“I thought you said you could ‘make time’?” she purrs.
“I still mean it. I’ll blow off practice and games. Hell, I’ll blow off the whole season if you want me to.” I’m just that crazy. Even after one meeting, she’s twisted her way into my heart, and Timber is totally right when he said a scent match can drive you mad. It doesn’t matter who she is, what kind of life she’s led, where she’s come from, or where she’s going. As long as I can be her alpha, I’ll accept everything about her.
Her only reply is another chuckle as she squeezes her arms around me.
“I need to go,” she says, and my heart clenches, because it really is for real this time. I can’t decide whether to release her or show her how truly possessive her alpha can be.
But if I try to stop her, she could feel trapped, and I might never see her again.
“Call me again if you need me. I’ll answer every time,” I say.
She nods, but from the way her eyes dip, I can tell her phone call was a one-off.
That’s why I can’t get over the fact that she’s living with him. Because Timber literally has her under his nose, and he doesn’t have a clue. At least, not as far as he’s told me.
“Don’t forget our date!” I call after her as she walks away.
“I won’t,” she says as she waves back.
“Promise!” I shout.
The only reply I have is her laugh as she vanishes from the end of the corridor, and I’m left there in a swirl of maple syrup and hope.
Now I need to find my way back to the room she came from to solve the mystery of why Luke is in the hospital, and she’s out there pretending to be him.
Ollie
Seeing Kane was the best and worst thing that could have ever happened since I first started disguising myself as a guy.
The best because it finally relieved some of the pressure that built up from living with my scent match and not being able to take him downtown. And the worst because it’s opened up a whole new can of worms. Or needs. Very wormy needs thatmeans I’m wiggling around all over the place whenever Timber is away.
Much like a tragic maiden on the windswept moors of England, I’ve been drifting around the house, spreading my scent on absolutely anything I can get my hands on. Thankfully, Timber isn’t exactly a social guy, and the only other people who come to visit are his housekeeper and his personal trainer, who are both betas and won’t be able to tell that the place is layered in a syrupy scent.
It’s hard enough not to rub myself all over him whenever he’s around. Since we’ve played Street Fighter, Timber has been weird. He’s more jumpy around me and more conscious of doing things like walking around in his tiny towels, which is a tragedy. I swear he was going to kiss me when he woke me up after the movie, and now I’m all antsy and touch-starved again to the point where I’m thinking of calling Kane to ask him if we can meet before they leave for their next round of away games.
What’s worse is I’m pretty sure he tasted me in the hot chocolate. The first time he crushed me against the fridge when he was sleepwalking, he said I was sweet. So, when he swept hot chocolate from my lip the other day, I don’t know if the flavor came from my skin, or if he literally licked my saliva and I gave him a quick preview of what it would taste like to kiss me.
So guess what else has been rattling around in my head since he left?
I’ll have half a week without them, and then it’ll be time for the dreaded date.
I can’t let myself get too wrapped up in Kane. The more I drift toward him and rely on him, the more chance I have of being caught. Those photos outside the heat room were risky enough.
We also took down the pictures of Luke and me on our website, so it looks like I’m the only one who works there, justin case. We thought we’d covered our bases by changing our socials, and thankfully, Kane was the only one who found it.
Even when I’m lying in bed, hot, hungry, andachingfor an alpha, it can’t be Kane.
And it shouldn’t be Timber.
I need a big ‘No Fishing’ sign in front of each of them, so I stop flirting with them. But how can I resist when they look like my next catch?
Luke and I have created schedules for Timber and anyone who might cook for him in the future to make sure he’s getting all the nutrients he needs when he’s away. Though I’m pretty sure he’s going to sneak in as many protein bars as he can.
I’m wiped from a whole day of cooking, so I do what any normal person would do: I take a nap with my regulation lavender-drenched Timber shirt. I’ve been sleeping in it every night, so it’s lost its tang. It was good for a while, but now there’s barely any scent left on it, kind of like a really cheap candle.
After a long nap, a sleepy omega who’s living in the house of her alpha but can’t scent mark him was bound to do even crazier things.
Like groggily walking naked out of her bedroom, wandering across the corridor, and ending up in said alpha’s room.
