Chapter 10
Winny
Gillian's hands drift up to rest on my shoulders, not leaning on me, just resting there like she can't help touching me.
Which is good cause catching her was a reflex, but my shoulder is screaming at me, my hand on her hip is all over pins and needles that will only get worse if I move it just now. I need a minute to collect myself.
Even if I didn't need a pause to breathe through the pain, I don't want to step away from her.
Gillian's eyes are even more captivating in person.
She's looking up at me with an innocent trust that sends my thoughts back to last night and how it felt to watch her act on my every whim.
It sends a thrill down my spine and warm tendrils of longing unfurl low in my belly.
I'm tempted to invite her home right now.
Except home is technically still the messy room in my moms' condo that I share with Briony. I mean. I have the key to the vacant side of Clara's duplex now, but I'm hardly going to invite Gillian over for a tour of unfurnished empty rooms.
My raven insists on feathering our nest, at least enough to make it functional, before showing it off to my potential mate.
I get the distinct mental image of her pecking me for even considering skimping on wooing Gillian.
If she's worth mating with, then she's worth taking some time. Mate. The word catches in my craw.
I’m being awkward, just staring at her, and yet, she's still standing there watching me with those wide wonderful eyes.
Somehow begging without words for me to tuck her under my wings and keep her close.
I clench my fingers, tapping them softly against her flanks to test how my shoulder responds to the smaller movement before trying anything more.
Gillian sways toward me, melting against my chest, lashes fluttering against her cheeks as she tips her face toward me.
Feathers. She says she wants me to take the lead, but I've never seen a clearer demand for a kiss. She’s so soft in my arms, I want to feel her body pliant against mine as we kiss.
I close the distance, claiming her mouth. Her lips part on a moan and I deepen the kiss. Our tongues find a rhythm. Gillian whimpers, clinging to me harder as I get more forceful with lips and tongue and the way I'm holding her close.
I shift my stance to ease her away from my bad side, which has the added benefit of realigning our bodies so a slight shift of my weight presses my thigh between her legs.
Gillian's hips buck toward me the slightest bit, a reflex she can't control. It’s heady to think I turn her on so much she's lost track of where we are and I'm the only thing on her mind. She makes me feel invincible.
I groan because I really do not want to stop this. I want to keep kissing her until I can't remember where I end and she starts. But I doubt she wants to hump my leg in front of a diner full of shifters who can smell how turned on we both are.
I let go of Gillian's hips and loop my good arm around her back to hold her still as I break off the lingering kiss that's bordering on becoming a full make-out session with a final hard peck on her lips that's more teeth than tongue.
The slight sting of my teeth pressing into my own lip reminds me that we haven't actually talked about biting.
People associate it with wolves, but sometimes biting can feel like a really intense form of preening. I want to bite her.
Gazing down into her face and seeing that same moonstruck longing I'm feeling mirrored back at me has me reconsidering whether we really need to stop at all.
I want...
"Ahem." Harvey clears his throat behind me and I turn sheepishly to face the silver-haired wolf shifter. "Sorry to interrupt, are you planning on coming inside?"
Gillian's eyes bulge at the question even as my mouth acts without my brain's permission. "Since I don't exactly have fancy alpha-girl condoms on me, I wasn't planning on it, no," I drawl.
"Winifred!" Gillian looks stunned as she cups her hands over her mouth at my audacity.
"Uh huh." Harvey's eyes sparkle and he chokes back a laugh as he looks between the two of us with his arms crossed. He takes a deep breath in through his mouth and exhales sharply with a cough. "Right. Except you're an omega, aren't you Winifred?"
"Uh, yeah? Technically. Depends why you're asking?
" I glance sidelong at Gillian as it occurs to me that this is something we should probably discuss.
Okay, from the way she's eyeing me, like she might just burst with questions, that's a definitely. If Harvey interrupting wasn’t enough to cool my ardor, that does it. It’s just as well that my medical weirdness is coming up again.
She's going to notice the physical parts of this when we fuck.
When. Not if. Even if that when isn't today.
