In Doubt, page 8
“Yeah,” Dylan says dreamily, his own gaze drifting that way too. “I wouldn’t mind finding a sweet, little omega like her for our pack. Someone who’d build a nice little nest in our home and let us rut them through their heat. Someone who I can snuggle up with at night. Someone who’d bind us all together.”
Dylan’s always been the most sentimental out of the four of us, the most romantic. Must be that bloody Welsh poetic blood of his.
I kick at the dusty ground. “We don’t need that kind of turmoil. Not when our pack is so new. We need to get ourselves sorted first before we start worrying about any omega.” An omega like the one out there who none of us can keep our eyes off. Yeah, it’s easy to say all that stuff, another to mean it. I shake the thought away. “Besides, I’ve got too much playing the field to do before I settle down.”
“You’re not settled down with us?” Dylan asks, with mock hurt.
I rest my hand on his thigh, squeezing gently.
“You know what I mean.”
“I don’t know,” Dylan says. “I think an omega for our pack, an omega who belonged to us all, that we would share and love together, would be a good thing.”
I have to admit, the nest and the heat thing sounds pretty damn good. Maybe even the snuggling bit too. It’s been a long time since I held an omega in my arms and purred until she fell asleep. And I’ve never shared an omega with another alpha, with my packmates. It’s the ultimate fantasy.
Giorgie points to one of the pillars and Jake follows her over. They pour over an inscription and then the bickering starts. Giorgie’s hands fall to her hips and Jake’s brow falls over his eyes.
Yeah, maybe I was wrong about all that stuff.
“Should we intervene?” Dylan asks.
“I like watching the way that woman makes him squirm.” Although the whole business in the aeroplane was a bit bloody extreme. I wondered at one point if we were going to have to hold our packmate down. The effect of her scent is definitely lessened by the fresh air and a bit of a breeze. Lessened but not completely removed. I wonder if that’s why she gets under his skin so much.
Eventually, Jake shakes his head and stalks towards us.
“Everything OK?” I ask, trying not to grin.
“Fine,” he snaps, flopping down beside me. “It’s been a trying morning, let’s just say that.”
“Why did you bring her then?”
“Fuck knows,” he says, his gaze flicking back towards her.
“Really?”
“Yes.”
I chuckle. “Bullshit.”
“She did the thing with her eyes, OK?”
“What thing?” Aiden asks.
“Made them all big and wide and pleading. Went on about how much she wanted to see the temple. How important it was to her.”
“And you couldn’t resist.”
Jake kicks at a loose pebble on the ground.
We watch as Giorgie makes some scribbles in a notebook before eventually turning to find us.
She smiles at us all with a hint of shyness, then peers at her watch as she walks towards us.
“It’s getting late. I guess I’ll make my way back to the hotel.”
“On your own?” Jake asks, sounding like a grumpy kid.
“Yes,” she says, lifting her chin.
I decide this could spiral into round two of whatever the previous argument was about. So I leap to my feet.
“I’ll escort you back, Giorgie,” I tell her. I’m looking at her, not my packmate, but I can guarantee he’s staring daggers right through my back.
“We can all escort you back,” Jake says, and it doesn’t escape my notice how she pales at that and takes the tiniest of steps backward.
I cock my head to one side, examining her. “All of us a bit overwhelming?” I ask her.
“I … it’s …”
I knock my fist against Jake’s shoulder. He can be an oblivious arsehole sometimes. If we find one omega’s scent overwhelming, what does he think it’s like for her when there’s four of us?
I motion with my head towards the exit and the small gift shop waiting for us there.
“Come on. I think I ought to buy you that print as a thank you for the tour.” With the smallest of hesitations, she follows me. “I understand your hesitation about climbing into a car with a bunch of alphas,” I say, staring straight ahead and trying to show this isn’t a big deal. “But we’d be pretty shit alphas if we sat back and watched you climb into a car with some stranger.”
“You’re a stranger,” she points out.
