“I don’t think you do, Plum. I think you’d be scared of all the things I want to do with you.” Nick pushes off the wall and tucks a strand of my hair behind my ear before cupping the back of my neck.
His touch makes my heart race as my lips part and my breaths deepen. I can feel my cheeks flushing with heat, but I can’t look away from him.
“Whatever you say, big guy.” I pat his chest with my hand and force myself to step around him before I do something stupid. He growls at my words as I pass, and I smile, feeling a little control work back into my grip when he reacts.
As I walk away, I blow him a kiss over my shoulder. His eyes narrow at the gesture, but his scent follows me all the way down the hall—rich, heavy,and filled withneed.
It feels good to have his eyes on me as I disappear around the corner.
After washing my hands and checking my reflection in the mirror, I head out of the bathroom and into the hall once again. I’m about to turn the corner that leads back into the main bar area when a large body blocks my path.
“Did you come here with Benson?” Nick demands to know as he takes a step into me, then another, and I’m forced to retreat. My back hits a wall, and I stare up into his eyes as he cages me in with his hands pressed to the wall at either side of my shoulders.
“Yes,” I murmur as my body spikes with heat, and my scent blooms around us, my confusion clear. Nick groans, head dropping forward, and I realize this is new. This isn’t just playful flirting; this is something more.
Need. Want. Desire. Temptation…
It’s easy to flirt with someone when all they ever do is reject you. There are no stakes when you know the outcome before you even try, when you know the game is rigged against you. You can’t lose what you’re not really trying to win, because winning was never the real objective.
But Nick has just changed the rules…
“As friends?” he asks, and I freeze, because how do I answer that? Benson and I haven’t talked over this part yet—what exactly to tell our family and friends about us.
“Yes and no,” I say, when it’s clear Nick is going to wait for an answer and nothing is magically going to save me from the question.
“Why Benson, little omega?” The alpha growls as he steps into me. “Is this just another way for you to taunt me?” he asks as he tilts his head down, bringing our faces closer and closer together until I feel the heat of his breath against my lips.
I stay silent, not knowing what to say or how to act. I’ve flirted with him out in town plenty of times, including right here in this bar, but I’m always the one hunting him down. The role reversal has caught me completely off guard, and I have no idea how to respond to it.
Instead, I find myself staring at him, waiting for something, anything, to break the tension so I don’t have to speak. Staring is probably a bad idea too, though. He’s let his beard grow out recently, and the salt and pepper look is seriously doing it for me.
Plus, his scent is doing things to my instincts.
“Is that what you’re doing, Plum? Taunting me? Or is this just for fun?” he questions me more, pushing for an answer as he leans back just enough to look me in my eyes. With the space between us no longer filled with his every breath, I catch mine.I’m half expecting him to follow his typical habit of fleeing after I flirt with him and become completely confused when he doesn’t.
He presses close, dropping his hands to my hips as his hardness digs into me. I gasp, snaking my hands up between us so I can grip his shoulders. I’m suddenly dizzy, head spinning as my thoughts whirl around in my head.
The very, very few times this alpha has ever flirted back, it’s always been in private. And even then, he always just growls something at me and runs off. The last time was just a few weeks ago, at this very bar. I cornered him as he stepped out of the men's room. The memory flashes, contrasting against the present moment in my mind.
“Quickie between the stalls?” I purr, walking my fingers up his chest.
“You want to take my knot for the first time in a bar bathroom? Please, omega. I need more time than that with your body under me.” Nick catches my wrist in his large hand, and I grin, feeling pleased.
“Oooh, dirty. I like it. Do you like taking your time with your lovers, Nick?” I ask, watching as his eyes darken briefly before he takes a deep breath.
“Naughty fucking omega,” he grumbles, releasing his grip and storming away from me.
To think, I thoughtthatmoment was intense. His words had slick pooling between my thighs, and every time I thought of them I would shiver at the memory. It’s nothing compared to the way he’s looking at me now or how he’s pressing his body against mine.
My scent is like a bomb in this hall, filling every available inch with my desire and confusion. His is just as strong, but there’s no confusion, only pure alpha need.
Right now, as his hands grip my hips deliciously, I can’t think clearly enough to do anything but breathe him in as I cling tohis shirt for dear life. I gasp again when he presses his nose to my neck, breathing in my scent, an alpha growl rumbling in his chest. The sound shoots through my system, lighting me up from the inside. The moan that escapes my lips is criminal, but the way he groans in response is downright diabolical.
“That’s not your boyfriend,” someone says, their voice coming from far too close, and my eyes fly open as my head snaps to the left towards the source of it.
Kai.
Oh fuck. Of course, it had to be him.
