“Always,” Kirsten says with a bright smile. “Let’s go.”
Desire blooms under my sternum, a foreign sensation that has my stomach clenching and my scent weaving around me. My nipples tighten. I suck in a breath. It takes me too long to realize that it’sCole’sdesire, his arousal that’s sending pulses of heat through my limbs.
“Charlotte?” Kirsten’s voice is a distant echo. “You good?”
I breathe through the intoxicating sensations.
“I’m fine,” I manage to say. Kirsten purses her lips.
“You sure? You don’t look fine.”
Well, no, I’m not fine. I want to find Cole and climb him like a tree until his scent blooms around me so thick it’s all I can smell and taste andfeel. But no matter how good of a friend Kirsten is, I’m not about to admit what I’m feeling. Not in the least of which because it would necessitate I admit to someone other than Marcus and Megan the bond Cole and I accidentally forged last night because I didn’t have the sense to keep my teeth away from his skin while riding him. Even now, the memory has a fierce, possessive pleasure warming my chest.
As if in silent response to my thought, another wave of need rushes through me, so intense it makes my hands tingle. I swallow a sound that is absolutely not appropriate for the gym and grab my bag without really seeing it. As I toss in my shoes and warm-ups, Kirsten pulls her own bag together, frowning atme the entire time. The ringing of my phone cuts through the awkward silence. I answer it without checking the number.
“Lottie?” Marcus asks, his voice frazzled.
As if summoned by his voice, a faint thread of worry weaves through my chest. Shock slices through me as I realize it’shis. How had I forgotten the bond was shared? It’s one of the things the Council has made sure to broadcast loud and clear for any Alpha and Omega wanting to forge the connection. It’s unbreakable, yes. But it’s also communal. Every person bonded to the Omega can feel each other.
“Are you finished with your classes?” he continues without waiting for me to respond. “Or did you add an extra one today?”
“Just packing up,” I say. The words are a bit breathless, but maybe everyone around me will think I’m still winded from the pilates. They certainly don’t give me a second glance as Kirsten walks with me out of the gym and onto the busy street, her hand in my elbow steering me around the small hoards of people.
Marcus curses viciously.
“Why? What’s wrong?” Now my own worry fills my chest.
“I’m…” There’s the sound of something falling and doors closing and then murmured voices that are too indistinct to understand.
I frown as I glance at Kirsten. She frowns, too, but keeps us walking toward the cafe on the corner of the next block, pulling me into the small dining area on the sidewalk and out of harm’s way of the foot traffic.
There’s more noise on the line and someone else talking before it goes entirely silent. I check that the call hasn’t dropped for some reason, my worry clawing deeper even as another wave of Cole’s desire floods my limbs.
“Marcus?” I ask. My hands tremble with the force of Cole’s need.
“Jesus Christ,” Marcus says, breathless like he gets when I drop onto my knees in front of him. “I think Cole’s gone into heat.”
My mind just… stops.
“H-heat?” My voice is small.
Kirsten sucks in a startled breath, her eyes widening.
“I’m leaving the office, but I’m at least half an hour away.” Marcus ignores me. “Can you get to the townhome as soon as you can? He mentioned wanting to be sedated through it.”
When had they discussed heat preferences? Oh God, was that something I should have talked with Cole about, too? I don’t even know the ballet’s policies when in comes to packs and an Omega’s heat. Dang it, I’m already messing this up.
His worry grows stronger in my chest, like it’s becoming more acute for him. It’s nearly drowned entirely by another wave of Cole’s arousal. I clench my thighs even as my scent explodes around me. I glance over at Kirsten, but she doesn’t react to the sharp edge in my sage scent. Thank goodness she’s a Beta. One of the diners looks up from his meal behind her, though, frowning.
I swallow compulsively and shift on my feet, trying to alleviate some of this foreign ache.
“You need to go?” Kirsten asks, her entire body tight with worry. When I nod, she hugs me quickly and then urges me back onto the sidewalk. I’m only a couple blocks away from the house, ten minutes at most. I lengthen my strides, eating away the distance as best I can.
The pulses of desire are longer now, not fading away like just a few minutes ago, building on each other. The edges of my vision blur, just a bit. I swallow down a moan as my body tightens with need.
“Lottie?”
Marcus’s voice is a jolt. How had I forgotten he was talking to me? I try and wet my mouth with a quick swallow.
