ease. My hand gently rests on his chest, feeling the steady rise and fall as he takes a shuddering breath, and I steal a glance at him from beneath my lashes.
“I’ll be fine, Alpha. Jeremiah will take care of me, and I want to go. Please don’t fight,” I murmur, rubbing my cheek against his chest as soothing pheromones curl around us.
His groan fills the air as he tosses his head back in exasperation.
“You don’t play fair, Smalls.”
As he lifts his head, his eyes meet mine, and his hand instinctively finds its way to the back of my head.
“We’re not fighting. We’re just having a disagreement, which is normal with a house full of alphas and an omega that we all feel the need to protect with our lives,” he mutters petulantly, before sighing and glancing back at Jeremiah with narrowed eyes.
“If anything happens to her, I’ll kill you,” he bites out, pulling my head to his chest and holding me tight.
I catch Jeremiah rolling his eyes and bite my lips to hold in my laughter.
“Worse men have tried and failed, brother. They don’t call me the Ghost for no reason,” Jeremiah deadpans, shaking his head with a laugh when Ridge throws a pillow at his head.
The way my belly flips and my heart seems to trip in my chest at the fact that Jeremiah just called Ridge ‘brother’ is indescribable. There’s a whirlwind of emotions inside of me at such a simple word, a blend of excitement, surprise, and a hint of pleasure. Although he said it nonchalantly, it lingers in my thoughts, evoking a feeling of pure delight.
When Ridge’s hold on me relaxes, I sit up, pecking him on the lips and smiling softly at him. As I try to stand up, he catches me by surprise, yanking me back into his arms and pressing his lips firmly against mine in a fervent and electrifying kiss, his tongue gently gliding over the seam of my mouth, coaxing me to open up. My chest aches for air as he kisses me relentlessly. When he finally releases me, I stand up in a dazed state, sucking in a much-needed breath. He chuckles, reclining comfortably in the chair with a smug smile on his face.
I nearly jump back in his lap, but before I can, Jeremiah’s arm wraps around my middle and when I glance up at him with a frown and questioning eyes, he raises a brow at me.
“Thought you were comin’ with me, baby? I’ll take care of that ache he’s left behind by teasing you,” he murmurs in my ear, making my face flame as I bite my lip, watching his eyes become hooded.
Ridge groans, and when I look back at him, his eyes are narrowed at Jeremiah.
“Fucker,” he mutters when Jeremiah just unleashes a feral grin back at him.
“I will,” Jeremiah quips back, dragging me out of the living room before Ridge can get up and snatch me from him.
He laughs the entire way out of the room as Ridge curses up a storm at his back, and I can’t wipe the silly grin off my face.
I shrink back when we walk into the rowdy bar, hiding slightly behind Jeremiah and drinking in my surroundings. So many scents war with each other, making it hard for me to breathe in the already smoky room, and I cling to Jeremiah’s back, shoving my face into his shirt and relaxing when his scent washes the rest away.
When we approach the bar, he takes a seat and promptly grabs me by my hips and plops me on his lap. I gasp, grabbing hold of the counter and squirm in his hold as my face flames red and he chuckles in my ear.
“If you keep wiggling like that, I’m going to have to toss you on this counter and give these people a show they’ll never forget.”
The breath in my lungs disappears when I feel him getting hard beneath me, and I freeze.
“Good girl,” he murmurs, turning me into a puddle as I relax against him with a sigh.
Instantly, I can feel eyes on us, and not just one pair, but multiple. It feels as if everyone in the room is staring at us, the way Jeremiah holds me close. I try my hardest to ignore it as my alpha whispers in my ear, making me alternate between giggling and blushing. A few minutes after we sit, a pretty dark-skinned woman with piercings and tattoos galore sits beside us and smirks over at Jeremiah.
“I see you done gone and got yourself an omega as well. Seems my baby brother isn’t the only one to get so lucky. Or unlucky, in his case. His omega just might kill ‘em,” she says to Jeremiah with a gleam in her eye and a sharp grin.
She has a raspy voice, tinged with a noticeable accent which only adds to her allure, just as captivating as her appearance. When I catch a hint of her scent, I realize she’s a beta, but something about her demeanor exudes more dominance than is typical for a beta, much less a beta woman. She raises a pierced brow at me when she catches me staring and chuckles when I quickly avert my gaze.
“Data. It’s good to see you again. I was surprised you called,” Jeremiah rumbles at my back, and I peek back up at the woman curiously.
Who is she?