I clutch my hands to my chest. “Fuck, I’m wounded. We just spent several hours together.”
She giggles a little, a sound I find I really like, and pushes her glasses up her nose as she steps inside the gift shop. For the next half an hour, I pretend to browse the shop, when really I’m browsing her.
I watch as she examines a row of miniature temples, picking each one up carefully and cradling it in her palm like it’s a precious jewel. When she’s done, she moves on to a collection of statues, her fingers dragging along the shelf, then reaching up onto her tiptoes to stroke her finger down the cheek of a bust. Next, something on the ground snares her attention, and she crunches down to drag it forward and look at it too.
She’s captivated by everything and, damn it, I’m captivated by her.
Resting back against the wall with my arms folded over my chest I can’t help imagining all the things I’d like to do to her if this shop were empty.
The other three wave to me through the window, Jake giving me the finger, before disappearing off to find a ride.
I don’t care. I’m perfectly happy where I am, enjoying the view.
I saunter up to the omega. She’s hovering in front of a cabinet of necklaces, each one laden with an Egyptian charm. She captures one in her hand and lets the small figure dangling from the chain rest on her fingers.
“You like them?” I ask.
“They’re beautiful.”
I unhook the chain and take it from her hand.
“Here, you should try it on.” I undo the clasp and motion at her with my head, she creases her brow in puzzlement. “Lift your hair,” I say it softly with a hint of command. Her long, chestnut locks are twisted in a knot and pinned to the back of her head, leaving her neck bare, aside from a few stray strands. The tissue-thin skin of her gland is just visible at the base of her neck. It’s provocative as hell and my own gland tingles in response.
The omega lifts the messy bun and now I see the whole of her gland. The tissue-thin skin quivers and this close to her it smells heavenly. I come to stand behind her, hearing her breath hitch as I wrap my arms around her, the charm falling against her chest and nestling into her cleavage. Then I draw my arms around the back of her neck, fixing the clasp together. I let it fall against her skin, against her gland. She peers down at the charm, her fingers caressing it, and I stand there transfixed by the place where an alpha could claim her.
I inhale her, and, shit, I’m getting hard. I step away.
“You going to have room in your suitcase?” I ask gesturing to the pile of items she’s collected.
She sighs as she removes the necklace and hangs it back on the shelf. “Probably not. I wish I’d brought a second bag. It’s all too beautiful. I may have to throw out my trainers to make room.”
She walks over to the counter and hands over her treasures.
I stare down at the collection of items and chuckle. “I thought we agreed I’d buy you one print.”
“Oh no … I didn’t mean for you to …”
She reaches for her purse.
“Hey, I admire your gumption. I said I’d pay,” I tell her, pulling out my wallet.
She frowns at me. “I can pay for myself.” There’s that tone again, Jake would call it snotty. But I’m not sure. It sounds more defensive to me.
I hold up my hand. Unlike Jake, I’m not going to get into an argument with this omega. There are far better things I’d like to do with her.
“OK, but I’m one to stick to my side of a bargain so I’m buying this.” I take down a photo of the temple, one taken above, showing the full perspective of the place, glittering gold against the blue sky.
“Thank you,” she says, when we’ve both paid and the shop assistant has wrapped our items in grey tissue paper.
I ask the shop assistant about a taxi and he makes a phone call, telling us a car will be with us in ten minutes. Buying us a couple of cold cans of coke, we go and wait on a small wall.
She crosses her long legs as she pulls back the tag and takes a swig of her drink, her elegant neck, elongating as she tips back her head.
“So top of the class?” I say, grinning at her.
“Most of the time,” she grins back. “Occasionally Jake nips me to that spot.”
“You like the competition?” I ask, noting the gleam in her eye.
“Urgh,” she says, seeming like she’s going to deny it. “Your friend–”
“Packmate,” I correct.
“Is a giant pain in the neck.”
My eyes automatically float back to her neck.
I flick my gaze away before she catches me looking.
