Page 1 of Overeager (Extra Credit #1)

Eli

E li wasn’t generally the type to say things like “Jesus take the wheel,” but if he didn’t get off the road soon, that could very well change.

“If I perish on this journey, you have to take care of World’s Deadliest Assassin for me.”

“Tell me the truth, Eli,” his sister said calmly, not at all taking Eli’s imminent demise seriously. “Are you driving faster than five miles per hour right now?”

“I don’t know what that has to do with anything,” Eli snapped. “Humans aren’t meant to drive with snow on the ground. They simply aren’t. It’s unnatural.”

If anything, five miles per hour seemed too fast. Maybe Eli should get out and just … push the car? Except his loafers didn’t have great traction—they were meant for loafing, not heavy labor. It was right there in the name.

It wasn’t like he’d been completely stupid.

He’d checked the weather back at home, had known it had snowed in Sedona the night before.

He’d just expected the roads to be plowed already.

Which they had been, until he’d gotten to the turnoff for the dirt road his cabin was on.

And now here he was, fighting for his life, his sister the most unsympathetic witness he could ask for.

He’d like to blame it on her being an alpha, but really, it was just her baseline personality.

Following the GPS’s instructions, he turned—so very carefully—onto the last stretch of road, a slope with three tiny-home cabins along it. His rental was the last one, a.k.a. the highest up the road.

“If my car starts sliding backward, I’m jumping ship. Who needs a vacation?”

“You do, you absolute loon,” his sister told him, sounding suspiciously like she had a mouthful of food. “Even better if you were, I don’t know, getting dicked down by some hunky alpha while you were at it.”

Eli wrinkled his nose, glaring at his phone in its little car holder. “Gross. We’re related. Don’t say stuff like that.”

“Don’t let yourself get into this state, and I wouldn’t have to say stuff like that.”

Eli wasn’t in any sort of state , thanks ever so. He was … possibly a tad overworked, sure. And maybe slightly stressed from his divorce getting finalized. And potentially just a little bit murderous at the thought of Richard off in the Bahamas with some omega half his age.

Not that Eli knew his ex-husband was in the Bahamas with some omega half his age. It just seemed the type of thing for him to do. He was all about clichés apparently.

Like having an affair with his omega secretary.

Eli finally parked his car in the little drive, letting out a sigh of relief.

If the snow didn’t melt by the time he was meant to leave, he was just going to have to stay forever.

Squatters’ rights and all. He’d make his classes asynchronous and teach them online.

Maybe the novelty of it would even draw more students in. Professor Miller in his tiny cabin.

“I’m here,” he said with a relieved sigh. “Hanging up.”

His sister crunched something chip-like loudly. “I feel used.”

“As you should. Buh-bye now.”

Eli hung up, aware Faith wouldn’t actually hold a grudge. She was more worried about him than anything else. Which was silly. He was fine.

So he was thirty-four and already divorced? What of it? He was also thirty-four and already set to get tenure by the end of the year. As an omega, at that. So take that, societal expectations.

He stepped out of his car carefully, mindful of the snow on the ground.

He grabbed his suitcase from the trunk and climbed the stairs up to the cabin’s deck, stopping there to scope out the main attraction of the whole place, at least for him: the hot tub.

It was set on the far side of the deck, with a gorgeous view of the mountains.

It also had a less-than-gorgeous view of the deck below it, including the other cabin’s hot tub, which Eli didn’t love.

There wasn’t a lot of space between the cabins, and what if there was some super PDA-y couple staying there?

He’d have to watch them grope each other and feel even more horribly single than he did already.

The light was on inside, so someone was staying there.

Eli would just have to wait and see. In the meantime, he turned the hot tub on, letting it heat while he got settled.

He lugged his suitcase to the front and entered the code for the door lock, shivering from head to toe.

His trembling didn’t let up once he was inside either. It was cold in the cabin. Eli’s eyes locked immediately onto the small heater unit, and he turned it on, setting it to seventy-five. Maybe that was high, but that was what they got for not having the place heated when he arrived.

Eli hated the cold. And yet for some reason he’d thought it would be picturesque to visit Sedona over winter break, instead of staying in perfectly temperate Phoenix.

And he’d been right—the lingering snow on the red rocks of the mountains was completely gorgeous.

