Nuisance
COOPER
“I’m just saying,” I said, kicking my feet up on the dashboard. “That our relationship changes things.”
Jon didn’t even glance at me. “Take your feet down.”
“Nope.”
“Now.”
I sighed dramatically, but dropped them anyway. “See?” I said. “That’s one example right there.”
“What?”
“You use that tone,” I said, waving a hand. “And suddenly I’m doing what you want. It’s very suspicious. Kind of hot too, but don’t let it go to your head.”
Jon actually snorted. “Believe me, having you as a boyfriend will be a daily reality check.”
“I know, I’m a catch.”
Jon didn’t say anything, and I felt a flicker of uncertainty creeping in.
“Am I?” I asked quietly. “A catch? Or do you secretly think I’m a nuisance?”
“Oh, it’s not a secret I think you’re a nuisance,” Jon said, squeezing my thigh. His hand felt warm and reassuring against my bare skin. “But you’re my nuisance. And definitely a catch.”
“Shut up,” I said, feeling ridiculously happy.
We drove in silence for a minute, the California sun spilling gold over the road ahead. I couldn’t believe we were almost at the end of our trip. I should buy Mom a thank-you gift for insisting Jon needed to come too.
“Imagine Jack’s face when he realizes we’re together.”
“I’d rather not,” Jon said dryly.
“Do you think he’ll be surprised?”
Jon threw me a look. “I don’t think anyone will be surprised, Coop.”
The meaning behind that—the inevitability of us—made me even happier.
We pulled over to get some snacks.
I stopped to marvel at all the secondary gender products I’d never noticed before.
There were scent blockers and medical patches that delivered a small dose of synthetic Alpha pheromones, stacked neatly like any other over-the-counter product.
I shuddered. The idea of getting a dose of Alpha pheromones that weren’t Jon’s felt scary and all kinds of wrong.
I looked around, searching for him. I was suddenly anxious to inhale his scent.
I needed his pheromones. He was already walking toward me, as if pulled by some invisible tether, when I felt a sharp jolt of pain.
A man pushed into my side with his cart.
Deliberately. The metal clipped the bare skin on my stomach.
“You’re an abomination,” he snarled, his eyes flicking between me and the shelf of Omega products.
I froze. This was what Mom had warned me about. It wasn’t like I was a stranger to bigots, I’d heard it all over the years, but this was the first time someone had insulted me—no, assaulted me—because I was an Omega. But before I could even open my mouth, I heard a low, primal sound. A growl.
Jon stepped between the man and me. He looked, if possible, even taller. Broader. So menacing that the man with the cart swallowed nervously. Jon grabbed him. Twisting his wrist, he forced the arm downward until the man dropped down with a cry.
“Did you have something to say?” Jon asked.
Tears of pain pooled in the man’s eyes when he shook his head.
Jon looked at him with disgust. “Didn’t think so.”
The man scrambled off, holding his wrist, as Jon took my hand in his and pulled me closer. The gentleness of his touch was such a stark contrast to what had just happened that I could only stare at him, completely and utterly in awe.
Carefully, he checked the spot where the cart had scraped me.
“I’m okay,” I whispered. “But Jon, that was . . . that was a full-on Alpha moment!”
“Keep your voice down. We don’t need any more attention right now.”
“But it was amazing,” I said, grinning. “I loved it! You scared him so good.” I was practically bouncing on my heels.
“That’s not something you should be excited about.”
“I disagree,” I said. “I think this opens up a lot of opportunities for me.”
“Coop.”
“If anyone annoys me, I’ll just be like, ‘My Alpha will deal with you.’”
Jon shook his head. In my excitement, I chose to ignore the warning look he gave me.
“I’m not fighting people because you’re bored. And lower your voice,” he added, looking around the store like some risk-assessing, hot, super Alpha. I wanted him to claim me. Right now. Show the world I belonged to him. He would make it so good.
“Don’t tell me what to do!” I said louder, lifting my chin in provocation. “I don’t care if people know I’m an Ome—”
“Stop.”
My spine went rigid.
Jon didn’t shout. He didn’t even raise his voice.
But the word hit me with the force of an actual weight.
I opened my mouth to deliver a witty retort, to tell him he wasn’t the boss of my vocal cords, but the words died in my throat.
I could have said them. I could feel the shape of the syllables, ready on my tongue, but saying them felt wrong, like trying to swim against a riptide.
A wave of warmth washed over me when I stayed quiet.
It wasn’t claiming—it was dominance. It should have terrified me, but it just made me want him more. Jon was showing me exactly who was in control, and it wasn’t me. My pulse, which had been racing with excited adrenaline, slowed into an even rhythm.
“Let’s go.”
The quiet command lifted the hairs on my arms. It was as strange as my decision not to talk—I wanted to follow him.
I didn’t roll my eyes or drag my feet. I didn’t ask about the groceries we left behind.
I just let him take my hand and guide me toward the exit, my mind slipping into a terrifying, beautiful urge to be good for him.
We made it all the way to the car before my attitude finally fought its way back to the surface, gasping for air.
“What the hell?” I snapped.
Momentarily, Jon looked almost guilty. “You were risking your safety.”
I gestured wildly at my own chest. “I didn’t want to speak. I wanted to shut up. Why?”
Jon rubbed the back of his neck. “We’ve talked about this. You’re sensitive to my authority.”
“Authority?” I scoffed, though my face was burning and not just because of indignation. “I have zero respect for authority!”
Jon lifted his brow.
“That’s different!” I said hotly, blushing. “But just now, when you said stop, I felt as though if I said another word, I’d disappoint you. And my brain decided that was the worst thing that could possibly happen. So I chose to obey.”
