Page 8

Chapter 8

Asher

“Come on,” I tell her.

Harlow is standing a few steps away, a white towel wrapped around her, and my eyes are roaming over the skin I see. “I don’t bite.”

I don’t tell her that the sight of her makes my teeth ache and I’d love to sink my canines into her neck and claim her.

I remember Harlow since my pack mate, Oliver, pointed her out to me after a hockey game in New York. He told me that day he could smell his omega. Imagine his disdain when he found out she was the girlfriend of Colton Sinclair, a rookie from the New York team.

We had to drag him back on the plane because he didn’t want to leave her. Coach told him he had to get a grip .

But strangely, Oliver knows. I suspect he had a plan—and now she is here in LA.

I wonder what brought her here.

Was it Oliver? Or is she running away from Colton?

Her eyes widen and her body stiffens as she stares at the bed and then me. I don’t know why she’s nervous, but I gently pat the bed and say, “You’ll get yourself all knotted up standing like that.”

She squeaks. “I’m an alpha.”

There is no fucking way that she’s an alpha. I could roll my eyes at her for hiding her designation. I agree with Oliver. She’s so obviously an omega, and it would be too hard for her to hide it.

But Coach showed me a story about Colton dumping his girlfriend for an omega. A story Colton is still trying to dispute.

Oliver wants our pack to make a move soon on her, not having her running back into the arms of her ex-boyfriend.

I laugh. “I wasn’t offering to knot you, princess.” Although , I’ll do that soon enough . “I was telling you to relax.”

She hesitates for a moment. “Sorry. You’re not what I expected.”

I arch an eyebrow. “And what were you expecting?”

“A woman. Ash—Ashley.”

“Asher.” I grin as I pull the waistband of my pants out and stare inside. “Definitely not a woman.”

She bites her bottom lip as she contains a laugh. “I should have known you’d be a man, this place is testosterone heav—”

Heaven.

She stops and shakes her head.

I like that she likes my smell, or maybe it’s all the hockey players who come in here day after day. I’m going to go with the former.

I hold up the bottle of oil in my hand. “You ready?”

Her eyes round, and she squeezes her legs together .

“You’re safe here,” I tell her, patting the bed. “Lie down, I’m not going to do anything you don’t want me to.”

“If I moan, just ignore me.” Harlow lies down on the bed, face down. The towel is still wrapped around her, and my heart thuds so hard it’ll break my rib cage.

I hold back a groan. My knot is already aching to be inside her.

“It’s just that my usual physio is a woman, and she doesn’t mind me making those noises.”

I draw the towel down until all of her back and the top half of her gorgeous ass is showing “Make whatever noises you need to make. I want you to relax.” I pause for a moment.

Keep this professional, Asher.

“So you were in a car accident and you’re still suffering from a sore neck?”

“Yeah.” She groans as I pour oil over her back, spreading it into her skin to warm it up. “I can go a few days before I feel like my spine and neck tighten up, and then I overcompensate and end up with spasms in my back.”

I knead her back slowly with my thumbs. “I’ll work my way to your neck, but if it gets too much, let me know.”

Harlow sighs happily. “It feels perfect.”

“Who is your usual physio?” I ask as I flatten my hands, move them over her skin while pushing with my thumbs to deepen the massage.

“Oh God,” she moans. “Tanya Fallows. She works at Happy Hands.”

I nod. “She’s a good masseuse, but she’s not a physio.”

“Mom pays for two sessions a week. I can’t afford a physio.”

“I’ll try to fit you in at least once a week.”

“Thank you. Ohhh... That’s so good.” Her perfume spills in the air. “And your oil smells amazing. I need some to bathe in. ”

I smile. She really doesn’t know it’s her perfume and my scent mingling in the air.

I want to turn her over on the bed and plunge my dick inside her.

Fucking hell.

Where the hell did that come from?

My thumbs massage small circles on either side of her neck as my fingers entwine with her hair to knead her scalp.

“Asher,” she moans and then coughs. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be. Just lose yourself in the feeling, Harlow, and you’ll benefit more from it.”

I reposition my hardening cock because despite my words; her calling my name in that way is like a siren call, causing my dick to turn into a solid steel bar.

I’ve never been turned on by a client before. It’s so unprofessional, but this is my omega. I feel justified.

“I’m going to move your arms above your head,” I tell her, taking her hands and repositioning her arms until they are hanging over the end of the bed, where I remain standing.

She inhales my scent.

“I overheard a rumor that your sister’s omega awakened recently.” I don’t tell her that our pack now knows everything about her, her mother, sisters.

