“I shop there a lot, but I don’t work there.”
“Right, right. Jude’s mentioned you before.”
“Jude’s amazing. I’m really glad to meet you, Jax.”
He gave her another easy smile. “Great to finally meet the famous Madison, too. I see Leo is giving you some private lessons.”
Madison’s cheeks flushed even darker. “Yep.”
“I’ll leave you to it. Try not to get into too much trouble,” he said with a wink.
I didn’t have much time to worry that he had ruined the mood or made Madison uncomfortable, because as soon as he turned his back, she snuggled into my arms with a roaring purr.
Maybe it wasn’t an alcove where we gave into primal urges, but it was pretty fucking awesome all the same.
“Would you like to come with me to work today?” Alve asked, tidying away our dishes from the pancakes I’d whipped up for breakfast. “I could give you a tour of our newest facility.”
“Really?” I perked up, hugging him without a second thought. “I’d love to.”
His scent was light, but not missing. I inhaled the tartness of lingonberry and red wine, the way it twined with the sugar in my scent making my stomach flip. He was too stiff, too awkward with me.
Alve shifted in my embrace, his scent getting stronger despite whatever he was using to mute it.
I pulled away as a wave of self-consciousness washed over me. “Sorry.”
“N-no, it’s okay, I…” He sighed. “I’m just nervous. I don’t want you to feel pressured about anything because of the scent match.”
I’d been brave and broken the seal with Leo, but Alve and I had a metaphorical wall between us. Leo and Nathan were still asleep, and Jude had left for work already, so it was only Alve and I in the kitchen this morning.
How was I supposed to make him comfortable?
“I don’t wantyouto feel pressured.”
I would work on finding good footing for the two of us. I gave a half second of worry about falling into patterns. Alve hadn’t been unkind at any point in time, and he had already gone so out of his way to accommodate me and my other scent matches. We could all try to bridge the gaps.
“I don’t,” he promised, clutching the back of his neck as a blush rose on his cheeks. “I’m excited to make sure you have everything you need.”
Damn if that statement didn’t make my pussy clench in anticipation. “What about making sure I have everything Iwant?”
My gaze dropped helplessly to his mouth. He was so fucking cute, and I’d kissed all of the others. What did Alve taste like?
I’d definitely flustered him because my sweet alpha couldn’t make a single word come out.
I took pity on him. “Let’s put a pin in that topic. I’m hyped to go to work with you and see what you do all day.”
He dropped his shoulders with a relieved breath. “It’s a good topic, an important one, but I don’t want to mess things up. I’m much better with work.”
“Fair enough. Give me five minutes and we can scamper.” I disappeared to dress for the day, having already washed up.
The two of us headed out in Alve’s car. It was far more sensible than I would have guessed for someone with as much money as he had. Though I suppose I didn’t really know how much money heactuallyhad.
“Have you considered any further about being our designer?” he asked gently.
“You’re not going to interview me?”
“I can if you really want me to.”
“Please.”