“Yes, you chose to,” Jon said evenly. “I didn’t take that choice away. You wanted to obey.”
“Well, you probably used some weird Alpha magic!” I crossed my arms. “Not cool.”
“I know,” he murmured, stepping closer until the scent of him wrapped around me again, soothing me.
“But there’s no such thing as Alpha magic.
I don’t actually have that kind of power over you.
But the way we’re wired, how our pheromones work, it kind of happens naturally.
You’re coming out of your heat, and that makes you even more sensitive. ”
We both looked at the back seat where I had piled all his clothes with the lilac blanket and the monkey.
The parking lot suddenly felt too open and exposed in the sunlight. I was desperate for Jon. I was just about to suggest I suck him off in the car, when the air tensed.
The cart guy was marching toward us, still cradling his wrist, but he wasn’t alone. Three emotional support assholes walked with him, each the size of a small mountain.
“Seriously?” I muttered. “He brought backup? That’s so embarrassing for him.”
“Get in the car,” Jon said quietly.
“No way,” I insisted. “And don’t you dare mute me again.”
“I didn’t mute you,” he said, rubbing his jaw. “Just get in the car and let me deal with them.”
“No.”
There was no amusement on his face when he looked at me. “If you don’t get in the car, be ready for consequences later.”
My lips parted. I really, really wanted those consequences. To secure them, I stepped in front of Jon, earning a frustrated curse.
He was going to be so mad at me. I could hardly wait.
“That him?” one of them asked, pointing at Jon. He cracked his neck and knuckles, looking like a crude cartoon character.
“Yeah,” Cart Guy said, nodding. “A pair of freaks,” he sneered.
“You’re a freak!” I told him, taking a step forward. “I bet you have a really small dick!”
Jon’s hand closed around my wrist, his touch tender but firm.
“Enough,” he said under his breath.
I leaned closer.
“Why?” I whispered. “You’re already going to punish me. I might as well enjoy the journey.”
“Control your brat,” Knuckle-Cracker spat, stepping forward. Jon pushed me behind him, fury radiating off him. He looked like a storm about to break. I realized too late I had made things harder for him by running my mouth and not getting into the car. What if he got hurt? It would be my fault.
“I suggest you all crawl back to whatever dark hole you came from,” he said. “Before I actually get mad.”
The men looked at each other and chuckled.
“Are you practicing some kind of freak math, kid?” Knuckle-Cracker sneered. “Seems to me there are four of us and—” He gave me a derisive look. “One and a half of you.”
The other three men howled with laughter. I bristled.
Jon kept his hand on my arm. “Stay back.”
“Don’t bother,” the biggest of them said. “It’s been a while since we beat a little Omega freak like that into the ground. We might as well start with him.”
I didn’t have time to feel scared by his threat. I barely even tracked what happened. One second he was talking, the next Jon’s fist had connected with his mouth and his knee had found its way into the man’s crotch.
“You really shouldn’t have said that.”
Knuckle-Cracker lunged at him next, but before I’d blinked, he staggered back, blood gushing from his nose.
Dumbfounded, I just stood there and watched as Jon twisted Cart Guy’s injured wrist until a sickening crunch and a scream of pain told me that this time, he broke it.
There was one guy left but he had stepped back, raising his hands in a placating gesture.
“Done?” Jon asked, his voice lethally quiet, as he stood there and looked around. There wasn’t a scratch on him, except on his knuckles. I was going to kiss them better.
Apparently, the men were done, because they escaped, moaning in pain.
I turned toward Jon. “Are you all right?”
Jon flexed his hand once, like he was shaking it out. “Yeah.”
Relieved, I wrapped my arms around him and rubbed my face all over his chest.
“That was so hot,” I whispered.
“Don’t.”
“No, I’m serious,” I insisted, pulling away. “The whole calm thing? The way you took them down and protected me? I’m so impressed!”
“You shouldn’t be impressed by violence.”
“But I am. Extremely so,” I said, bouncing on my heels. “I’m also very much turned on.”
I rose to my toes to kiss him. I wanted to do so much more than that. I wanted to do all kinds of dirty, filthy, wonderful things to show my appreciation.
“Get in the car,” he said, sounding tired. This time I obeyed without hesitation.
“Okay,” I said once we were both seated. “Where did you learn to fight like that?”
His jaw flexed. “Let’s just go.”
“Jon.”
“Streets. Juvie. Whenever it was necessary.”
My throat tightened. The look on his face had turned distant. Teenage Jon forced to fight wasn’t hot. It was wrong.
“Hey,” I said, reaching out to caress his cheek. “You’re not there anymore.”
His eyes flicked to mine, stormy and serious.
“But it’ll never go away,” he said. “Not completely.” His throat worked. “When they threatened you, fuck . . . I could’ve killed them. Easily. I know it’s wrong.”
“Is it, though? They threatened your Omega. To be honest, I don’t want that part of you to go away.”
He frowned. “What?”
“You’ve always protected me, right from the beginning.” I shrugged. “Maybe it’s messed up, but I like it. I like knowing you’re able to fight like that and keep me safe.”
“I’m always going to keep you safe.”
“I know,” I replied, giving him a flirty smile. “It’s such a turn-on.”
“You’re unbelievable.”
“What happened to me being a catch?”
“Nah. You’re my nuisance.” His earlier warning hung above us, and the dark look he gave me made me shiver. “And you’re about to discover what happens when you test me.”
Heat climbed up my neck.
“You wanted consequences, brat?” His voice dropped low. “Congratulations. You’ve earned them.”