Page 5 of Ronen (Sweet Alps Legacy #1)

Chapter Four

Mason

Ronen S. Sinclair was about the sexiest thing on two legs I had ever come across.

There was no good reason I should be as attracted to him as I was. He was rail thin, and half the time his thick, black hair looked like he’d forgotten to even brush it. The man had the most perpetual case of bedhead I had ever seen, but somehow it worked on him.

The locks that had just enough curl in them to wave the slightest bit were always falling over his brow, refusing to be tamed.

He was fussy in his appearance otherwise though, so I leaned toward the hypothesis that he just forgot to brush it sometimes.

Whatever the reason, I constantly had to fight with myself not to reach up and brush the unruly locks back from his face. Or tame it with my hands.

Oh, who was I kidding ?

I wanted to bury my hands in those thick, midnight black, luscious locks, pull him into my chest, bend down and…

Easy there, don’t even start! My dragon grumbled, stomping his feet beneath my skin. That omega is not at all interested in us.

My dragon wasn’t wrong.

Ronen and I had definitely gotten off on the wrong foot. From the moment I had applied for my library card, his intense green eyes had stared me down like I was dog shit on the bottom of his shoe.

He’d spoken just enough to get me my card and basically sent me on my way. Which was fine, it was a library, not like I needed a guided tour. But I wouldn’t have been opposed to the sexy librarian showing me around the stacks.

All I had been able to do was stare at his pretty green eyes and try not to get overwhelmed by the delicious scent of him. Like most omegas, he smelled sweet. His scent reminded me of toasted marshmallows, sugary with the slightest hint of woodsmoke.

His scent had my cock wide awake and begging for attention, as he explained the library rules–weren’t they all about the same everywhere–his voice crisp and polished.

Ronen Sinclair just did it for me, in every single way there was. I had never been more attracted to any omega than I was to him, and he made it clear he did not feel the same. Didn’t stop me from trying though.

Maybe if you’d stop losing his books , he’d be friendlier , my dragon suggested, and I could see him using air quotes around the word losing.

Shush. It’s not like I actually lost them. I would never be so careless with a book. And I pay for every book I add to our hoard, so I don’t know what you are complaining about .

Well, he doesn’t know that, now does he? He thinks you’re just completely irresponsible with his precious babies and can’t be trusted. Honestly, I’m surprised he still lets you borrow books. I would have cut you off five books back.

Oh, fuck off! I’m adding to your hoard so just…you know what? This conversation is over.

Very mature.

Shoving my new books into the empty passenger seat of my SUV, I started the engine. Waiting for it to warm back up, I called into the station to see if there was anything going on I should know about.

Sweet Alps was a fairly low crime town, most of the time. Sure, we had the handful of occasional petty thefts, a few domestics, but I spent more time giving out speeding tickets than anything.

Last week, there had been some cows that had wandered onto the highway from a hole in one of the local farmers’ fences. That had been pretty exciting, and I had enjoyed it, because…cows.

I’d spent a fair amount of time after we had rounded them up speaking to the farmer who owned them. I was planning to add to my little farm with a couple head of beef cows this spring, so I had picked the man’s brain on the best type to get.

Since dispatch let me know there was nothing pressing that needed my attention, I reached into my glove box and pulled out the small plastic duck I had found at the mall this past weekend.

It was yellow, was wearing a hat like Sherlock Holmes, had black glasses, and was reading a bright purple book. It was perfect.

Cruising around the block, I made two laps before pulling into the back parking lot of the library.

Most people parked back here, as there was more space than trying to find a spot on the street.

And there was a door that led inside, and you could bypass the long trek up the concrete steps at the front entrance.

I chose to use the front entrance, because I was usually there a few minutes before they opened, and it allowed me the opportunity to stare in at Ronen. Not one single time had that man ever opened the doors for me early. Nine o’clock on the dot every single day.

There were a couple of cars already parked in the back lot, besides the black Jeep I knew was Ronen’s. Pulling into an empty spot a few cars over from Ronen’s, I surveyed the area, and saw that no one was lingering in their cars.

Good, the coast was clear.

Leaving my vehicle running, I quickly walked over to Ronen’s Jeep and placed the duck on his windshield, on top of his driver’s side wiper.

Wiping my hands on my denim clad thighs, I quickly turned and smacked into a hard chest. Bouncing back an inch, I stared into the icy blue eyes of Jamie Sinclair, Ronen’s alpha dad.

Fucking hell. Where had he come from?

