“If he’s a kid, so am I.”
“Okay, point taken. Neither of you are kids.”
I toss him a glance. “It’s okay. You’re just old.”
His wide shoulders shake as he laughs; at least he’s being good-natured about it, just as he’d been at the Omega Garden. Pretty sure I called him old that night, too. “I’m not that old. I do prefer the termmature, for future reference. When you call me old, it’s like you’re calling me nasty and crusty.”
“Well…”
“Do not call me nasty and crusty. I’m warning you, I will take offense.” He deadpans that, but his faked seriousness doesn’t last long. In the end, we both chuckle.
I sway my feet in the water. “For the record, I don’t think you’re nasty or crusty.”
“No? Then what am I?”
That is a dangerous question with an equally dangerous answer. With those tattoos on display, with how tight that polo is on his torso… he is the epitome of masculinity, without any of the red flags that sometimes come with it. He’s everything an alpha should be.
I don’t answer him, not right away, causing him to squint his eyes at me and prod me, “Well? What am I, Jess? Be honest. Dig into me. Be as mean to me as you want. Show me that fire you had at the Omega Garden when you were trying to get me to go away.”
“Apparently being mean to you doesn’t affect you the same way it affects most alphas,” I say with a dramatic roll of my eyes and a flip of my hair. “So, I guess I’ll tell you the truth. You’re—” Gosh, I can’t believe I’m about to say any of this, but why keep it to myself? Why not throw it out there? “—very nice to look at. Your tattoos are delicious, and your muscles are to die for. You are the definition of eye candy when it comes to all alpha-kind.”
Rourke flashes me a set of perfect pearly whites. “Damn. Don’t stop there. Keep going. My ego could use a few more compliments.”
“Sorry, that’s all you’re going to get from me,” I tell him with a shrug, and he visibly pouts for a few seconds before his grin deepens.
“If you would’ve talked like that the night we met, you know damn well you would’ve had an offer.”
“So all you want is an omega who feeds your ego compliments? Sounds like a boring life.”
He scoffs. “Of course not, but I do want an omega who’d keep me on my toes. Call me crazy, but I think you’d do just that.”
I have to look away from him, mostly because his intensity is overwhelming in both the best and worst way. “I think this conversation tiptoes on dangerous territory, Rourke. It’s probably the very definition of inappropriate, given the circumstances.”
“To be clear, the circumstances you mention… you’re talking about your heat and not being matched before it arrives, right?” Though I’m not looking at him, I can feel him staring holes into the side of my head. “You aren’t talking about Asher and Mason.”
That makes me glare at him. “Why would I be talking about Asher and Mason?”
“I’m not blind. Asher cares for you, and Mason… I think he’s there, too. I’m just wondering if you’re still going to want to be alone after you get your inheritance, or if, maybe, you’ve found yourself a little pack after all.”
I literally cannot believe what he’s saying. The audacity. The unmitigated gall. I should get up and walk away from him, but since we aren’t at the house, I don’t think the alpha would let me storm away in peace. He’d follow me to make sure I got back safely.
“For the record,” I speak through gritted teeth, “I’m not talking about them.”
“Good. For the record here, I don’t believe you, but I’ll let it go.”
“You’re something else, you know that?” I huff. “You track me down, think you know everything, and then you—you act like this.”
Rourke gives me a smirk. “Is there something wrong with how I’m acting?” The way he asks, it’s evident he already knows the answer and he just wants to hear me say it, the jerkwad.
“Yes.” The word leaves me too quickly, then I realize I should’ve said the other word. “I mean, no. I… can you stop looking at me like that?” In my chest, my heart is speeding up, beating so fast it might pop out and run away. Or explode. Either way, that’s bad.
The sunlight twinkles in his beautiful blue eyes. “How am I looking at you?” Again with a question he already knows the answer to. An über alpha as intense as him, he has to know the power he holds over omegas and betas, and even other alphas.
And to an unmatched omega like me? He’s catnip. I could breathe him in and get high off him, even without drowning myself in his scent, apparently. Who knew not being able to smell him wouldn’t stop my body from intrinsically craving him like he’s the drug I’ve been waiting for my entire life?
“You’re looking at me like…” For some reason, I can’t say it out loud.Like you want me. Like you need me. Like I’m yours.No matter how my mind spins it, I can’t say it to him. If I voice it, I’m afraid it’ll make it all the more real, and I don’t need any more complications right now.
His deep voice lowers to a whisper, and that whispered voice of his creeps across my skin and makes me shiver: “I’m here to make sure you’re safe and you get what you want, but I’d be lying if I said that’s all. I felt it at the Omega Garden, and I know you feel it, too. You have to. There’s some kind of invisible force drawing us together. You have to feel it.”