“How about you?” she asks.
“How about me what?”
“Are you top of the class?”
I snort. “No, sports have always been my thing. I’ve never been that academic.”
“But you’re studying for a Masters?”
“Yep.” I study her. “Have you ever come to watch us play?”
Rugby’s huge at Crestmore. Bigger than football or any of the other sports put together. Every match sells out pulling all the townies into watch as well.
She flicks her finger against the opened tag of her can, a metallic sound ringing out. “Once.”
“Not a fan, then?” I smirk.
She squints up at me. “It was a bit much.” I frown, intrigued by that answer. “I guess you love playing it.”
I laugh. “Yep, more than anything else in the world. All the other boys wanted to be football stars. But my dad and my grandad, they were rugby fans. They had me in a pair of boots before I could walk, toddling along with a ball bigger than my head.”
“Awww,” she says. Then giggles.
“What?” I ask, shifting closer towards her on the wall.
“I can’t imagine you all small and tiny.”
“Oh yeah,” I say, perhaps flexing my biceps a little. Jake will wring my neck for flirting with this girl. But fuck it, I can’t help it. It’s that big encouraging smile of hers and her damn scent. She has me wanting to impress her, just so I can claim more of those smiles. “I was a pretty big baby too. You should see the photos. Looks like I ate all the other babies for lunch.”
She bursts out laughing, and I grin back at her, a stupid feeling of pride in my chest.
Jakey-boy only receives frowns from this girl. She’s beaming a ten watt smile my way.
“Your poor mum,” she says, swinging her legs slightly in her glee, her skin brushing ever so slightly against mine, making every nerve in my body alert. “Is she an omega?”
“Yep.”
“Evolution has got it all wrong. Asking pixies like me,” she points to herself. “To give birth to giants like you!”
“Omegas are hardier than they look,” I say, trying hard to keep the growl from my voice when she’s just planted an image of herself, belly rounded and ripe, in my head. “They can take a lot from us alphas.”
She blushes bright crimson at those words and rolls her eyes.
I chuckle, raising my palms in defence. “You brought up the topic, not me.”
“Yeah, I guess I did.” She sighs. “Just …“ She fixes me with her intelligent eyes. “Why does everything always have to be about sex between alphas and omegas?”
“Honestly,” I say and she nods. “Because the sex is so good, it’s hard for it not to be.” I keep my eyes locked on her face, fighting the urge to let my gaze swim down her body.
“Hmmm,” she says, taking another swig of her coke. I wonder what kind of sex she’s been having for that kind of response. Her voice is laced with sarcasm when she speaks again, “I suppose you’ve had a lot so you’d know.”
Maybe I have. But I haven’t had her.
9
Giorgie
Balancing my collection of souvenirs in my arms, I climb out of the taxi.
“Do you need a hand with all those?” Levi calls as he scoots over to the seat I’ve just vacated.
“No, I’m good,” I say, tucking them under my chin. I hesitate. “Thanks for seeing me home.”
“My pleasure,” he says in a way that has my insides fluttering.
I spin on my toes.
Today has been confusing. Very confusing. I need to lie out on my bed and try to untangle my thoughts.
I had a stupid little freak out in the trench and had our dig find snatched from our hands by the more senior researchers. Yet I feel like I’m walking on air as I cross the empty foyer and climb the stairs.
I stepped inside Rulox Temple! My mind bubbles with the carvings and pictures I saw there today, forming new ideas and connections. I’m excited to curl up on my bunk, study the sketches I made and scribble down all my ideas.
But when I push open the dormitory door, I’m pounced on by Sia, a towel wrapped around her body, her hair wet.
She grabs both my elbows as I enter the room and drags me down to sit on the edge of my bunk.
“Details now!” she shrieks, her eyes hungrily roaming my face.
“It was amazing, Sia.”
“Oh my God, Giorgie! I’m so happy for you.”
“I know! I’ve never seen anything like it!”