I also don’t tell her Oliver’s been talking about her for months, not that Coach and I listened to him then. Of course, now we do. Since Parker met her yesterday, even he is interested and now we are keeping an eye out, ready to make our move.

“Yeah. That was a surprise. Grace was mortified, and her heat came on thick and fast. But she was adamant she was going to have a beta implant to make her body believe she wasn’t an omega afterward. ”

I growl. I fucking hate that omegas are so scared of their designation that they would do that.

“Do you think that could happen to you?” I ask her.

We know she’s an omega, but what we don’t know is why she hides it. And until she embraces her real self, our pack has to tread lightly around her.

“Don’t fucking scare her off,” Coach warned me after he spoke to her earlier today.

I won’t. I desperately want an omega for this pack, but I want her on her terms, not on us being bullies.

After massaging her shoulders, I stretch forward. My hands are firm on her skin as I take my time to ease the tension in her back. “You’re really tight.”

That doesn’t sound professional, Asher.

She giggles. “I am.”

I chuckle at her playful tone. “You never answered my question.”

“Ah yes. Grace was a beta and her omega awakened. But I’ve been an alpha since I was fifteen years old.”

“Fifteen? That’s pretty young for a female alpha,” I reply.

Female alphas are quite rare, and then it’s normal for them to awaken at a much later age. Eighteen years old, at least.

She lifts her head off the bed and stares at me. “Probably because I’m a twin.”

“Mmm.”

“What does that mean?” Her voice lifts an octave, possibly with a touch of annoyance.

“Nothing.” I move around the bed. “I’m going to stretch your neck muscles. Use your words if I get too rough with you. ”

My God. I really want to be rough with her. Fuck her while she’s on her hands and knees with my hands gripping her hips as she begs for my knot like a good girl.

Keep it professional.

I press my hand on her nape, my thumb stroking over her pulse while my other hand grips her shoulder and slides down her arm.

“Asher,” she moans.

I want to hear more of her moans.

I want to hear my name fall from her lips as I push my knot deep inside her while my hand is holding her down like this. Then her perfume will infiltrate the air, making me wilder, and I know she’ll like it.

Oliver will love her like a queen. He already worships the ground she walks on. And the moment we found out she was the new assistant to the team manager, he wouldn’t believe anything other than it was fated.

Coach is a little harder to read. I think he wants something different from his omega. I just hope he finds what he’s looking for in Harlow.

He spent his twenties as a top hockey player and omegas never interested him then. And after he got a career-ending injury, he became a coach. Only then did he decide he wanted to find his mate. But then a tragedy shook his world when his sister died, leaving him to bring up her son.

“It hurts.”

“Sorry.” I release the grip on her neck, only realizing how hard I’m holding her.

“No, don’t stop. I like it. It feels good.”

“You do?”

“You’re not hurting me. It’s my body, but this helps. ”

I grip her neck again, though not so tight this time. I want to know how much she can endure, but I resist the urge to dig my fingers into her flesh.

I also resist the urge to slap her perfectly round ass before straddling her and sliding my cock through the crack of her ass.

What the fuck?

I glance at the ceiling, taking a few deep breaths.

Then I get back to why she came here.

I rest her right arm on the bed, and stretch out the muscles on her left arm, clenching my jaw as I imagine Coach holding her arms so she can’t move, maybe he has his dick in her mouth while I’m inside her ass and Oliver is in her pussy, and her three mates are making her come over and over.

Harlow moans and squirms on the bed. It’s like she can read my mind.

I pause for a moment as my gaze roams down her body. Luckily, the towel still covers her ass.

I’m still trying to be professional. But god, I want to whip it off her ass and get a clear view of what is mine.

Her breathing is ragged and I realize I’m stroking, not massaging her arm with one hand and her neck with the other.

I lift my hand from her arm like she burned it.

“Okay, Harlow, if you rest for a few minutes, then you can take a shower and get dressed.” I need to stop this session before the raging alpha I am can’t stop himself. Before I jump on the bed and fuck her into oblivion.

“Wow. That went fast. But I feel wonderful.” Her head is still on the bed as she turns her beautiful face to me. Pretty green-blue eyes meet mine. “Thank you. ”

“You’re very welcome.” I stare at her face. “I’ll let you know when I have another free slot.”

She bites her lip, and I know she wants to ask something, but she looks away and says, “That would be lovely. I...hmm.” She laughs lightly. “But I have a date tonight.”

“A date—” I try to keep my voice even. “Why are you telling me?”

Our eyes lock again before she whispers, “Because your hand is still gripping my neck and I need to leave.”