“Do you want it back?” Surely if I sat on this counter naked in front of him, he wouldn’t be able to deny me. He may push me away on a consistent basis. But his scent-matched Omega, naked, wet, and willing in front of him? I know he wouldn’t stand a chance. I don’t want it to get that far. I want to win Mikael over with who I am as a person—it’s important to me.
He clears his throat and looks at my bare legs hanging on the side of the cabinet. “Can I have some?” I hand the bag out to him, and he puts his big hand inside, taking a fist full of popcorn and shoving it in his mouth.
“I saw you.”
“What?”
“I saw you watching us in the hot tub.”
He clears his throat and moves to the refrigerator, then grabs a beer, popping the tab and taking a sip. “It was hard not to with the noises you were making.”
“Did you like what you saw?” I put the popcorn down and place my palms on the cool kitchen counter. Mikael’s face is stoic as he looks me over. He picks up his beer and takes multiple large gulps, his Adam’s apple bobbing with each sip.
“Does it matter?”
“Yeah, it matters.”
Mikael approaches me, and goosebumps appear all over my body. I thought his scent was thick on his hoodie, but now, fuck. The only time I’ve scented him this heavily was that day in his bedroom.
He places his palms on the outside of mine, so close that if I stretched my thumb, I’d be able to touch the flesh of his hand. He leans in, his face only a foot from mine. Mikael is so tall that even standing and leaning, he’s still towering over me.
“Yeah, I liked what I saw.”
“You could have joined.”
He sighs, his breath tingling against my neck.
“Charlotte.” The way he says my name makes me wet. I shift my weight on the counter, pushing my thighs together.
“Mikael, you don’t have to fight this.”
He groans and leans closer, his nose trailing from the tie of his hoodie up the column of my neck. “You smell like all of us,” he whispers. I’m not sure what to say to that, but then he leans closer, and I feel his hard length pressed against my knee and gasp. “I don’t want to.”
“You don’t want to what?” I’m nearly panting from his proximity. The most inner part of me is shouting to take this Alpha and put him into a rut, so he marks me and never lets me go. I shake my head, clearing that possessive thought from my mind.
“Fight this.”
“So don’t,” I gasp. Feeling bold, I place my hand on his chest and gaze into his eyes. He’s still so hard to read. But as his eyes scan mine, he sighs, and one of his hands grips my jaw.
“I don’t deserve you yet.”
“What?”
“I have nothing to offer you, Charlotte.”
“I’m not asking for anything. I’m asking for you to give me a chance, Mikael.”
He groans, and his body is so close to mine his body warmth is nearly radiating off of him. One of his hands grips my hip, and I moan, shifting my body as close to him as possible.
“Promise me you won’t ruin us,” he says, pulling away. His deep brown eyes assess me.
“What?”
“Promise me that you won’t ask us to quit hockey. Promise me that it’s all of us or nothing.”
I stall, more so shocked by his request than anything. The last thing I want to do is make broken promises, and my silence has him taking his hands off of me like I’m toxic.
“Goodnight, Charlotte.” His back is already to me as I stand up and follow behind him, grabbing his arm.
