Epilogue
JON, six months later
My latest game had gone viral. In theory, it was great. In practice, it was still great, but my inbox was flooded with offers from studios I’d only ever dreamed about. I was busier than I’d ever been. So naturally, Cooper insisted on going out tonight.
“I want to go,” he said from the doorway, like we hadn’t already had this conversation three times.
I didn’t look up from my laptop. “No.”
He padded closer. “You told me yesterday we’d do something fun today.”
I paused my typing, feeling a sharp pang of guilt. Cooper was an extrovert who loved parties and being surrounded by people.
“I know, baby,” I said, pulling him close enough so I could kiss the pout on his lips. “But something urgent came up. Anyway, your heat is coming. You should rest.”
He crossed his arms. “According to you, I’m always in pre-heat.”
“You built a nest out of my dirty clothes yesterday,” I pointed out.
He didn’t miss a beat. “I was drawing your attention to the laundry piling up.”
“You made me go to the corner store to buy Raisinets.”
“I’m sorry I inconvenienced you.”
Fighting a smile, I leaned back in my chair. “You know you never inconvenience me, so you can drop that act.”
“I’m twenty,” he went on, like I hadn’t spoken. “Well, almost. And I want to go out.”
“Not tonight, Coop.”
“But I want to go,” he repeated stubbornly.
I forced myself to stay calm. “I need to reply to these emails. This matters, Coop. For both of us.”
Instead of backing off, he leaned over my shoulder, letting his peachy pre-heat scent wash over me.
“You’ve been staring at that screen for hours,” he murmured, letting his hair tickle my neck. His breath was a hot tease against my cheek. “Do you even know I’m here?” He pressed a soft, lingering kiss to the nape of my neck, then slipped his hands under my T-shirt.
“Trust me, I’m aware,” I rasped, my jaw tightening as he tugged my chest hair and let his thumb graze my nipples.
“Am I distracting you?” he asked, giving me a wide-eyed look. “Is touching you not allowed anymore, Alpha?”
“I’m not in the mood for your games,” I said, my voice dropping into a warning. God, I wanted nothing more than to haul him onto the desk and give him what he was craving. But there were a dozen emails demanding decisions.
“Fine. Maybe I’ll go without you,” he said, lifting his chin.
I growled. “You won’t.”
We held each other’s gaze until I softened. I always did.
“Movie night,” I said, pressing a kiss on his forehead, trying to make his scowl disappear. “We can even watch Totoro again.” It was his favorite movie. Well, mine too, but I hadn’t admitted that to him.
“Wow, watching Totoro. That’s very generous of you,” he said, voice dripping with sarcasm.
“I’m glad you see it that way.”
He studied me for a beat before offering me a surprisingly sweet smile. Turning away, he grabbed his phone.
“Movie night it is,” he said breezily. “Popcorn. Blankets. Domestic fucking bliss.”
“Exactly.”
He turned to give me an even sweeter smile. “Can’t wait.”
A warning prickled at the back of my neck. I ignored it. I never fucking learned.
An hour later, I stepped into the shower, letting the hot water hit my tense shoulders.
I needed ten minutes. That was all. Just ten minutes to think without interruptions, figure out my next move .
. . and then I’d attend to Cooper. Because I had been neglecting him.
He thrived on my attention, and I hadn’t given him nearly enough.
Halfway through my shower, I heard it—the front door slamming shut. I went still.
Well. Shit.
* * *
Cooper was standing in the kitchen, a red cup dangling from his fingers, looking like innocence personified. He was dressed in low-riding sweatpants, a tight black top that left his midriff bare, and—
Fuck no.
My jaw dropped. Pink lace peeked above the waistband of his pants. Pink. Fucking. Lace.
He tilted his head, laughing a little too easily at whatever the idiot in the varsity jacket was saying, giving him just enough to make him feel like the center of the universe. He’d noticed me the second I walked in, but he was ignoring me. Completely.
I leaned against the wall, arms crossed, my ball cap pulled low over my damp hair. My jaw tightened every time the guy stepped a little closer. The bastard was lucky I wasn’t in rut. I still wanted to drag his sorry ass outside just for looking at Cooper like that.
Cooper flashed him a bright smile, and the guy reached out and touched his forearm.
I growled.
Cooper didn’t pull away, but I didn’t care about that—I knew what the brat was after.
And he was going to get it later. What I was more interested in was asking that guy who the hell he thought he was.
I crossed the room in a few strides, stepping straight into the stranger’s space.
Before he even registered my presence, I slammed my hand onto the counter next to his elbow and let my scent flare—a massive wave of territorial Alpha.
