And now, eavesdropping on Gabriel’s explanation of what happened inside to the others, I get what got him wound up so tight. Me. My size, my scent, my dog. But instead of blaming me for being an omega, he admits to them what happened inside the shop was his fault.
In my experience, alphas do not say things like that. And I don’t miss the way Noah and Valak admit they’re having a few issues containing their natural tendencies as well, but Lincoln just chuckles like he already knows the punchline. I risk a look at him, and he’s not watching them, his focus squarely on me. He even flicks his head to tell me to hurry up.
Smiling as I turn back to finish unpacking my shopping, the sound of Gabriel’s talking is replaced by his shuffling feet. But just in case I missed his footsteps, his scent races ahead of him, letting me know he was coming.
His scent in a lot of ways is as opposing to his nature as his glasses are. Gabriel smells sugary sweet. His scent reminds me of honey, but not the honey you buy at the supermarket, the honey that you find out in the middle of the country, straight from the hive and drenched in floral overtones. The type of honey that sticks on your tongue, leaving the taste there as a reminder for a long time.
“Sorry about before.” His voice is coy as he stands behind me looking like a kid who got his hand caught in the cookie jar.
I turn quickly and press my hand over his mouth. Ares tracks the movement from his position in the back of my Jeep.
“Gabriel, or can I call you Gabe?” I ask sweetly, obviously I’ve been sweetened by his scent or dazzled by his alpha prowess. Gabe’s eyes change in the literal blink of an eye, making him no longer apologetic, instead intrigued and enthusiastic.
“Call me Gabe.” He speaks around my hand over his lips, muffling what he was saying, but I get it.
“Gabe, those people back there were doing their job, that’s all,” I say snidely, the soft smile on my face taking out a lot of the sting because I’m not really annoyed. At the same time, he needs to listen. “When we leave in a few minutes, they’ll still be doing their job. Let’s not make people we don’t know, who probably have their own shit going on, be something we argue about. The only reason I got upset was because before I even had a chance to deal with any of it, you jumped in. You yelled at the manager for their system taking too long to process my card, and the security guard who wanted to see my permit for Ares was just doing his job, protecting everyone around us. It’s not the first time I’ve ever been in public—I know how to handle situations—maybe next time, trust that I can look after myself like I told you I could. Plus, you didn’t even push my trolley around.”
I drop my hand away from his mouth and immediately think about putting it back over his face when he grins. And that isn’t because I don’t want to see his smile; it’s because I quite like touching him. It’s not unexpected at all, this strange connection between us is only getting stronger the more we’re around each other.
And then Gabe stuns me, or maybe impresses me is more correct, when he doesn’t argue back. He also doesn’t pretend or hide the way his scent fills the space between us like lots of people do when in the presence of an omega. His brown eyes glitter like little stars behind his glasses, while his distinctive honey inspired scent keeps getting more intense, making my mouth water, and other parts of me stir.
“It’s not that I don’t think you can’t look after yourself. I guess I got caught up in the reason why we set up the wellness centre. I’ve seen some shit since working there.”
“I’m sure you have,” I answer back smartly. He keeps closing the distance between us.
“But you are most definitely, despite being a little cutie, the most independent omega I’ve had the pleasure of meeting. You kind of make my head spin.”
He stops so close to me that his feet are touching mine. I know because I check. We’re on a collision course. One I suspect neither of us would be able to stop, but at the same time, we’re both spurring each other on.
“I don’t want to screw up getting to know you. I feel like everyone else is way ahead of me in the game.” He smirks. And it makes him even more attractive. “But I figured I just learned more than almost every other person here.” He waves his arm about.
“What did you learn, Gabe?”
“That your scent makes me want to read more.”
I laugh at him before throwing my eyebrow up in question, hoping he fills me in on his thought process. Because so far, I’m still a little lost trying to follow the direction.
“Sometimes I read situations wrong, I’m not sure why. But where people see black, I’ll see white. And I’ll be ready to fight my way until they confess they saw white too. Valak bought me a few self-help books. I’ve pretended to read them, but now I will. I promise because I don’t want to read any situation wrong with you.”
Lord have mercy. He stands before me, holding his hand over his heart like he’s making pledges and promises.
“Five minutes in and you’re sweet talking me?” I ask, leaning my hip against the edge of the cargo hold, giving him my full focus. I kind of think he deserves it. And he steals the argument off my lips by being honest. You can see his sincerity too. It’s in the way his eyes flick away.
A man being honest and vulnerable is incredibly attractive. I reach out for his hand, and he gives it to me without question.
“I’m a work in progress, but I promise to keep trying. I seem to have found a reason to actually commit to trying this time.”
I squeeze his hand. “Sounds good to me. You want to help me finish this so we can get out of here?”
“Really?”
“Come on, you’ve got your issues, I’ve got mine,” I tease him, turning to refocus on getting away from here.
“I knew it!”
“You did not.” I smirk. It’s way too easy to mess around with Gabe. He’s dangerous. More than I considered too. Gabe is like a slow-release gas, he sneaks up on you and changes you. His simple truths hit home and work for me. Time will tell for how long, but at the moment, it feels right and Ares isn’t making a rumble of discontent either.
And, that part of me that I don’t even bother concealing, rises and mixes with his, making the night seem overly floral and sugary.
