19. Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Eighteen
Trick
Riley fidgets restlessly in his seat, like he always does when we fly.
The way he squirms around like he’s trying to get comfortable, only stopping occasionally to tap one of his feet on the floor, is incredibly distracting.
The nervous energy he’s giving off is like a cloud of anxiety that’s only getting thicker as it spreads through the cabin.
I’m twitchy already, and that’s just from being near him.
He’s never admitted he doesn’t like flying, but he doesn’t need to. It’s obvious every single time we’re forced to travel without the tour bus.
Thankfully, these little trips are few and far between.
He’s already dressed for the beach, in khaki shorts, a loose tank top and a pair of sliders.
All he needs is a towel and a pair of sunglasses, and he’s ready to lay down on a lounger.
His grumpy mood is at odds with his readiness to be on holiday, but it’s always the same with Riley.
“Since when do we fly reporters out to resorts?” Riley grumbles, white knuckling the leather handle of his seat.
He’s belted in, which is the first thing he did when he sat down, as if to keep himself from immediately getting back up and running off the jet.
“This isn’t a taxi service. We don’t let randos on our jet. ”
“Randos?” I ask, as I get back into my seat across from his.
“Random weirdos,” he mutters, looking at the closed window nearest to him.
“Oh, right. It must have been part of the deal he cut with our sponsor.”
He pulls a face at that answer.
I don’t have another to give him, so I shrug.
“We should leave without her.”
“I think if we do that, we’re flaking on the deal.”
“So?” he asks, frowning hard at me.
“So, if we flake on the deal, we get a week off instead of four, and you know Xane will book double the promo shit he already had lined up for us if we do that. It’s worth the wait. Trust me.”
He nods in that jerky kind of way he only ever does when he’s in this same seat.
After a few silent seconds of staring at the closed window blind, he looks back at me, with a hint of threat in his dark eyes. “Don’t let her talk to me. Not while we’re … stuck in this fucking tin can death trap.”
Of course. He doesn’t want a stranger to know he’s afraid to fly.
“She won’t talk to you,” I promise, knowing once we start our usual routine that’ll be easy.
He makes an irritable sound that I read as a growl of approval.
I lean back in my seat, wondering if I’ll regret wearing long pants and a dark dress shirt once we get to the resort.
It’s not like I plan on sitting outside in the sun, so I didn’t bother packing the kind of clothes I might need for that.
My usual look is more reserved, and nothing else has ever suited me, pun unavoidable.
I’m not wearing a hat, because the guys would think I was crazy, but I feel a little weird without something covering my head, and not just because my dark roots are getting a little long.
The red hair was our image consultant’s idea, I’ll admit, but I don’t hate how it looks.
It’s the upkeep I’m not fond of. When we’re touring so much it’s hard to slot in a couple hours to go to a salon.
And if I’m being honest, I hate the process.
Nothing makes my soul want to leave my body faster than having to make small talk with a chatty stylist. If I could get it done while I was sleeping, I’d be much happier to keep it up.
Too bad that’s not an option.
Even at Golden Sands, where everything is super luxurious, the stylists are still the same way they are everywhere else. I figured that out a few years back, but it still seems better to get my hair done out there, where there are a lot less people around in general.
It’s a much more chilled-out, easy-going atmosphere, and we could all use those vibes.
Music might be my calling, but that doesn’t mean I want a guitar welded to my body.
I’ve been running on close to empty for too long.
It’s almost made me quit, more than once.
Kian talked me out of that, promising this vacation would be worth the wait.
I hope he’s right. A month isn’t nothing. It might even be enough for a reset.
I know it’s not just me. We all need to rest. It’s been bad for a while.
Riley growls again, and I blow out a breath.
“It’s almost time,” I assure him, hoping she’s not going to be late.
I brush imaginary lint off my shirt, wishing I had a hat with me.
Reaching up to run a hand through my hair, I confirm it’s much longer than it should be.
The resort’s stylist is gonna have to take off four or five inches to get it back into an actual style.
I should have at least tried to make myself get it cut before now.
But I guess if my unkempt appearance is all the reporter can find to write about, there’s nothing we need to worry over.
After a few seconds, I unbutton the cuffs of my shirt sleeves and start rolling them up.
That’s better. Probably.
I get up from my seat, and Riley frowns.
“I think I can hear a car,” I explain, as I move toward the open door.
As much as I’d prefer to sneak a peek out of one of the windows, all the blinds are shut for Riley’s comfort. So, I take a few steps down the aisle and peer out through the open hatch.
Like I thought, the limo we hired is out there, just rolling to a stop on the tarmac nearby.
I watch curiously as the driver gets out and opens the back door.
“So?” Riley grumbles.
“Huh?” I murmur.
“Is she here?” he snaps.
I open my mouth to answer him, but my breath catches as my gaze fixes on the woman stepping out of the backseat in a skirt-suit, golden-blonde hair pinned back from her face.
She moves with the grace and confidence of a dancer.
It’s hard to make out her features from this distance, but it really doesn’t seem to matter.
One look and my heart is pounding hard, like it’s trying to burst out of my ribcage.
I don’t need to see more to know I want her.
Shock floods my system as I step back from the hatch, mumbling, “she’s here.”
The closest I’ve ever been to feeling something like this was the first time I held a guitar.
I knew in that moment that my life was about to change, and this …
This feels so much more significant.
Huh.
It’s so strange. I didn’t think I could love anything more than I love music.
“She’s here?” Kian enthuses, darting out of the cockpit to take my place in front of the door.
“Ughk!” Riley protests, leaning back in his seat and closing his eyes. “Wake me up when we get there.”
I move back to my seat quickly, stumbling over my own feet while I try to recover from the weird feelings that are still sparking inside me.
“Watch where you’re going,” Riley mutters, looking at me through his eyelashes as I slink into my seat, trying to pretend I didn’t almost fall flat on my face in the aisle.
My heart is still racing as I wait for the moment to pass.
It doesn’t. My body’s still acting like I’m holding my first guitar, marvelling over it.
She’s an Omega, she’s got to be.
That name. Sapphire.
It’s too special not to be the name of an Omega.
I’ve heard how Omegas can affect Alphas, and I’ve waited for that to happen every time I’ve ever met one. Not one of them made me feel like this.
No one ever has.
I hope to hell she’s a Beta.
Because if she’s an Omega, and this is how I feel at first sight, I’d hate to think how helpless I’d be around her perfume.
Watching as Kian steps out of the hatch with an excited smile on his lips, I take a deep breath to try and steady my racing heart.
I’m too warm, for no damn reason now, and I’m starting to have thoughts about the woman in the skirt suit, and I don’t know what the hell is happening to me.
My pants are getting uncomfortably tight at the crotch, and it takes me a few seconds to realize why.
I’m actually aroused, and there’s actually a reason behind that arousal.
It’s not a random boner, yet even knowing why it’s there, I don’t know how to make it go away.
Squirming in the seat, I ignore the urge to run my hand over the lump in my pants. It’s currently hidden from sight by the table between Riley and I, and hopefully, it’ll go away on its own.
Though I doubt that’ll happen while I’m all hot and bothered.
I seriously need to calm down.
It’s like I’ve been slipped a little blue pill, or something.
I mean, I wouldn’t know, but that’s what those are supposed to do.
It’s just not something any of my pack brothers would do to me.
Riley asked before if I wanted to try them, and I turned him down.
That means what’s happening right now is real.
I’m viscerally attracted to that woman.
I barely even caught a glimpse of her.
This is bad. It’s crazy.
And I can’t make it stop.