Page 56 of Puck My Life

“I am an alpha, a very wicked one.”

The way his lips curl up has me hyper aware of how his thumb is stroking the inside of my wrist, how close we are leaning to each other. His scent, that vanilla, is strong, almost irresistible.

“Raynor,” I whimper.

His eyes sharpen. “Sometimes, I wonder what would happen if I just dip my toe over that line of wicked. Like how I’ve been thinking about how much I want my mouth on you again.”

“You do?” I gulp.

He smiles, showing off straight white teeth. “All sorts of wicked thoughts in my head, all starring you.”

His thumb slides across my palm. I drop my eyes as I break into shivers, struggling in vain to recall the reasons why I don’t fling myself at him.

“Do you want to go for a drive with me, Vae? We could go up to the lake.”

“Yes,” I say without thinking it through. My heart’s pounding in my chest. He’s going to kiss me, maybe more. I can feel it in the air between us.

Suddenly, I want to leave right now. I stand up, and he does, too, keeping my wrist in his hold as he tugs me towards the exit. I glance back and see Deacon glowering at us and Indy looking furious.

She whispers something to Mal, and his head shoots up. He finds us instantly, his face clouding. There is something akin to pure panic on his face as he shoves Indy away from him.

“VEEVEE!”

I stop, shoulders tense. Raynor looks back at me, confused. He sees Mal and Indy and swears fluently.

“I’ll get rid of them, just wait for me.”

He steps past me, releasing my wrist.

I need a moment alone, anyway. I turn and go to the corridor and escape into the toilets. Mal is drunker than I’ve seen him in ages. I’m actually surprised he’s still standing. I stand over the basin, breathing hard, wishing Mal had just shut up.

I splash my face when the door opens, and Indy swaggers in.

Her movements are slow and predatory. I fix a bored expression on my face and wash my hands, just for something to do.

“You’re making things so much harder than they need to be,” Indy says, cocking her hip and leaning against the counter. Her long nails are shiny and dipped in gold; they look obscene.

“Hi, Indy. I’m good, how are you? Good to hear it, let me pass.”

She refuses to move, blocking the way out.

“They deserve an omega. They have never noticed you before, and it’s sad that you are getting desperate enough to try to break up the pack.”

I recoil. “I’m not breaking them up.”

“Malcolm and Deacon are mine,” Indy growls, standing up and shoving me back into the bathroom wall.

I stand up, my elbow screaming, furious and suddenly sick of taking her crap.

“Raynor is part of that pack,” I hiss back.

“Raynor is the plus one. He’s irrelevant.”

I bristle. “He’s just as special; he’s not a plus one.”

She smiles as if I’ve just given her the answer she’s been waiting for. “I knew you were in love with them.”

I step back into the cold wall. She follows me.