“Yes, well. I heard through the deep, dark, grapevine that the Ghost was retiring, so I figured now was as good as any to call in on that favor you owe me.”
“Mm. Depends on what it is,” Jeremiah says, leaning back and pulling me with him, chest vibrating as a quiet purr rumbles in his chest when he realizes I’m feeling uneasy.
“Nothing too difficult. I just can’t be linked to this, and you’re the best at not being seen. I can’t trust this with anyone else.”
Out of nowhere, Jeremiah taps me on the thigh, causing me to jump and turn my gaze towards him.
“What do you say, Dove? If you don’t want me to, I won’t.”
I bite my lip before glancing back at Data. She takes a sip of the drink she walked over with and sighs before looking at me with a tired smile.
“I promise he won’t be in any danger or trouble for doing this for me.”
Something in her eyes tells me she’s running from something, or someone, but I also see the truth in them. That this favor of hers won’t be dangerous for my alpha.
“Okay,” I murmur softly, patting the hand on my leg. “Help her.”
When he agrees, my mind automatically tunes out, finding their conversation about her needs devoid of any meaning or interest. Instead, I find contentment in sitting in my alpha’s arms, feeling his warmth and cherishing our time together, regardless of where we are. After downing two full glasses of Dr. Pepper, the need to pee becomes borderline uncomfortable. I’ve been trying to hold it, hesitant to venture to the bathroom by myself, but Data and Jeremiah are engrossed in their conversation, and I don’t want to disrupt them by asking for him to accompany me.
I’m an adult.
I should be able to go to the bathroom without a chaperone, dangit!
With that thought in mind, I wiggle to get free, huffing when Jeremiah’s grip on me tightens.
“I have to go to the bathroom,” I grumble under my breath, prying his hands off and jumping down.
He steadies me when I wobble, and I give him a smile. He frowns, the look in his eyes conveying his worry and innate need to follow me. I pat his leg and lean up on my tiptoes to kiss him on the underside of his jaw, making him growl.
“I’ll be fine, Alpha. You’re right here and I know you won’t let anything happen to me. I don’t want to take you away from your conversation.”
He grips my chin, eyes raking over my face.
“Straight there and back. Don’t talk to anyone and lock the door behind you, understand?”
I swallow at the intensity in his eyes, biting back the whine that tries to roll up my throat with how needy he makes me when he shows me how much he worries about me.
“Yes, Daddy ,” I whisper, low enough that only he hears me.
I giggle when he sucks in a shocked breath and skip away when he tries to pull me back. People move far out of my way as I walk through the room in search of the bathroom, which I find odd, but also makes it easier for me to keep moving. Nobody tries to talk to me or get in my way, and I eventually find the ladies’ room, locking myself inside as I quickly relieve myself.
When I’m done, I wash my hands and pat my red cheeks with some cool water. Smiling at myself in the mirror, I straighten my shirt and hurry to get back to my alpha.
“Gods, what was he thinking bringing someone like you in here?” a woman snorts over in a corner when I step out of the bathroom, wiping my hands on my jeans.
When I look at her, my cheeks flame with heat at how much skin she’s showing off. Which is ridiculous, considering I spent a year completely nude while I was locked in a cage. Nudity quickly became such a normal aspect of my life.
But now, I’m working to break all of those chains that still weigh me down, which means learning what I truly am comfortable with and not what I was conditioned to become comfortable with. If that makes sense.
“Excuse me?” I ask, a frown in place.
“I said, I can’t believe Ghost brought someone like you here. You aren’t his usual flavor,” she says, eyeing me up and down. “Maybe you’re hoping he’ll let you ride his knot, little omega? He might. But then he’ll throw you aside like everyone else, so I wouldn’t go getting attached if I were you.”
I look over at where I left Jeremiah, biting my lip. She’s speaking my inner fears out loud, hitting a nerve whether or not she intended to. Though I’m smart enough to recognize it was definitely intended.
There’s a primal part of my brain that has been calling him mine for so long, but that hasn’t stopped the other part of me, fearing that he won’t stay. That he won’t want to truly keep me with all my traumas and issues. That he won’t want to live a normal life and quit what he does.
“Aw, you’re not gonna cry, are you, sweet omega?” the woman taunts, tilting her head with a smirk on her awful red lips as tears fill my eyes unwillingly.
I try my hardest to fight them back, but when a lick of anger ignites inside of me, even more tears fill my eyes.
Fudge .
I’ve always despised that I cry with any big emotion I have.
Hurt? Cry.
Angry? Cry.
Embarrassed? Cry.