I didn’t usually do stupid Alpha shit like that, but I was too pissed off to care.
The guy went completely pale.
I slid my other hand around Cooper’s waist from behind and dragged him backward until his spine was flush against my chest.
“Oh, hi, Jon!” Cooper’s voice was high and a little breathless, his sweet pre-heat scent spiking eagerly. “I thought you were too busy to come.”
I didn’t look at him. I was fixated on the jackass who’d touched my Omega. A low, vibrating growl rolled through my ribs.
“Beckett?” he stammered. He looked like he was about to throw up. “Shit. Man, I didn’t—I swear, I didn’t know he was yours.”
“Excuse me,” Cooper said unhelpfully. “I’m my own person.”
Ignoring him—for now—I glared at the guy. “You have three seconds to get the fuck out of my sight. Three. Two . . .”
He didn’t wait for one. He scrambled backward so fast he knocked over a chair and fled the kitchen as his life depended on it.
A pleased flush had crept into Cooper’s cheeks.
He looked at me in delight, like I’d just performed for him.
I spun him around, pinning his lower back against the edge of the counter.
My gaze dropped to his bare midriff. Hooking my fingers into the waistband of his sweatpants, I tugged them down just enough to expose the full stretch of that pink lace.
He lifted his chin.
“Caveman much?” He tried for a smirk, though it was starting to dawn on him I wasn’t particularly amused. He took a shaky sip from his cup—water, I noted with a flash of relief.
“We’re leaving,” I said through gritted teeth, leaning down until my mouth was a fraction of an inch from his scent gland.
“Hmm.” He leaned his head back against my shoulder, intentionally baring his neck while testing the length of his leash. “Not sure I want to. The party’s just getting started.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose. I’d been in the middle of a shower, trying to think of my next move because it affected Cooper too.
It affected our whole fucking future. How comfortably we could live, how much he’d need in student loans, and if we could rent a bigger house.
I was not in the mood for arguing with my boyfriend, who was standing in a stranger’s kitchen wearing pink lace and hijacking my every thought.
“You have two options,” I said evenly. “You follow me, or I carry you to the car.”
His lips parted in a mix of shock and wicked excitement, and his thighs rubbed against mine. “You wouldn’t dare.”
“Try me, brat. Done it before, haven’t I?”
“Sure, use your size against me, why don’t you?” he snapped, squirming against me. “Or I have a better idea—just sprinkle some Alpha magic in the air and boss me around. It would suit your psychotic behavior.”
I leaned in, my teeth grazing the sensitive skin on his neck. “Don’t fucking tempt me.”
We stared at each other until he finally set his cup down, rolling his eyes. “God forbid I have some fun.”
He dragged his feet the entire way out, deliberately stopping to chat with every half-familiar face just to see my knuckles turn white.
We didn’t speak on the drive home.
The second the front door shut behind us, I turned and pinned him against it.
“You think sneaking out while I was in the shower was clever?” I rasped. He tipped his head back, baring his neck with a whimper. He smelled heavenly—overstimulated and so needy. He was already desperate for me. “Letting some random bastard touch what’s mine?”
“I got angry,” he whispered, his bravado starting to crack.
“Yeah,” I said. “I noticed.” I wrapped my arms around him, pulling him tight against my chest. “I’m sorry I was neglecting you,” I muttered into his hair. “But lying to me? Sneaking out in pre-heat?”
“I’m sorry,” he mumbled. “But I needed to know.”
“Know what?”
“If I’m more important.” The uncertainty in his voice felt like a slap.
“More important than what?” I asked, although I already knew.
“Your computer,” he whispered.
Fuck.
“Bedroom,” I said. I sat on the edge of the bed and pulled him into my lap.
He climbed up without hesitation—his legs wrapping around my waist. He buried his face in my neck, his whole body trembling as he let out a long, shuddering breath.
I tipped his chin up, forcing him to look at me.
The genuine hurt in his demeanor made me angry at myself.
“You’re the most important thing in my whole life,” I said.
He blinked rapidly. “It hasn’t felt like that.”
Something in my chest twisted.
“I know,” I said. “I’m fixing it. But you don’t get to lie to me. No sneaking out, Coop. Anyway, what the fuck is this?” My fingers brushed the lace.
He perked up instantly. “What do you mean?”
“You look so fucking pretty,” I muttered.
His mouth curved. “I wanted your attention.”
“You have it now.”
He looked at me from under his lashes. “I’m sorry I snuck out.” Kissing me, he rolled his hips slowly, back and forth, until I groaned. “I’m sorry I put myself in danger,” he whispered, giving me a sly look.
“I see what you’re doing.”