Chapter 16
Reid
“Iam so toast, Toast,” I say to my dog as I drop onto the sofa.
We just spent two hours at the dog park with Arabella and Suki, and all I want to do is call her to come over. Today was the third time we’ve taken the dogs to the park, and I’m no less enamoured than I was a week ago on our first date.
I woke up at the crack of dawn, mostly because my dog demands to be fed at the first sign of sunlight, but I was barely sleeping anyway. Thoughts of blonde hair and hazel eyes filling every second of my dreams. Awake or asleep, it seems all I can do is think about Arabella.
If I’m not with her, I’m plotting the next time I can be close to her. She also doesn’t seem bothered by all the texts and video chats, which is good, because I don’t think I can hold back even if I tried.
I mean, the fact that I’m not giving in to the urge and calling her right now is me holding myself back, if I’m honest. We already made plans to meet again tomorrow at the same time and place, but it’s not enough.
I want her in my arms right now. All of the time.
I’ve never been so grateful to be an alpha as I was when I laid eyes on Arabella.
I worked hard to play it cool so she wouldn’t get startled.
Some omegas can be very cautious around alphas.
The last thing I wanted to do was come on too strong and scare her away, but the moment her scent of honey and jasmine hit me, it was like it rewrote my brain chemistry.
I can’t help but close my eyes as I remember the warm honey taste of her on my tongue. Every time I kiss her and she makes those sweet noises…fuck. I know she’ll taste just as—
My thoughts are cut off by my dog licking my cheek. I sit up, sputtering to keep the dog’s breath away from my mouth.
“Oh, that was foul!” I grumble, but Toast is wildly unaffected and simply wiggles his butt at me. “You are somehow the bane of my life and my reason for living.” I snort, shaking my head.
The movement causes her scent, still clinging to my clothing, to fill the air around me.
I swallow hard, deciding that I’d better go take a cold shower before I do something that scares her away, like show up at her apartment uninvited. Maybe I’d beg her to come over and spend the rest of the week in my bed, or the whole year. The year would be wonderful too.
I’m in and out of the bathroom in around ten minutes, hair on end from the chill but otherwise unaffected. The cold shower did fuck all to calm my instincts. I sigh, slumping back down onto my sofa to mindlessly stare at a screen for a distraction.
I make it another hour before I text Arabella.
Reid: Is it too soon to beg you to come over?
Arabella: Maybe? I’m not sure. Please hold while I consult the internet on this matter.
Reid: …
Reid: What does the internet say? Is it bad? Break it to me easy, doc.
Arabella: Eh, the diagnosis is unclear. I have follow-up questions. By ‘too soon’, do you mean since we met or since we last saw each other?
Reid: Both?
Arabella: …Hmm. Nope. Says here our instincts are probably encouraging us to spend as much time together as possible…for reasons.
Reid: I’m calling. Hope you’re not freshly showered and still in your bathrobe this time. ;)
I’m smiling like a fool, heart beating hard in my chest as she answers.
“Sorry, not half-naked this time,” she teases.
We spend the next two hours on the phone, and by the time she hangs up so she can take Suki on a walk, I’m more desperate than before the call.
“Want to go for another walk, boy?” I ask Toast, who might not speak human but definitely knows what the word ‘walk’ means as he leaps off the couch and races to the door.
I don’t know who moves faster, me or my dog. He likes Suki and Arabella more than he likes just about everyone else. Relatable. Neither of us is used to the other being this excited to see someone else.
We’re out the door and down the street in minutes, both of us searching for any sign of the sweet omega and her cute pup. Her scent is in the air, so I know she must be close. Hints of leather, vanilla, and sandalwood linger as well, but only faintly.
I swear I’ve been smelling that scent more and more recently.
Maybe they’re Bell’s neighbour?
“There she is.” I pick up the pace, Toast fighting hard not to tug the lead and drag me behind him. He’s well trained, but even he can’t resist the pull of the omega and her dog, it seems.
We’re not far when she pauses, shoulders tensing up as she searches the area, looking for danger.
It damn near sets off my instincts. Predator stalking his prey.
Chase her, catch her, claim her, bite her, bond her!
“Whoa. Calm down there, Alpha,” I scold myself under my breath as I quietly keep approaching. My scent has reacted to my rogue thoughts, setting alarm bells off in Arabella as I get closer, who yelps as she spins around to face Toast and me.