Happy? Freaking cry.
I quickly turn and stomp my way back into the bathroom, letting the door slam behind me. I grip the sink’s edge tightly, bowing my head and taking deep breaths in and out. My heart is thundering in my chest and my head is screaming at me to go back out there and claw that woman’s eyes out.
The way she looked over at Jeremiah when she was talking about him made me feel territorial, and the need to mark my claim on him is borderline psychotic.
The bathroom door slams open minutes later, hitting the wall hard, the sound echoing around the small room. I jump at the loud noise and look over with wide eyes. My lips part as Jeremiah stalks in, blue eyes writhing with untamed rage and darkness latched on me and locking me in place.
The door closes on its own just as he grips the back of my head, his large hand sliding into my chaotic curls. I go limp in his hold immediately, looking up at him in complete reverence.
I would worship at this alpha’s feet if he’d let me.
Right now, I feel like he’d much prefer to worship at mine with the way his eyes sear into me with such intensity. His nostrils flare as he looks into my glassy eyes and a snarl slips out of him that makes me shiver in his hold.
“What’d she say to put those tears in those pretty blues, Dove?” he rumbles, running a finger softly down the curve of my cheek.
My eyes close and a whimper puffs out of me as tingles erupt on his finger’s journey.
I clamp my lips together, not wanting to tell him. A growl rumbles in his chest, and for some reason it makes my body relax even more. I’m like putty in this alpha’s hands.
“Come on out with it, baby. Let me take those worries she put in there away,” he purrs, rubbing his cheek sweetly against mine, making me whine and cave.
I’m such a sucker.
“She said you’ll use me and throw me away and that I shouldn’t get attached,” I whimper.
Jeremiah tenses, gripping me tighter, and I moan. When he tsk’s my eyes pop open.
“Oh, Dove. I clearly haven’t been a good alpha if you don’t know that you have me thoroughly wrapped around your sweet little finger. That I’m wholly yours,” he mumbles, nipping my lip. “Let’s fix that. Hands on the sink, legs spread,” he barks, landing a rather harsh smack to my behind that makes me yelp.
I quickly jump to listen to his command, turning around and gripping the sink. His foot appears between my feet, and he taps them, showing he wants me to widen them more. My breaths puff out of me in anticipation when his hand glides down my back.
“Such a pretty omega. My sweet Cozette.” His deep voice sends shivers down my spine that chases his fingers, and an aching need fills me in response. His other hand slides back into my hair, gripping it tight and pulling my neck back so my throat is bared. At my hips, his hand that was sliding down my back moves to the front and he quickly unbuttons and unzips my pants, trailing his fingers along my pubic bone.
“Pull these down nice and slow for me.”
I listen, my chest heaving as my thumbs slip into the waistband of my jeans and I slide them down my hips and thighs painstakingly slowly until they reach my knees where they end up stuck because of my spread legs. Jeremiah rips my panties off next, which has me gasping and my core pulsing in response to his animalistic need.
“I’m never letting you go, baby. So put those fears away. I’ve tasted you, felt this sweet pussy wrapped around my cock, squeezing me for dear life. Heard your cries of pleasure ringing in my ears. You’re mine, and I have no intentions of ever letting you go.”
His hands roughly grip my butt, spreading me wide and making my cheeks burn as he groans in delight.
“Such a pretty pink pussy. All slick with need for your alpha.”
“Please,” I whine, the blush on my cheeks spreading down my neck and chest, but my center only gets slicker with his naughty words.
I don’t even know what I’m asking for, I just know only he can give it to me right now. This violent need I feel for the behemoth of a man behind me that everyone else views as a monster is beyond comprehension.
The sound of his zipper being pulled down is loud in my ears and my body tenses in preparation, ready to have him stretching me wide around him with his girth. I clench when I feel his pierced tip at my opening, nearly in pain with how badly I need him. On my next whine, he doesn’t hold back, slamming into me, which knocks the breath from my lungs.
“This… Is… Your… Cock,” he grunts out with each violent thrust into me, leaving me breathless.
He doesn’t take it easy on me, his grip on my hips bruising as he slams into me repeatedly, grunting as his balls slap against my clit, making my eyes want to cross.
“Feel how perfectly snug I am inside of this sweet pussy, pretty girl? That’s because I was made for you in every fucking way. Just as you were made for me.”
I’m lost to sensation and drowning in his words, his feral intensity that lights me on fire from the inside. This alpha, this ghost , owns me, and I don’t think I’ll ever be able to let him go.