That didn’t mean he had to like the bone-deep chill that came with it.

Once he had the heat running, he took a look around.

The cabin was faux rustic, a new build meant to look quaint.

The front door opened into a small area with a little table for meals and a cozy armchair tucked against the window by the front door.

Beyond that was a small kitchen with a bathroom off of it.

And overhead was the ladder leading up to the sleeping loft.

Overall, it was super cute and would be cozy as hell once it warmed up.

Maybe Eli would come here for his next heat.

Then again, maybe not. When he climbed the ladder to peek into the loft, the bed was big enough, but the ceilings were low, probably too low for an alpha to sit up straight. Some omegas liked cramped spaces like that during their heat, but Eli could see it getting a little claustrophobic.

But then again , if it was just Eli, what did it matter? It wasn’t like there was going to be some hunky alpha contorting himself into a pretzel to “dick Eli down” as his sister had so horribly put it.

Eli’s cheeks warmed. Damn Faith for putting dirty thoughts into his head. She was a menace.

He climbed back down the ladder, taking out the mini bottle of champagne he’d brought and placing it in the mini fridge.

Because this was not a trip for moping, no matter what his brain thought.

Eli was still a relatively young, newly single omega in the prime of his life.

His career was on track, and his tenure proposal should be going through by the end of the year.

What else did he really need?

It was approaching sunset by the time the jacuzzi was hot enough to be tempting. Luckily the cabin had also warmed up to the point that Eli could strip down to his swim trunks without shivering.

Swim trunks that had been purchased by Richard and were way too short for decency.

But it wasn’t like anyone else was around to see.

Eli popped his champagne and poured a glass into one of the plastic cups provided. No glass in the hot tub—it was in the rules listed on the website.

He resisted stopping in the bathroom to peek at his reflection on the way out.

He already knew what he was going to see, and it wasn’t anything showstopping.

Maybe he should do some sort of midlife-crisis makeover to mark the occasion.

He could bleach his brown hair blond or switch out his contacts for those fancy ones that made a person’s eyes look like a cat’s.

Or maybe he’d just drink his sad champagne in the hot tub and go straight to bed.

Eli went out to the deck, wincing at the knifelike feel of snow on his bare feet, wishing he’d brought shower sandals with him.

He laid his towel out on a relatively snow-free part of the small patio table, set his cup of champagne on the side of the hot tub, and climbed in, groaning as his skin prickled with the welcome heat.

He’d only been in there a minute when a voice called out from below. “Hey! Nice night, huh?”

Eli scooted to the edge of the hot tub and peered out over the deck.

There was someone in the jacuzzi below him, on the deck of the other occupied cabin.

Someone with a head of loose blond curls and a silver chain around his neck, one tanned arm slung back around the edge of the hot tub, a beer in hand.

He looked so friendly—and so young—that Eli couldn’t even be annoyed at his silence being interrupted.

“Hello!” he called back. “It is a nice night!”

The guy raised his beer in salute. “You just get in?”

“A few hours ago.”

“Cool. I’ve been here a night already. Heading out tomorrow.”

Eli nodded, not sure what else to say. Small talk with strangers wasn’t exactly his forte lately.

“You want some company?” At Eli’s clear surprise, the guy gave a sheepish grin. “A buddy was supposed to come with me, but he had to bail. I guess I’m not good at flying solo. Feel free to say no though.” He smiled wide, as if to convey his sincerity.

Eli could tell, somehow, that he was free to say no. Even from another building, this guy exuded a certain warmth and carefree vibe, like someone’s friendly neighborhood surfer, if that was a thing. He didn’t seem the type to hold a grudge.

Maybe Eli still would have said no anyway. But that smile got him. Because the guy was good-looking enough from the get-go—even at a distance—but with that smile? It was outrageous. He had a wide, generous mouth, and his grin transformed his whole face into some sort of ray of literal sunshine.

Eli was just shallow enough to be swayed by it.

Plus, how often did he have a chance to share a hot tub with a hot … beta? Alpha? Eli wasn’t sure, but most likely the guy wasn’t an omega. He looked … tall. Broad.

It didn’t really matter either way. Eli wasn’t going to do anything. But a friendly chat with a cute neighbor wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world, right?

Richard wouldn’t hesitate , he reminded himself. He’d probably already have the condoms out.