“I’ve been trying to think of bakery names,” I said, holding my breath as I waited for her to say something.
“Bakery names? Forourbakery?” she asked, a slow smile spreading across her face.
“Yeah.” I cupped her ass, pulling her tight against my body. I felt vulnerable—still unconvinced I could run a business—and needed to feel her against me.
Her hips twitched, and the scent of her arousal bloomed in the air.
“What did you come up with?”
“I thought something with the letters of all our names would be cool. Like JBCT.”
“Rolls off the tongue,” she responded dryly.
“Yeah, why the fuck doesn’t one of our names start with a vowel? But then I had the perfect idea. We could combine just our initials and call it BJ.” I winked, thrusting my hard-on against her softness.
Josie snorted. “Absolutely not.”
“I think it’s perfect,” I teased. My lips trailed down her jaw, and she shuddered. “But if you’re going to be picky, how about Josie’s?”
“If it’s going to be named after someone, it should be you,” she responded, her voice a little breathy. “Ben’s Bakery. It has alliteration and everything.”
I shrugged, placing hot kisses down her jaw and neck, scraping my teeth against her tender skin, and resisting the urge to bite. The bakery would be just as much hers as it would be mine. After years of being denied even the basics, she deserved something that belonged to her.
“You really think it’s going to happen? This bakery?” she asked, biting her lip.
“I know it is,” I responded, tipping her head up to meet my gaze. “You’re a badass who can do anything you set your mind to, and the world won’t always be this cruel. We’ll make a better one together.”
She closed the space between our lips, drawing me in for a tender kiss that quickly deepened to something more. I kept one hand firmly on her ass, squeezing her to me, and the other on her neck. She tasted so sweet, so perfect, as she fisted my shirt to pull me closer. It was as if we both wanted to melt into each other.
Josie pulled away from our kiss with a small moan that went straight to my cock.
“I know it hasn’t been forty-eight hours yet,” she said, running her fingers down my stubble. “But would you try barking at me?”
Her nervousness was clear and I felt a tightness in my chest. I’d spent most of the day combing through the emails Charlie and I obtained, trying to find anything that would prove that omegas were being held as blackmail. Neither of us had found anything. What if we never found the evidence? What if the serum didn’t work?
I breathed through my own anxiety, cupping Josie’s face and kissing her cheeks. Of course, I wouldn’t deny her request. I hated the idea of using my bark on her, of taking away her choices. But she wanted me to do this.
I started to say we could give it a try when I felt it—a sharp burst of agonizing panic through the bond so intense it felt like I’d been punched in the stomach.
Cam let out a primal roar that reached us even from the gym basement.
I grabbed Josie’s hand and ran.
ChapterTwenty-Six
Josie
The world spun as my panic threatened to overwhelm me. Ben’s burnt scent was so thick it seemed to coat the back of my throat. I needed to get to my alphas, needed to destroy whatever,whoeverhad made Cam yell like that. It was a sound I never wanted to hear again—all terrifying outrage, anger, and pain.
I thought we were running towards the gym, but then Ben took a sharp turn towards the garage. I whimpered, tugging on his arm.
“Have to get you out,” he whispered, his grip on my arm so tight I knew it would bruise.
Tears streamed down my face. “No,” I gasped, pulling against him. I couldn’t leave Theo and Cam. We were a pack; we had to stay together.
Ben wrapped his arms around my waist and dragged me to the door leading to the garage. He leaned forward, peering through the small window in the door before throwing himself back with a curse. A gunshot pierced the air and a bullet hit the door dead center.
I covered my mouth, biting back my scream. Rage and fear coursed through me. Someone was trying to harm my pack. I wanted to fight, crush the intruders, and make them suffer. But it was all I could do to keep up with Ben as he sprinted to the French doors leading to the courtyard.