Sia’s eyes widen. “Was it big?”
“Huge. Far bigger than I thought it would be.”
“I always thought it would be big,” she mumbles with a sly smile.
“Yes, but the carvings–”
“Carvings?” Sia’s lip curls in disgust.
We stare at each other. “Yes, Sia, the carvings of Isis on the front of the temple.” I scowl at her. “What did you think I was talking about?”
“Jake Grantham.”
“What about him?”
“Giorgie! Did you not spend the afternoon on a sightseeing trip with Jake Grantham?”
“Well, yes. And his pack.”
“His pack?! Two days ago you couldn’t stand to be within a foot of that man. Now you’re swanning off on dates with him and his pack.”
“It wasn’t a date. They were going anyway and Jake said I could tag along.”
“But you went … willingly. And here you are returned with an armful of gifts and a huge grin on your face.”
“From the temple, Sia. Not from Jake Grantham.”
My words catch the interest of Zoe and Maya who both look our way.
“Are you dating?” Maya asks.
“Who? Jake Grantham? NO!” I shriek, perhaps a little too loudly because Maya’s eyebrows shoot up in alarm. I cough. “No, Jake Grantham is the last man on earth I’d want to date.”
“Really?” Zoe asks, her nose wrinkled like I’m slightly deranged. “Half the university and the city wants to date him.”
“Or at least screw him,” Maya chimes in.
“Why?” I ask in genuine disbelief.
“Errr.” Zoe laughs. “Have you seen the man play rugby?”
“Have you seen him without his shirt on?”
“Once and no,” I reply, trying really hard not to think of Jake Grantham with his shirt off. “Have you?” I ask them. I wouldn’t be surprised if Jake’s plastered topless photos of himself all over the internet. Or perhaps they’ve seen the real thing. My stomach drops.
Sia grins. “Shit, Giorgie, you’ve seen the calendar, right?”
“What calendar?”
Maya starts tapping on her phone. “The rugby team did this calendar for charity at Christmas time. It’s super hot.”
She passes her phone to me and I peer down at the screen. Then shriek, dropping the thing in my lap.
“Oh my god, Giorgie.” Sia bumps her shoulder against mine. “What?”
I gulp, then pick the phone back up and squint at the photo. “I just wasn’t expecting … that. He’s naked.” And by the looks of things all oiled up, the dark lighting making his skin gleam and accentuating every contour of his muscular body. A small towel hangs between his legs but a fair patch of curls is visible just above it.
“Nah,” Zoe says. “Unfortunately, you can’t see his junk.”
“Why didn’t I know about this?”
Sia shrugs. “You don’t usually want to know about Jake and his rugby team.”
“True,” I say, wanting to drag my eyes away from this photo but finding it almost impossible.
“There are more …” Sia sings, reaching over to flick her finger across the screen.
Another image appears, this time of Levi. I gulp. He’s laid out on his back, long dark hair tumbling around his face, arms tucked behind his head, legs dangling either side of a bench, looking like he’s about to do a situp. Every muscle in his stomach is bulging. And there are a lot of muscles in his stomach.
“Holy shit,” I whisper, flicking through several more shots. One of Dylan holding a leek provocatively and laughing at the camera, and the last one of Aiden, a huge Christmas present balanced in his strong arms and protecting his modesty.
Maya coughs and waggles her hand at me, and with reluctance I hand over her phone.
“Oh, come on,” Sia says. “You knew he was hot.”
“I guess,” I mumble.
“Has he asked you out?” Maya asks, staring at the pictures herself.
“God, no!” I reply. “He hates me as much as I hate him.”
“I genuinely thought there was something going on between the two of you,” Zoe says, rubbing her wet hair with a towel.
“Nope,” I say.
“Not even today?” Sia asks, bumping my shoulder a second time.
I think about my mini-panic attack in the trench. I think about the strange spark of electricity I felt when he held my hand. I think about how he told everyone that we both made that find.
