A cowboy hat.
Genesis read the card as she made coffee and munched on a blueberry muffin that practically melted in her mouth.
Dear Genesis,
I hope you slept well and woke feeling rested. If you’re up to it, I’d love to give you a tour of the farm and share a picnic lunch. Text me if that sounds amenable.
Yours,
Orlando
P.S. The hat is from Luke Wyatt. If you wear it, he will be insufferable.
P.P.S. The first thought I had this morning was of you.
Genesis may have actually squealed, but she refused to acknowledge it. She couldn’t deny the giddy grin on her face or the butterflies dancing in her belly. These men were unbearably romantic.
She forced herself to wait until after she’d settled at the table with her laptop, coffee, and a flaky strawberry pastry before texting Orlando to say yes to his lunch invitation. He responded immediately that he’d pick her up at eleven. Genesis resisted the urge to kick her feet. She hadsomedignity left.
Temporary fun. Temporary fun. Temporary fun.
She caught herself muttering the words like a mantra whenever her brain started to wander from her inbox to the farmhouse, which was far too often for someone who wasnotinterested in a lasting attachment. Somehow, she managed to get some work done, and even spend an hour or so brainstorming the big piece—the story she’d write to start her transition to investigative journalist. She was sure that the Serenity Rose piece was her starting point, but she had to figure out her angle. What did she have to say that no one else had or could?
The answer was still a nebulous blob of half-formed thoughts when the clock reminded Genesis that she needed to prepare for her lunch date. She ignored a call from Avery while she got dressed; she needed more time to process last night before she could recount it to her friend. She’d texted both Avery and Greyson before bed to let them know she’d had a great day, promising to fill them in soon. Avery had never been good at waiting for gossip.
Genesis dressed in jeans and a light, fitted sweater. She didn’t own cowboy boots, so she settled for a pair of high-tops, since they’d be walking around the farm. She hoped she didn’t get them too dirty. She kept her sneaker collection pristine. But given the money she’d be saving by living here, she could replace them if it came to that.
She checked her reflection in the full-length mirror. She looked like a city girl through and through. Grinning, she added the Stetson. That was better. She wasn’t entirely sure Luke wanted her around, but she liked to think the hat was a kind of peace offering.
A brisk knock on the cottage door announced Orlando’s arrival. Genesis tamped down a surge of giddy excitement.Temporary fun. Temporary fun. Temporary fun.
It sounded less and less convincing.
Chapter ten
Orlando
When Genesis opened the door, Orlando had to fight the urge to grab her immediately and kiss her plump, pink lips. She looked positively adorable in the ridiculous cowboy hat Luke had bought her. Lukeneverbought their temporary omegas anything that didn’t explicitly meet a need. He’d told Orlando that he’d bought the hat for himself a while ago and it turned out to be too small, but Orlando knew better. It fit Genesis like a glove.
The hat’s chocolate brown color brought out the depths of her big, bright eyes. One corner of her mouth quirked in a smile as she watched Orlando take her in. His eyes traveled involuntarily over the soft curves highlighted by her tight sweater and tighter jeans. Orlando had seen the incredible body beneath those clothes last night, and he’d had trouble thinking about anything else since. He’d masturbated vigorously after escorting Genesis back to the cottage last night and again this morning, when he’dawoken with a raging hard-on and the smell of jasmine and honeyed oranges clinging to his skin.
“I know, I know. But Luke’s going to be insufferable regardless, and I look damn cute in this hat,” Genesis said by way of greeting.
Orlando smiled, pulling her into a hug, and inhaling her sweetness. Her cheeky teasing warmed his heart. It was good to see that she felt so comfortable with him, especially after the intensity of their sexscapades last night. He’d been a little worried about leaving her alone after she safe worded, but she’d rejected Gabe’s offer to stay, and Orlando hadn’t wanted to push. He knew Luke had been as surprised by the offer of intimacy as he’d been—they didn’t typically invite the temporary omegas into their beds. They had sex wherever they chose, and took turns sleeping in the nest during heats, but beyond that, everyone pretty much slept in their own beds.
When Evie was still with them, she’d bed hopped until they had a pack-sized bed built. Then they’d shared a main bedroom, though they’d each still had their own spaces as well. Orlando hadn’t commented when Gabe, the architect, and designers put the custom bed in a massive room at the rear of the newly renovated farmhouse. That room had sat empty for years now.
“I suspect you’d look cute in a clown suit,” Orlando murmured, tilting Genesis’s head back so that he could plant a chaste kiss on her lips. She flushed prettily, shivering against him and making his dick stir with interest. “But if you like the hat, I suppose I can endure Luke’s smugness when he sees you wearing it.”
He would endure a lot worse to have Genesis beaming up at him like she was at the moment. She hadn’t pulled away when he’d held her for several beats longer than necessary. He found that he wanted to be near her, couldn’t resist the urge to touch her, to feel her skin against his own.
“Tell you what, you buy me matching cowboy boots and I’ll wear those too.” Genesis’s voice was teasing, but Orlando knew he’d buy her anything she wanted.
He glanced at her feet and saw that she wore a pair of brown and cream high-top athletic shoes. He could tell she was the type of person who collected sneakers. Orlando probably owned a pair, but they were buried deep in one of his closets. It had taken him a fair bit of time to locate the jeans he was wearing. Gabe had only been half-joking about him not wearing denim in over fifteen years. Orlando felt most comfortable in tailored suits, but that wouldn’t have been appropriate attire for traipsing around the farm. Genesis’s immaculate tennis shoes weren’t the best choice either.
“I will buy you no such thing,” Orlando told her with mock outrage. “You can play cowgirl with Luke Wyatt. If it’s up to me to dress you, it’ll be in couture and stilettos.”
Orlando couldn’t help but imagine Genesis’s curves on display in a dress tailored perfectly to hug each delicious inch of her luscious form. High heels would make her legs appear longer, and exaggerate the arch of her back, putting her exquisite ass on display. His dick stirred again.
