“What about you?” he asked, his voice a low rumble. “Your scent is pretty strong today.”
“I did,” I said, copying his words. “But for some reason they don’t seem to be working as well around you guys.”
“You guys?” Maverick questioned, his eyes not on mine but lower.
He’s looking at my lips,I realized, sucking in a sharp inhale.
“Yeah, you and Zeke, and Dallas, and Brooks. It’s like they stop working halfway through the day most days,” I explained, my eyes drifting from the warm amber of Maverick’s eyes and down the sharp bridge of his nose to his own lips.
I’d never let myself look so closely before—at any of them. But something about my grandmother’s prodding all weekend was like liquid courage.
“We’ll have to talk to Collier and your mother about it,” Maverick said softly.
It was like someone had dumped a bucket of ice water over my head. “Why?”
“Because it’s not safe for your suppressants to wear off around alphas, Lennon,” Maverick said as if it was obvious.
“Even if it’s just you four?”
Truth be told I was almost 100% certain I knew why the suppressants didn’t work on me and the four alphas who made up my security team. When I woke up the day after the accident I had made several frantic google searches after how effectively Maverick had soothed my panic attack and had come to a conclusion that I’d been studiously avoiding for weeks:
They were my scent matches—or at least Maverick was—I hadn’t gotten close enough to the other guys to really test my theory enough.
When I searched up why suppressants may not work when they had worked just fine for years prior there it had been in bold text:
‘At times suppressants may lose viability when in the presence of a biological scent match as the bodies begin producing large quantities of the pheromones associated with alpha and omega designations—a scent match is like a nuclear bomb of what a regular attraction would be like, thereby nullifying most commercial and perhaps even some military grade suppressants.’
It was information I’d been sitting on for days. I hadn’t been sure exactly what I wanted to do about it yet.
“Especially if it’s us four, Lennon,” Maverick answered, his voice irritatingly placating. “We’re your security team and if we get distracted by your scent it could be dangerous for you.”
“What if I don’t care?” I asked, sounding like a bratty child.
Maverick let out a sigh and reached up to tug on the collar of his shirt. “I care, Lennon. I want to keep you safe.”
“Just because it’s your job?” I asked, lifting my hands and unbuttoning the top buttons of his shirt, almost absentmindedly.
Maverick’s eyes softened. “If you really think that, then I would say you haven’t been paying attention at all.”
We stared at each other, the world fading away.
“I don’t want to be a part of Frank Delano’s pack,” I blurted suddenly. I wasn’t sure why, but it was imperative that he knew that information.
“I know,” Maverick said.
I nibbled on my lower lip, trying to gather all of the courage that I possessed for my next words. “And Ireallywant to kiss you right now.”
“Even if it’s a very bad idea?”
I nodded.
Maverick’s shoulders dropped in surrender.
“Shit, fine,” he growled and then his hands were on my face and he was drawing me up onto my tippy toes and pulling our mouths together.
The world seemed to explode into color around us, my inner omega who had been previously quiet and dormant was now hopping up and down inside of my brain in celebration.
Finally, it purred, completely satisfied by the alpha whose hands were moving from my face and down my back to lift me off of my feet.
