Chapter 9
My legs are about to give out, and I catch myself against the wall, dropping the coffee I brought along for Ms. Manning. I lean heavily against the brick beside her front door, my head swimming and my instincts going haywire. The hamster from last night, the one latched onto Leo, the one who’s car is currently sitting in my parking lot–she’s an omega. Fuck, but she smells good, like peppermint and chocolate. Wait, was that why Jacks kept sniffing us last night and muttering about cookies?
I shake myself hard, looking down at my coffee splattered jeans. What the hell is going on? How did I not realize last night? And why the fuck does she smell so good? I’ve met omegas before, they all smell good, but I’ve never smelled one that makes me question my sanity.
One and all, great questions, but for now, I think I just scared Ms. Manning, Candice…Candy–well, she smells like a treat that is for damned sure.
I wonder if she tastes as good as she smells. What would it feel like to have her pressed against me, all soft and delicate? My fist wrapped around that long dark hair, holding her head to the side so I can taste that fragile area right where her neck meets the shoulder.
Okay, full fucking stop. This is a customer who entrusted me with her car after someone vandalized it. For fucks sake, her cat just died. I need to get my mind under control before I try this again.
Reaching out, but not really expecting an answer, I ring her bell again, then raise my hand and knock for good measure. “Candice, Honey, can you come out here please?”
Fucking hell, where did all these manners come from, and why the fuck did I just call a virtual strangerHoney. I need to get this shit under controlnow.
I try again, “Ms. Manning, I need to talk to you about your car, please answer the door.” I hear the deadbolt click, and the main door slips open a few inches. Just enough that I can see her standing there, her fingers wrapped around the edge, knuckles white, and the fucking huge ass hairclip is still on her head. The scent is not as strong through the glass of the storm door, but even if she sprayed herself with de-scenter, her house would still be saturated with that perfume. Just the thought makes me take a step back, needing to adjust my aching cock. These jeans were snug before but ever since she opened that door the first time they could damned near be labeled as a torture device.
“Ms. Manning, can you please step outside for just a minute. I’m having a hard time concentrating over here, and maybe the clear air would help a bit.” I feel my teeth grinding, trying to stay polite, when every instinct I have is demanding that I snatch up this hamster woman and drag her back to our pack house. Biology’s a bitch, and I try to switch to mouth breathing, which really does make me look like a bear, but at this point appearances are the least of my worries.
The glass door opens with a loud screech, and Candice steps out onto the concrete walkway. I know I’m staring, I can’t seem to help it. Both her hands are full–at least she has good sense, since one of them appears to be a can of mace, and the other one is a bright pink cord–I mean, I am not as kinky as Xan, and I don’t thinkIwill ever want to be tied up, but if she’s offering.
No, wait, brain, stop.
Looks like it is a braided cord, a leash…once again, notmykink–I really need to get my mind out of the gutter here. But it is attached to that–that is not a hair clip. There is a big lizard sitting on top of her head, with a pink leash. And damned if that isn’t strange enough to finally reset my fucking brain to at least some semblance of sense.
“Ms. Manning, I’m real sorry to show up unannounced this afternoon, but I need to talk to you about your car.” She is standing in front of the closed door, and honestly, I’m not sure how she thinks that’s going to work out.
If I was some kind of savage, she would have to step away to open it to escape. But I am not trying to make her feel worse,so I just keep my mouth shut. I was trying to look over her head, see if anyone else is in the house with her; an omega living alone is in danger. But every time I try to raise my eyes over her head that damned lizard catches me by surprise. I don’t know what the hell it is, Leo would. Hell, it’s probably one of Leo’s patients. But itiscreepy as fuck just staring at me–shit, I made eye contact.
Wait, what is that little fucker trying to do now?
“Shit, Iggy, not now, what the hell!” is the only warning I get before the lizard is flying through the air, having leapt from her hair. I don’t know what kind of crazy this thing is, but damn there is no way in hell it can jump that far.
Before my mind can really process what my body’s doing, I reach out my arm to catch it. Little bastard made it farther than I thought it would anyway. It lands with a squishy thud against my shoulder and scrambles around the back of my neck, tiny claws digging into my skin, and rubbing the top of its scaly head against the underside of my jaw on the other side.
So, I am tied to Candice by a lizard and it’s bright pink leash–my arm still hanging uselessly between us–covered in coffee, andnowmy phone decides to ring.
Xan
Ijust finished up with a spark plug job, pulled the car back to the lot, and was leaving paperwork on the desk for Kelly to take care of in the morning when the pack bond from Gabe opens up and I am nearly knocked over with the shot of lust pouring through.
Did dude fall into a vat of pheromones or something, I mean, what the fuck even was that?
I lean against the desk, shifting uncomfortably, trying to figure out what the hell to do about the inappropriate work erection when Trey walks in, “‘Ey, boss, I’mma head on out ta lunch…” he trails off, not finding Gabe in the office, but taking in my red face, fast breathing and hands holding a grease stained rag over the erection straining my coveralls. He does a better about-face than I have seen in a long time, and leaves without another word. I’m going to have words with Gabe after this, just as soon as I make sure that fucker is ok.
I pick up the office phone to check up on him, but my attention is diverted by tires screeching into our driveway. What the ever-loving hell is Jacks doing driving, and why does he have Leo with him? They both know better.
I hang up the phone. Clearly, having to deal with my wayward pack mates takes precedence over whatever Gabe is getting himself into–or off with, if that surge earlier was any indication. Jacks slams on the brakes just outside the front door, and spillsout of the driver's side door, dragging a handful of brown paper with him.
Thank fuck Leo is slightly more with it, reaching over and turning off the engine, and bringing the key with him as he takes a few shaky steps out of the car. I’m unsure if his wobbly legs are from Jacks’ driving, or the same predicament my own boxers are losing the battle with, but Jacks scrambles through the front door making the bell jangle loudly and throwing what turns out to be a brown paper bag on the desk behind me before wrapping his arms around my shoulders and starting to suck on my neck.
Oh, he made us lunch. Well, that was sweet of him.
“Where is Gabe?” Leo grinds out as he shuffles in. Yup, definitely a shared predicament. Turns out scrubs hold in an erection even less than my work coveralls. Poor man looks like he is about to bust a fucking seam. Jacks is incredibly distracting, with his hand wrapped around my ponytail, gently biting up the column of my throat, and rubbing his hard cock against my hip. I grab his face and pull him away.
“Love, I know, believe me, I know. But this is not the time or the place ok?” I kiss him briefly on the mouth, nipping at his lower lip so he understands this is not a rejection, just a delay. He pulls back and wanders over to the waiting area, rocking back and forth and muttering something about chocolate mint cookies again. I don’t know where his brain goes sometimes, but he doesn’t seem as agitated as Leo right now, so let's just deal with one emergencyat a time,
“He took off for lunch early, said he needed to go talk to the owner of that little rust box out front. I don't know why he didn’t just call.” I shrug my shoulders. I don’t know what our pack leader had planned. He didn’t tell me in advance, but that’s nothing new. I’ll fully admit to some confusion and curiosity on my part, but I always assumed that if there was anything important, he would let me know. Leo’s looking out into the parking lot, scoping out the car that I mentioned before. “That car belongs to Ms. Manning; she was in the clinic yesterday. Someone slashed her tires while her cat was being put down.” I flinch back–what in the actual fuck.
