Chapter 31
THIRTY-ONE
QUEBEC, QUEBEC, CANADA
Remi: meet me in our green room when you’re done?
Josie: otw
My body feels every bit as wound tight as it did the day before, and the day before that.
Ever since my time with Josie in Toronto, my brain has been going a mile a minute. I’m starting to realize why Cyrus started stealing Josie’s clothes, because my alpha is turning downright primal. He is on edge every second of the day and I no longer know how to calm him.
Just like me, my alpha is usually so reserved. I have the right instincts, but I’ve never been one to show or push out my dominance. But now, he is all teeth and has no shits to give.
He is bleeding for his omega, scratching himself up with the uncertainty of it all.
When I think about how complicated it’ll be going public with our relationship, he clashes with me, baring his teeth.
He feels hopeless, but I’m hoping that a moment alone with Josie will do the trick.
Maybe having her sole attention on him will tame him for the time being.
It’s been three hours since the girls’ set started. I guarantee they went into an encore or two as well, so it’s not surprising when Josie doesn’t show up until a little after midnight.
She’s changed from her performance outfit—which, by the way, is always the hottest thing I’ve ever seen—and is now rocking her favorite T-shirt and shorts, her combat boots heavy on the carpet flooring.
She locks the door quietly before she runs over and jumps on me where I’m waiting on the couch.
“I can’t believe you’re still here,” she says, her grin wide.
“I needed to see you,” I tell her, my hands moving down her back.
“Where are the others?”
“Flo had a headache and Lennon was exhausted, so they all went back to the hotel.” I caress my fingers down her spine, loving the texture of her skin. “How was it out there?”
“It was good, as always. The Canadian crowds are really something else.” Her hands move behind my ears and into my hair as she plays with the strands, and I let out a soft groan. “Why did you wait for me?”
“I just… really needed to see you,” I say, suddenly nervous. “We’re always encouraging you to be an advocate for yourself and what your omega needs, but I think I’ve been betraying myself in that way. My alpha, he is… he’s intense right now. So, I needed to see you.”
Understanding dawns on her features. “I’m glad you stayed then. And I’m glad I saw your text, sometimes I forget to check them after a show.”
“It’s okay,” I say, because none of that matters. She’s here in my arms, and everything is much better now. “He’s already feeling much calmer. Which is my natural state, of course.”
“Hm, I have noticed that your scent has been a lot more potent lately,” she says with a slight purr.
“Do you like that, Omega?” I ask. “Do you like that your presence turns me inside out? Sends my hormones out of whack?”
She tries to stifle a giggle but fails. “I like it too much, I’m afraid.”
I pull her to me, my need for us to be closer overriding everything else. Her core slides over me, and she moans into my kiss, the sound heading straight to my dick as it hardens beneath her movements.
With each second entangled with her, my chest feels a little bit lighter, and my limbs start to relax. I know she likes when I’m rough, but I am holding onto a rut by the skin of my teeth, and without Cyrus’s guidance, I am not going to take any chances with my sweet omega.
It feels like forever before we come up for air. My hands grip the silky strands of her hair, and the lulling noise that escapes her lips makes my hard cock twitch.
“Josie…” I start, and the feeling inside me overrides everything, every bit of logic and rationality that I normally hold in such high regard. It feels like it’s going to burst right out of me, my body unable to hold all of it inside anymore.
She looks at me intently, her eyes glossy and her lips red from our kiss. Her hands run down the sides of my neck as she watches me. “What’s going on, Remi? Are you okay?” she asks. “You’re being kind of intense right now.”
That earns her a chuffed laugh because it’s true. I’m normally the calm one, the tame one. I’m sure I look anything but tame right now as I struggle to figure out what to say.
“I’ve always been the easy one to get along with,” I tell her, emotion clawing behind my eyes. “But it’s made me boring to others. Tabloids only like to talk about my potential prospects. They focus on my looks, because I don’t give them anything to work with when it comes to my personality.”
“But you see me, Josie. I don’t have to be flashy, or excitable, or dazzling. I can just be myself, and that is the greatest gift. I’ve never thought of it before, how much I wanted to be cared for by someone who could see all of me, even the parts that might seem boring.”
She nods, like she’s agreeing with me, like she does see who I am. “Remi.”
“I love you, Josie Rosewood. I love you so much, and I can’t breathe some days from the weight of it.
I love your softness, and your loyalty, and how much you care about everyone around you.
I love the little things you do to show how much you listen, and I love how vital you are to our pack.
Before, we were good, but now, we are a unit.
” I take a deep breath. “I know it may be early, and we’re still figuring things out, but I needed to get it out of my body before it suffocated me. I love you.”
Josie gasps, the sound soft and beautiful, as her smile widens.
“I love you too, Remington Ainsworth.” All the pent-up anguish seems to escape my body and I hold her closer.
“I love your calm, and your wit. I love your mindfulness and your perceptiveness and your hair.” She giggles as her fingers furrow deeper into my long locks.
“And I love when your intensity is set on me.”
A slight growl comes up from my alpha, knowing that she is complimenting him just as much as she is me. A wet laugh escapes me, the emotions overtaking me. I pull her into my body, my face finding a home in the crook of her shoulder.
“I’m so happy you came into my life,” I say against her skin, causing a shiver to roll down her spine.
Josie holds on tighter, her scent the brightest I have ever scented it. It’s not just one flute of champagne—it’s an entire goddamn tray, and the whole thing has been poured directly over my head.
Happily so.
She pulls back, her smile huge and cheeks stained with happy tears. I wipe them away, one by one, and then kiss her head.
“Let’s go out to brunch tomorrow. We only have a few days left in Canada, let’s take advantage of it.”
She gives me an excited grin. “Chocolate croissants and Canadian bacon?”
“Whatever you want, it’s yours, Omega.”