"I'm not asking." Harvey shakes his head and waves his hands like he's warding off a ghost. "None of my business.
What I'm trying to say, apparently badly, is that I was just coming to put up a sign to use the back entry and that anyone susceptible to heat pheromones should avoid the vestibule here until I run the air purifier a few times.
We had a little incident with a skunk shifter learning why it's bad practice to spray when they're in heat. "
"Oh?" I ask.
Harvey grimaces. "Yeah. Smells foul to alphas and gives other omegas a bit of a contact high.
A few minutes of fresh air and the effects wear right off.
You're not the only two who had a sudden case of feeling amorous, but we got everyone inside taken care of, and the omega in question got home safe to ride out the heat. "
"That's good," Gillian says.
"Yep. So, are you two planning to come in for a meal? Because if you're still looking to satisfy a different type of hunger you're going to need to take it someplace else." He cuts his eyes toward the diner full of shifters of all ages.
Oops. Yeah. Kissing is one thing, but our little makeout session was getting perilously close to crossing some lines there.
Even if there is a mostly benign explanation for the sudden rush of pheromones, it’s strange to wonder how much of my response was truly my own.
It's been ages since I felt the rush of a heat.
I didn't think I missed it. Turns out, I kind of do.
I sigh as I scan the room for any sign we took things far enough to make anyone uncomfortable, but it seems like we're good. Most of the patrons are ignoring us despite our overzealous display of affection.
I catch sight of familiar faces among the rowdiest group of shifters clustered around the vintage pinball machines in the back.
None of them are part of our corvid flock, but Briony’s work bestie, Rose, is flirting outrageously with them and when they notice me looking they nod a greeting.
Ugh, Briony is going to know about my date before we even get a table.
I knew that was a probable outcome of having our date here, it’s just another thing to know for sure that my crush is going to be public knowledge.
"Winny?" Gillian taps my shoulder. “Is something wrong?”
"Not at all. I just see my sister’s bestie itching to text her a play-by-play. Pretty sure the entire town is going to know we're courting after that kiss. You still okay with that?" I check. She said she was when we agreed to meet here, but reality can hit differently sometimes.
I’m not sure what I can do about it if she’s not at this point.
Even if we hadn’t announced our intentions with that scorching hot kiss, the fact that I am planning on going home with my date will give the story wings, but the feather's already plucked on keeping this to myself. But I’d figure out something to put the cat back in the bottle if she needed me to, somehow.
"It’s fine. I know all about how you birds gossip," Gillian winks at me. "And we all know it's not just the birds eager to live vicariously through other people's love lives, yeah?"
"Yeah," I agree, relief washes over me like a wave. We’re good. Gillian said her sister is planning to be out late tonight and we already agreed to take advantage of the privacy. Nothing has changed. Nothing but my electric awareness of her at my side. I’m tempted to suggest heading to her place now, skip giving more grist to the gossip mill, but I promised her pie, darn it.
Let the flock talk, hell let everyone talk.
Gillian is worth my rave teasing me about hunting for a mate outside the flock.
It will be the friendly type of teasing.
That's their way of showing they care. I can already hear their faux shock over how special Gillian must be to melt my frozen heart and I don't even care. She is special.
“So, you’re good with everyone knowing too?” Gillian flushes, her eyes tinge a charming rose as she bites her lip.
“Yep. I wouldn’t have invited you here if I was trying to hide you, treasure. I’m proud to be seen with you.” I cup her cheek in my palm, stroking my thumb over the pretty tracery of purple that swirls just under her skin.
Her chromatophores look like magic up close, I can’t get enough of her.
The attraction thrumming between us feels magnetic.
And I hate the insidious whisper in the back of my head wondering if that’s really how I feel or if it’s the pheromone cloud?
I turn to Harvey with a scowl, he looks like he’s trying damn hard not to react to my cheesy lines.
“This pheromone fog thing." I gesture vaguely toward the vestibule and my face. "How long do the effects last?"
"Not long, a few minutes for most people, an hour tops. I've got scent blockers in the break room if you need them. Most of the staff took one to be on the safe side," Harvey offers.