“Reid!” she squeaks, slapping a palm to her chest as she watches me with wide, frightened eyes. “I felt someone’s eyes on me the moment I left my flat. You scared the hell out of me.”
“Sorry, Omega. We just wanted to see you again.”
“Not even pretending this was a coincidence?” She giggles, propping her hand on her hip.
One deep breath in is all it takes for her scent to consume me.
I can’t help but step into her, closing the space between our bodies. I’m powerless to resist pushing my fingers into her hair so I can tip her head back and claim her lips in a kiss.
A purr builds in my throat, quickly turning into a growl when she whimpers. Her body goes soft against me, and I wrap my other arm around her waist to keep her on her feet.
There’s no hiding the way my hardness strains against my jeans, pressing against her lower belly. I do manage to stop myself from grinding it against her, though.
She breaks the kiss with a gasp, eyes clouded with need as she pulls her bottom lip between her teeth. Her eyes roam over me heatedly, and it’s difficult not to preen under her gaze.
“You’re making it harder and harder to behave,” she whispers.
“You don’t have to behave for my sake,” I tease, winking at her. “There’s nothing you can do that will scare me away now, Arabella.”
“What if I’m too clingy?” she murmurs quietly, looking away.
I scoff, tipping her chin up so she meets my eyes once more. “I literally raced out of my house just for a chance to see you right now. If anyone is being clingy, it’s me.”
The hand holding Suki’s leash rests at my hip as she drags her free hand down my chest and toward my abs.
I have to flex to keep myself from pressing harder into her touch.
I’m so weak for this woman. I meant it when I said she could lead me off a cliff. I’m sure I would notice the fall, but with her in my arms, would I even care?
Okay. Technically, yes.
Mostly because she’d be in danger of getting hurt, though.
But fucking hell, when she looks at me like that, with her stunning eyes locked on me? I’m ready to follow her anywhere, as long as that's where she is too, but then her smile slips away.
“But what if there are things about me that you don’t like? Some omegas’ needs can be too much for people.” Her voice shakes, and I hate it.
I force my growl down so I don’t scare her. I know this insecurity has something to do with her shitty ex. Fuck. Even though she told me not to, my plot to ruin him is renewed in my mind as I imagine what that loser must have done to make her doubt her worth.
“Are you secretly an international spy, planning to abandon me in ten years to raise the kids all alone, wondering where you went?” I ask, smiling gently.
“What?” She frowns, confused by my question, and blinks at me as the words sink in. “Um, no,” she adds with a snort, shaking her head at me, but she’s smiling, so it worked.
“Then there’s nothing for you to worry about, Omega. I’ve found out a lot about you since the day our pups dragged us together, and you haven’t said one thing to make me question the way I feel about you.”
“How do you feel about me, Reid?”
That needy look is back, making me weak once again.
If she demanded I drop to my knees before her right now, I wouldn’t even question it. Some alphas would call me a simp. Good thing I’ve never given a single fuck about what other alphas think of me. The only opinion I care about right now is Arabella’s.
“I really like you. A lot. I mean, it’s almost a concerning amount,” I confess, too caught up in everything about her to care if she’s about to reject me.
At least I’m showing her the real me. “In fact, let me give you a key to my flat. You can move in right now.” I pull my keys out of my pocket, handing them to her, loving the sound of her laughter.
“Okay, okay,” she giggles out, pushing the keys back into my pocket, shaking her head at me. “I believe you, and I like you too.”
“You’re cute when you blush.”
Unfortunately, Toast and Suki collectively decide this walk is over, both letting out demanding woofs and whines. I guess we did already take them out for two hours earlier.
“She’s hungry,” Arabella sighs. “I better feed her before she starts with the dramatics. Seems Toast is feeling the same.”
“It’s not that I want to be a terrible dog dad, Toast. I just really want to spend more time with Arabella.”
“I’m not sure either of them cares.”
“Nope. Not one bit,” I agree. There's no use hiding my disappointment at this point.
“You could come over after?” she offers hesitantly. “We could watch a movie or something if you wanted…” Her scent spikes with anxiety, but the desire from before is just as strong.
For a brief moment my mind is blank.
Well, not blank, but none of my thoughts are pure. Not when her honey scent is begging me to treat her like the omega she is. My knot swells, and there’s no way she’s missing the way my scent reacts. Then she lets out this breathy gasp, eyes wide as she stares up at me.
“Or something?” I ask, and even I can hear how deep my voice drops as my predatory nature tries to come to the surface.