I roll my eyes at him. “I’m just giving it to you so you don’t steal mine,” I say, hugging my own mug protectively. I need my coffee in the mornings.
“Thanks.” Ace collapses into his chair with a smirk. “Any sign of our little omega?”
His possessive wording doesn’t escape my notice, and I frown into my cup. Blowing across the hot coffee, I watch the steam dissolve and reform.
“Nope,” I say, popping the ‘p’ sound. Honestly, I’m torn between making myself scarce before she appears and going up there to check on her myself. The thumping inside my skull reminds me that I made my way through the rest of the scotch before passing out.
“You need to talk to Pa? I can call him,” Ace offers.
I appreciate it, but I don’t need it today and shake my head.
I was trying to avoid any nightmares, figuring that our new guest wouldn’t appreciate being woken up like that. But instead of my usual nightmares, last night I dreamed of… Harper.
I woke up to my cock in my hand and a stomach covered in sticky release.
My stomach flips as soft footsteps sound on the stairs, but it’s only Gabe, yawning as he scratches his toned bare stomach above his sweats. Rogue appears behind him, impeccably dressed in a shirt and black jeans. I swear the man never actually sleeps, always last to bed and first to rise. His hair is slightly damp at the ends from the shower he takes after his morning workout.
We all settle quietly around the table, pretending to focus on our drinks. Rogue pulls the paper across to him, his eyes flicking too rapidly to be taking anything in. Ace is whistling, and the sound irritates my pounding head enough that I growl at him. Gabe fidgets restlessly.
The squeak of the guestroom door announces Harper’s imminent arrival, and Gabe scrambles up, running the tap to look busy and washing his cup out repeatedly.
It takes a few minutes, but I finally hear a soft brushing that signals her coming through the door. Gabe turns, his mouth opening, but Ace beats him to it.
“Morning, little omega,” he sings. Without asking, he just scoops her up off her knees and sets her on her feet. When she frowns at him, catching her balance, he bops her on the nose and her whiskey-colored eyes widen.
“No crawling allowed in this house, kitty cat, unless it’s in the bedroom.” Her eyes dilate, those pretty pink lips parting in a surprised ‘o’.
She looks around uncertainly and Rogue smiles, pulling out a chair.
“I think we have some things to talk through. Would you like to sit down?”
She slowly sets herself on the offered seat. I can sense her discomfort at being surrounded by alphas, and I will my scent to tone down a notch. We’re all staring at her like she’s the second coming of Jesus, and as she glances around, Rogue’s foot connects with my leg under the table.
“Shit,” I curse, throwing Rogue a glower when Harper jumps a mile.
“It’s alright,” Rogue soothes her, his pheromones throwing off calming vibes.
Apprehension passes over her face, and my mouth dries up as she swings her gaze to mine. Those golden eyes are more of a dusky amber hue this morning, and it makes me wonder if she slept well. The circles under her eyes seem deeper than they did last night.
She tucks a lazy curl behind her ear, and my eyes follow the motion. A hint of a scent reaches me, and my nostrils flare, making me frown.
Is that my fucking shampoo?
Her eyes shutter at my expression, and she quickly turns away from me. Gabe touches her shoulder softly, and she offers him a real smile, lips moving up at the corners. “Morning, love,” he says, offering her a cup. “Would you like a coffee?”
She stares at the cup for a moment before nodding. “Yes, please.”
We’re still watching as she takes her first sip of the black liquid, and I choke back a huff of laughter as her face changes. Wrinkling her nose, she stares at the coffee intently before taking another sip. Clearly, she’s never had coffee before.
“Here, little omega,” Ace slides a jug of cream and sugar over to her. “Have a play and see what you like. You can have sugar, right?”
Her mouth twitches at the corners. No poker face, this one. “I’m not allowed to have it,” she whispers, but I catch the longing in her voice.
“Actually, Harper,” Rogue says, clearing his throat. “We wanted to talk to you about the instruction manual and how we might approach this arrangement.”
Harper pales slightly and she nods, setting down the cup gently with a hint of sadness like she expects us to take it away from her. “Okay.” Her forlorn expression tugs at me, and I force myself to turn away and grab the paper Rogue was reading.Don’t fall for it,I tell myself.Even if it seems real.God knows someone has to keep their head around here. Gabe and Ace definitely aren’t, and there’s a softening in Rogue’s face when he looks at our newest houseguest that concerns me.
Rogue hesitates, the pack bond sharing his nerves with us.
