He snorted a laugh, but I didn’t know why. He knew those dolls were weird. “Sounds like them. And you just… happened upon it?”
I considered how much of my interest I really wanted to share. Things with Joon were always… unpredictable. Like something was about to snap between us at all times, and I wasn’t sure if it was sexual tension or his interest altogether. “I went looking.”
He looked over at him. In the streetlight, it was obvious his cheeks were red. “Oh. That’s… very nice of you.”
“I’m your alpha.”
His breath caught, and he glanced over. The car had stopped in their driveway, but no one moved to get out.
“I think I want that to be true,” he admitted softly.
My lips twitched upwards as I killed the engine, looking over at the omega in the glow of the porch light. “Then start acting like it, Joon. Get on board, build this family with us, tell Indi how you really feel…”
He took a deep breath. “I’ll talk to him, I guess.” Still always with that attitude, the bite in his voice made my jaw tighten with irritation.
“You asked why you always end up bent over… it’s because of this. Because you don’t respect any of us. And especially not Indi, when they’ve been nothing but nice to you. Nicer than I have patience for.” I turned to him fully now, my shoulder meeting the backrest of my seat. Someone had to put him in his place. “You need an attitude adjustment.”
He glared right back, pointing his finger at me. “You’re just mad because I don’t let you alphas just walk all over me.”
“It has nothing to do with walking all over you,” I said, catching his hand. I detested pointing. “You don’t trust us to take care of you.”
“I can take care of myself,” he said, though he made no motion to pull away
“Why would you want to?”
“Because when you let other people take care of you, they can take advantage of you.”
“I’m not going to sit here and lie to you and tell you I’m a good man. But I am a damn good alpha. And I take care of what’s mine.”
His exhale came out in a shudder. “I want to believe you, I just need time.”
“Time to what? Continue to be a brat to see if it changes my opinion?”
“Maybe,” Joon said, annoyed now, attempting to pull his hand away.
I tightened my fingers, using the grip to drag him across the center console, our faces just inches apart. “Try harder, Gattino. If you’re going to push me, you’ll want whatever you got out of it to be a worthwhile trade for the punishment.”
“I’m not scared of you,” he said, his voice almost steady enough for me to believe him.
“Why should you be?” I couldn’t help the smirk that touched the corners of my lips.
His tongue shot out and licked over his lips. “Because you’re threatening me?”
“I’m not threatening you, Gattino,” I said calmly. “I’m setting clear boundaries, with consequences.”
“And what will happen?” he asked. “If I have to face those consequences?”
“Are you looking for a preview?”
“I might be.” His pupils were blown so wide that it looked like his entire eye had turned black.
“Do you remember your safe word?”
“Red for stop, yellow for slow down, green for go,” he recited.
“That’s the stoplight system—I was asking for your immediate end.” Though I wasn’t afraid to dole out proper punishment, I was also conscious of my omega’s safety, always.
He shook his head, obviously a little caught up. “Pineapple.”