I vaguely hear the door open, but I’m so lost in the monster behind me, completely owning my body without a care. My eyes open and I see a figure through the haze. Blinking my eyes, I realize it’s the woman from earlier, staring in shock with her mouth open. Her jaw clenches when she sees I’ve noticed her and her fists clench, her face scrunching in anger when Jeremiah growls ‘mine’ against my throat.
I moan, every nerve inside of me feeling like a live wire, sending pulses of pleasure zinging through my body. I can’t even find it in me to be embarrassed at being caught, though I’m positive once this is all said and done, I’ll be mortified, despite how wretched the woman was to me.
Jeremiah’s teeth clamp down on the skin at the back of my neck, and I almost beg him to mark me, but shut my lips before the words can pass.
Not the time or place.
“Such a good girl for me,” my Ghost purrs at my throat, and my eyes lose focus when the tip of his pierced length hits a spot deep inside me that has me seeing a whole new galaxy of stars.
My hips are digging into the sink in front of me, but even that can’t take away from how good my alpha makes me feel. His body completely engulfs mine, yet he’s so gentle with me.
Unless he’s owning me, body and soul, then he lets go, becoming downright feral.
I’m learning that I’m partial to both sides.
I gasp when he’s so deep inside of me, he’s all I can feel, and his hips circle, pushing me higher. After that, I forget all about the woman, all of my focus on the alpha at my back as he shows me he’s mine and mine alone.
His hand creeps around and a finger settles on my clit, thrumming it and making me scream his name as I clench him tight inside of me, covering him in my slick and begging for his knot despite where we are.
He doesn’t give it to me, which upsets me until the pleasurable haze wears off and I come back down to earth, remembering where we are. My cheeks burn as he slowly thrusts into me one more time before slipping out, and I feel his cum slide down my inner thighs, which only makes my cheeks burn hotter when I notice him watching the way it glides down with a hungry look.
When he reaches behind me, turning the water on and grabbing handfuls of napkins to wet, before kneeling at my feet, I suck in a sharp breath. Tears sting my eyes at the way he gingerly cleans my legs, and when he reaches between them, I gasp and hold on to the sink’s edge as he shoves his face there and cleanses me with his tongue without a care that he’s still dripping out of me.
I come again before he’s finished, and he helps me slide my pants back up my shaky legs, buttoning and zipping them for me before dropping a sweet kiss to the tip of my nose when I lean my head back and look up at him.
He blows out a breath, tucking my hair behind my ear.
“You’re too good for me,” he murmurs, and I rest my hands on his chest, hating that he’s so hard on himself.
He’s one of the best people I know, and he has the biggest heart and kindest soul when he lets you in.
“You’re perfect for me, my Ghost.”
Bending, he rests his forehead against mine and closes his eyes. I watch his chest rise and fall as he takes deep breaths, and I keep my hands on his chest, feeling his heart beating against my palms rhythmically.
“I love you, Cozette. Without you, there is no me. Don’t ever forget that again, understood?”
There’s a frown on his lips, and a crease between his eyebrows that has me reaching up until my index finger rests there, gently running along the center and down the bridge of his nose until his features relax. My lip wobbles and I swallow around the lump in my throat, but I nod.
“Yes, Alpha,” I say, making him chuckle and shake his head at me.
“Come on. Let’s get home before the others come searching for us.”
We walk out, me nestled underneath his arm and tucked safely into his side, as he glares at everyone that turns to look at us. I tip my head down when I see the beta woman from earlier, but Jeremiah stops in his tracks and turns to face me, a thunderous look on his face when he tips my chin up to look at him. I swallow, nibbling on my lip as I get lost in his eyes, and I know everyone in this room can smell me, smell the need on me as I look up at my scowling alpha, because Gods do I want him all over again.
“You don’t lower your head for her , Dove. You don’t lower your head for anyone . She’s nothing compared to you. You belong at my side, not her,” he seethes, only looking away from me long enough to aim a glare so harsh at the woman that even I shiver at the coldness.
She quickly scrambles away, running out of the bar without a backwards glance, and I can’t help the smile that spreads across my lips. Because although her words hurt me, the reality is that she’s afraid of my alpha, despite how much she may want him.
But I’m not.
I’m not afraid of him at all, and he’s mine .
When we get home later, Jeremiah barely lets me speak to the others before he’s dragging me up the stairs and into my room, throwing me on the bed before he covers me completely with his body. He spends the entire night hammering home that he’s mine and I’m his, and by the next morning, not a single doubt is left in my mind about who owns him, body and soul.