I want to inhale deeply and hold the scent inside me, to capture it.
My face warms as I fight off that sudden urge.
“Are you feeling okay?” Harper asks, his voice lowering. “You know, after earlier …”
“Oh. Um, I’m fine,” I manage.
He presses his lips together and then his pretty eyes widen.
“You’re not used to an Omega’s perfume! I’m so sorry.”
He takes a few steps back, putting some space between us.
It doesn’t make his scent fade one little bit.
I try to switch back to breathing through my mouth, but everything inside me fights the urge.
“It’s okay,” I blurt. “You don’t need to back away from me.”
I look up as Jay steps back into the room.
He’s no longer wearing a jacket so now I can see his arms are covered in tattoos, and his dark blue T-shirt shows how muscular his body is. I’ve already felt it, and seeing him like this now, I only want to feel more of him.
“My perfume,” Harper explains, when Jay raises an eyebrow at us.
Jay walks toward me and tilts my head up to look in my eyes.
“It’s like nothing you’ve ever experienced, right?” he murmurs.
I gaze into his dark eyes, and I know I want him.
“Everything about this is new to me,” I admit.
Feeling such desperate desire for men I barely know should make me nervous, but every part of me wants to be with them.There’s a feverish urgency to that feeling that I know is linked to already having claimed their Alphas.
“Your marks,” Jay says, moving my head to gaze at my throat. “They’re still fresh, and they’re going to feel incomplete, until you have a matching set under them.”
He flashes me his fangs, and I can’t help but whimper, not in fear, but in need.
“This is what being around an unclaimed mate does to me. I can control it. Don’t worry about that. I’ve had plenty of practice.”
He shows his teeth again, and they’re no longer sharp.
The disappointment that fills me is crushing.
“You’re safe,” he says. “Until you’re really ready. Which won’t be until I know you’re not being affected by Harper’s perfume.”
A moan escapes my lips. His eyes widen, but he doesn’t do anything more.
His fingers let my chin drop. I suck in a breath as I try to pull myself together.
Harper’s leaning against the kitchen counter when I look past Jay.
He looks as desperate as I feel, his gaze unfocused and needy.
He’s probably feeling my desire.
I wish I could control it, but just being around them now is making my body hot and ready for things I only started to experience with Falcon and Shayne over the last two days.
