She giggled. “Thanks! I should probably find a better place to practice.”
I grumbled, holding her to my chest. For just a moment, I let myself imagine what it would be like to have this omega—to keep a beautiful woman like Westin close and protect her from all the world’s bullshit.
And then reality crashed back over me, reminding me I was no good for anyone, let alone this perfect girl. I released her, and she skated away, her laughter echoing around the room.
Spider sidled over to me. “When did you two meet?”
“Just now.” I didn’t want to go into what happened the other night.
Spider snorted. “So, you going to make a move?”
I scowled at him. In a different world, I would.
Westin skated back over, looking slightly steadier on her feet.
“How much for them?” she asked Spider.
“Forty,” I responded before he could say anything. I’d pay him the difference, but she’d said her budget was fifty, and she still needed a helmet. I would have given them to her for free, but something told me her pride wouldn’t allow that.
Westin bit her plump lip, the move making my cock twitch.
“That doesn’t seem like nearly enough,” she said.
“Got them on sale,” Spider said, a shit-eating grin on his face as he glanced over at me.
“Well, if you’re sure,” she said, beaming.
“You need to buy a helmet,” I growled.
She just smiled at me and took the cash out of the fanny pack slung across her chest. Spider took the money with a wink and then made himself scarce. Maybe I’d let him live another day.
“Promise me you’ll buy a helmet, babydoll,” I said, softening my tone.
“I will.”
The silence between us was heavy. I didn’t want her to go. I wanted to ask her out… ask her to be mine forever.
But she deserved the world, and that was not me. I was nothing and nobody—just another bad alpha with an even worse past. Nothing to offer a girl like Westin.
She gave me a soft smile as we said goodbye, and maybe I imagined the flash of longing in her eyes. Then she skated out of my shop on her glittery skates, taking a piece of me with her.
7
WESTIN
Iskated away from Bear’s shop confident of one thing only—I definitely would not make it home without falling. But skating down the street in my powder blue skates felt liberating. I laughed as the wind tangled my hair and I held my arms out as I flew down a hill. Bear’s scent—all leather and whiskey—clung to my skin where he’d touched me, and I wanted to bottle it up. I hoped the scent would stay on my shirt so I could put it in my sad little nest. It would be way less pathetic with the scent of a sexy, tatted biker alpha in it.
Being around Bear had turned me into a giggling idiot, but it was hard to care when the feel of his hands on me was so addictive I would do almost anything to keep him there. And when he’d called mebabydoll? I was sure he said that to any woman who came into his shop, but it made me feel… special.
What were the odds that he was the same alpha who had helped me after I fell off my bike the other day? The romantic part of me said it was some sort of sign, and for a moment in his shop, I thought he might ask me out. I swallowed my disappointment that he hadn’t. It was better this way. The government wouldn’t allow us to bond as a pack because of myissues, and Bear wasn’t like the alphas at Cum Dumpster. He was someone I could find myself easily falling in love with. So if all I was going to get was a few minutes of casual, flirty touches where I actually felt good about myself, then I would take it.
Before I knew it, I was turning onto my street. I squealed as I hit the gravel driveway, unsure how to handle the terrain. I ended up taking tiny steps to cross the space to the house, tumbling onto the front porch.
My legs ached, but the fatigue and pain that were my near-constant companions were absent. I pulled the skates off and set them carefully by the front door. I needed to make sure I bought a helmet tomorrow to satisfy Bear. I’d never used one with my bike, but something about the alpha’s sternness and concern made me want to do what he said. Maybe I’d stop by his shop again to show it off.
I went to the kitchen to grab a snack and remembered Sugar Nest. I’d resisted looking at my phone all day, but now I couldn’t avoid it. My heart pounded as I pulled my phone out of my fanny pack. The app showed several notifications and I half covered my face as I opened it, as if that would shield me from what I was about to see.
I had four requests so far.
