I suspected that Bear was pleased. Fuck, I was. It wasn’t hard to miss how most women looked at him. The facial injuries he’d received during one of our early security jobs were a turn-off for some, but the way certain women reacted was brutal. They could be downright mean, and that infuriated me.
It wasn’t his fault that a job had gone sideways, and he had permanent scars because of that.
Whatever had happened while Bear was pretending to be Flora’s boyfriend last night, she clearly wasn’t repulsed, given she was still wearing his jacket.
So, at the very least, she was a decent person, and that was enough to grab my attention. If this omega really was being followed, I would protect her simply because she was a good person.
She was adorable in his coat, the fabric swamped her, and she had to push the sleeves up just so her hands were free. It made her look claimed, and for some reason, I liked that.
When she entered a coffee shop, I threw my head back and resisted the urge to pump my fist in the air.
Fuck, yes, caffeine.
After pulling into the first parking spot I found, I slid out of the car and followed her into the whimsically designed coffee shop. The air inside was filled with rich, freshly brewed coffee and the sweet scent of the pastries in the glass display cases. Cozy, mismatched furniture invited you to linger and savor the atmosphere.
My excitement was dampened when I saw the sheer size of the line. Flora didn’t seem to mind, though. She hummed quietly to herself as she got in line, me close behind.
I was so near I could smell her rose and honey scent, and my mouth watered at just how amazingly sweet it was. There was no denying that her scent was particularly potent. Subtly, I adjusted my stance, attempting to hide my rapidly hardening cock.
All my careful years of honing my body to have ultimate control as a sniper apparently went right out of the window when I got a whiff of Flora.
The line was moving painfully slowly, but I didn’t mind because I could observe the small omega with ease. She still hummed to herself, playing with the strap of her bag as we waited what felt like an age for the line to shorten. Strands of hair were falling out from her bun, framing a long, delicate neck. I wanted to turn her around to examine the slope of her nose or the round curve of her lips. Mentally, I was cursing my vantage point behind her.
If Bear’s jacket hadn't been so large on her, I would have had the perfect view of her ass in those jeans.
“Hey! Sorry about the wait,” a bedraggled barista, who had clearly been run ragged for most of the day, said when Flora made it to the front.
“Don’t apologize for being busy,” Flora replied sweetly. “Can I just get a vanilla iced latte to go?”
She paid and moved to the side to wait for her drink while I ordered my own. I opted for a fancy seasonal latte because I wasn’t one of those guys who thought having a fun drink endangered my masculinity.
If I wanted a frilly frothy coffee, I was going to have one.
With my drink in hand and a semi-hard cock, I followed the omega out of the coffee shop, a smile spreading across my face.
I had a distinct feeling that things were finally going to get interesting.
Chapter 6
Flora
The handsome stranger’s jacket was slung over my desk chair, taunting me. It had been a moment of madness when I decided to wear it out, but I’d loved it.
I should have found a way to give it back to him, but I had no idea how to go about it. He’d left me in my apartment after checking I was safe, still wearing his jacket, taser in hand.
The weapon he had given me was permanently in my bag. Knowing I had it gave me comfort—I doubted I would ever need it, though. Between that and the jacket, I was more at ease than I had been in weeks.
The peace of mind the taser gave me was nothing compared to the pumpkin bread scent that clung to the jacket. Every time I had put the damn thing down to study or tidy my apartment, I kept gravitating back to it, running my hands over the soft leather or lifting it to my nose to take a deep sniff. I had even worn the jacket the day before to the library to study. There was something about that warm scent enveloping me that just made me feel a million times more comfortable andsafe. Even the coffee shop, which was usually overstimulating and stressful, felt much easier.
I had to resist the urge to add the jacket to my nest. Picking up the jacket for probably the hundredth time as I paced around my place, I eyed my nest. It really would be an excellent addition.
What were the chances I would meet the handsome stranger again? They seemed minimal, so would keeping the jacket in my happy place really be a bad thing?
Shaking my head, I put the darn thing down before padding over to my nest and crawling in. My rundown studio apartment didn’t come with a proper nest, so I had to make do with building one on my small bed. It was snug, but I liked that. It wasn’t like I ever had guests in there, so there was plenty of space for me.
After grabbing a few of the pillows, I started rearranging them to curl up for the evening. I had a book to read and a bag of chips that were only partially stale to snack on. As I reached for the soft, well-worn circular pink pillow, my hand closed around thin air.
Frowning, I rose to my knees, looking for the pillow I had intended to snuggle up with.
