Page 110 of Claiming the Pack's Omega

“Your fancy pasta’s burning,” I croak out.

His head jerks towards the stove and he curses under his breath.

“Fuck.” He turns back to me, that dark sparkle in his amber eyes leaving me rooted to the ground. “We’re not done with this conversation. Stay put.”

A minute later and he’s saved the pasta and put it in a large serving dish.

And I just stand there, leaning against the counter behind me, my feet planted to the ground.

There’s a part of me that wanted to move just to see what he’d do—that’s the normal, sane part of my brain that I’m used to using—but I don’t. Instead, I stand still, watching his every move through a new light.

A light that’s seriously leaving me hot and bothered.

He saunters back over to me, a cocky smirk on his lips.

“So you can listen to instructions," he says, returning his hands to my hips and giving them a subtle squeeze.

“And you can give them,” I say, raising an eyebrow. “I don’t think you’ve shown me this side of you before.”

“I mean, the appeal for me is when someone gives up their control to me. That kind of trust isintoxicating,” he says, leaning down to the crook of my neck and breathing in like he’s sniffing a line of me.

My eyes flutter shut, and my hands come up to grip the belt loops of his slacks. The omega part of my brain takes control of my body and tilts my neck to give him better access.

The little hussy.

She has the right idea, though, especially when I feel the near ghost-like brush of Theo’s lips against the base of my neck.

“I—I forgive you for lying to me, and I understand why you did it, but I need to know how much of what you shared with me was a lie,” I breathe out. Fuck, why the hell does my voice sound so breathy?

He stands straight, his chest expanding with a deep breath as he looks down at me. It seems to take him a second to ground himself back in reality, which definitely makes me feel a lot better about my body’s reaction to his.

“None of it, really,” he shrugs.

“Okay,” I say, nodding slowly. “I believe you.”

I look up into his amber eyes, which still carry the heavy intensity of his desire for me.

“Part—part of the reason I was so damn pissed off at you in particular was because I was starting to like you. That room, those nights together, they—they didn’t feel real, you know? It was all a fantasy. Except I was the fantasy for all the other men I’ve serviced. But when you walked in, it was the kind of fantasy that I could enjoy. And then I started to cling to it in my head, the idea that maybe it was okay formeto finally lose myself in a fantasy.”

Theo’s gaze is so intense, it’s like he’s cataloguing every single pause, every single waver of my voice as I explain my feelings to him. I don’t know whether I like it or not. I feel vulnerable, like I’m baring my heart to him.

But I’ve spent my entire life paying attention to others. I guess it’s my turn for someone to pay attention to me. I deserve that, don’t I?

“But when I realized you were lying, that you were only spending time with me for the case and you were asking me to throw my entire life away, I was smacked in the face with the fact that I liked you. Liking an alpha, especially a Northside one, has never been a possibility in my brain, before this, you know? I’ve had so many—” I shake my head after my voice cracks a little. “So many shitty experiences with alphas that it felt like I was betraying my values or something. So I clung to a reason to hate you. Or at least I tried.”

Theo’s expression shifts throughout my entire monologue. Anger at the mention of other alphas, sadness when I explain my worldview, but what lingers is the hope I see sparking in his eyes.

Theo uses his hold on my hips to lift me up onto the kitchen counter. He steps between my legs, settling between them and making room for himself. His smoky cardamom scent fills my lungs, with him this close to me. It makes me want to bury my face in his neck like he did to me.

“You’re right, I did know who you were before I first met you, and I did come and see you because of the case," he murmurs. “Stone had mentioned you to us and Milo did some digging to figure out where else you worked.”

I swallow hard, nodding. I had assumed that’s how it happened.

“But I swear, from the moment we first spoke, the case became secondary. There was just something about you that wasenchanting," he says, his gaze darting between mine like he’s imploring me to believe him.

I don’t miss the fact he says “from the moment we firstspoke,” not from the moment he first saw me. It’s just one word, and at face value, one word shouldn’t mean so much to me, but he said it without thinking. It wasn’t my body that drew him to me.

I’m sure my body didn’t hurt, in fact, I’m sure it helped a lot, but a soft smile tugs at my lips at the thought that he actuallylikesme. Likes me forme.