“Aw, the night when we first officially met?” She asked, fawning as she looked up at me.
“Mm hmm,” I murmured, pulling her in closer. “There’s something I need to tell you about that night,” I said, the memory of my pack going damn near feral searching for that scent still fresh in my mind.
“What is it?” She asked, her hand running across mine, making me want more.
“I knew we found our future mate that night,” I murmured, pulling her in closer.
“Really?” Arabella asked, and I could feel her excitement.
“Yes,” I said, grateful that I was so lucky to have found her. “We smelled something as we were leaving. The most incredible scent I’ve ever experienced,” I admitted, and she pulled back, looking at me in confusion.
“What?” She asked, and I smiled.
“We smelled your perfume in the hall. It was so faint, but it was unmistakable. The omega who had a scent like that could only be ours,” I said, and I saw her confusion for a moment, then her eyes widened. “The second we got the compatibility results, everything clicked into place. I knew it had to be you. Your scent at the gala. It all made sense." I murmured. Arabella felt stiff suddenly. “I’m sorry - I didn’t mean to embarrass you. It was anaccident that we smelled it at all. It was so faint that it was barely there.” I said.
Arabella just looked at me wide-eyed, then smiled, nodding lightly.
“And I cannot wait to smell it again,” I said, my body already warming at the thought. “But when you’re ready,” I added. “Only when you’re ready.”
Arabella leaned back, and a look of panic briefly shot across her face before it was replaced by a smooth mask of happiness. Oh, no, had I just pressured her? I grabbed her hand.
“Arabella, this can go as slow as you want. We will take as much time as you need to feel ready for us. We already know you’re perfect, that your scent is perfect. There’s no rush at all.” I affirmed, and she nodded.
“Of - of course.” She said, her eyes suddenly looking around. “But I don’t want to share my scent just yet. It’s a personal thing.” She bit her lip, and I nodded. “I am ready, though. To join your pack.” Her blunt words had my head spinning. Ready to join but not ready to perfume? This omega had definitely been through something. I ran my thumb over her hand.
“No rush. We’d like to get to know you. And give you time to get to know us. Like I said, we already know we’re perfect for each other. Let’s enjoy the courtship.” Arabella nodded, but her mind seemed elsewhere.
“Of course. Well, I have to get back to the shoot. Could we go out later? She asked.
“Any time you want. Just say the word.” I practically purred, and before she got up, she leaned into me, resting a hand against my chest. Her eyes lifted to mine, then she rose onto her toes and pressed a lingering kiss against my lips. I slowly responded, not wanting to move too fast. Her hand slid lightly along my jaw before she leaned in again, this time brushing a second kiss against the corner of my mouth. It was sweet. I felt calm, but strangely lacked the urgency of what I thought I’d feel in this scenario. Our first kiss. It should have left me nearly feral with desire, but instead it just felt nice. But I didn’t linger on the thought. When we were ready, the feelings would grow.
Several members of the crew blushed from across the studio. Arabella laughed softly at the attention, her fingers lingering on my arm for another second before she finally stepped away.
“Don't work too hard, Hunter.” Then she walked away, and I was left wondering where in the hell my desire had disappeared to.
Chapter 20
Ivy
I measured out the emulsifier one more time, then added it to my solution. There - perfect. I had a good prototype for my spray idea, and this was already looking promising. I stepped back and took a deep breath, thankful for the distraction this new project was giving me.
The lab had always been my safe space, a place to disappear into when everything else felt like it was falling apart. Whenever Arabella moved in and dominated another family dinner, or when Clara found a new way to remind me how much I didn’t compare to her daughter, or even when my own fathers seemed to overlook me, I came here. The lab was a break from all that.
Now, I was using it to keep my mind off of my most recent failure - the inability to realize that a pack wasn’t actually flirting withme. I was still bent over my workstation reviewing notes when the door opened unexpectedly.
I looked up, then had to actively push down my instinct to back away. It was Arabella. Arabella rarely came to the lab, and I really didn’t want her in here now, when I was doing my best to avoid her. This made it twice in the last month that she’d invaded my space.
"Hi, Ivy," she said brightly.
"Hi," I responded, looking back at my formula and trying to be so dull that she left me alone. She wandered into the lab, looking around as if she'd never been there before.
"Wow. I always forget how much work goes on in here."
I glanced around at the shelves lined with samples, formulas, testing strips, and research notes. Years of my work surrounded us, but I just nodded. Of course, she wouldn’t know about the hard part. She just showed up to claim credit.
“Yup,” I answered, trying to focus on the spray and not on Arabella’s presence.
"What are you working on?" She asked.