The man was as tall as me, his chest wide, and his stomach just beginning to show the first hint of softness that hadn’t reached his chest yet. I’d never admit it, but slamming into him had hurt.

His black hair was just starting to show some hints of gray, even though I knew he had to be in his mid-sixties at the very least, if not older.

The wolf shifter gave me a crooked grin, that honestly did nothing to put me at ease.

There was always something about Jamie that was just a little… dangerous.

Which seemed completely at odds with the mostly retired club owner, but I would be lying if I said I hadn’t heard the rumors around town about the man.

Grayson “Becks” Beckett, the previous sheriff who had hired me to replace him, and Jamie had once worked together, that much I knew. Becks had worked for the C.I.A., so it made sense that Jamie had too, based on their long friendship.

The only difference was that I could find some record of Becks’ history with the agency. For a short time, he had headed up the cyber-crimes division, and before that he’d had some fancy title that really didn’t give much away as far as what his position had entailed.

There was nothing on Jamie Sinclair that I could find, which as a cop, made me curious and suspicious.

There was his life in Sweet Alps until he was eighteen, there was a brief mention in the local paper of him getting accepted at Quantico, and then nothing. Not a mention of the man anywhere, across the internet or public records. He had just…disappeared.

Until he had returned to his hometown and built Sinful Playgrounds, a kink club on the outskirts of town.

Since Jamie and Becks were best friends, I had casually tried to get information out of Becks one day over lunch, before he had retired.

The old wolf had stared at me with his nearly black eyes and softly told me to drop whatever I thought I was up to. Telling me that some things were better left dead and buried and that Jamie was an upstanding citizen in Sweet Alps.

He had also casually reminded me that the Sinclairs were one of the founding families of the town, were all richer than Midas, and they had a strong reach. Which might come in handy when my position came up for renewal and I had to run a reelection campaign.

The fact that I hadn’t heard Jamie come up behind me had me on edge. Seldom did anyone sneak up on me, ever. Especially one who was wearing black motorcycle boots.

How the fuck did he manage to make no sound wearing those on asphalt?

My dragon had excellent hearing, but even he hadn’t heard the man. A fact he was none too pleased about, if his huffing and puffing, was any indication. Hopefully he kept it inside, and I didn’t blow any smoke out of my nose or mouth. That would be awkward to explain.

“Figured it was you,” he commented good naturedly, popping a hard candy into his mouth.

“Told Bash I was putting my money on you. He owes me. He said it was that high school kid Ro hired to work after school. While I will admit that boy does have hearts in his eyes every time he looks at Ronen, I just had a feeling.” He patted his stomach.

“My gut’s never wrong. And I do like proving my husband wrong, so I decided to scope out the situation. ”

“Uhhh,” was all my tongue managed, before my brain caught up with it. “I…don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m just walking the lot. Making sure everything is…cool.”

Am I the only one amazed that you managed to pass the police academy entrance exam? My dragon snarked. Making sure everything is cool? Lame, dude, lame.

Look, Jamie Sinclair is scary, okay? My brain just zapped out for a second.

Pfft. He’s just a puny wolf. Need I remind you that you are a dragon? Fire. Big fire. Huge fire. Burn it all down to the ground fire .

No one knows that, and I’d like to keep it that way. And we aren’t burning anything to the ground.

Jamie scrutinized me, his intense eyes narrowed, and I fought the urge not to squirm under his steely blue gaze.

“And is everything…cool?” he drawled slowly, clearly amused by my stammered explanation, sucking on his candy.

Shoving my hands in my pockets, I rocked back on my heels. “As a cucumber.”

He snorted, reaching around me to pick up the rubber duck, turning it this way and that in his hand, before finally putting it back where I had placed it.

“It’s cute,” he commented. “Ro will like it. Even if he acts like he doesn’t. He’s kept them all, you know?”

“I…don’t know what you’re talking about,” I stammered, feeling like a teenager on his first date, getting the fifth degree from my date’s dad.

But I had noticed that Ronen didn’t have the ducks I left on his vehicle on display on his dash, as was the norm. At least now I knew he hadn’t just tossed them in the trash. The thought made me way happier than it probably should have.

“I didn’t put that there. That was there when I got here.”

Jamie laughed then, a deep rumbly sound, and nodded his head. “Sure, kid. Anyway, I like you.”

He patted my cheek, and I could do nothing more than stare at him wide-eyed.

“I don’t know what the fuck you are, but I’m gonna find out.

I always do. But I like you. You have my permission to keep–” he waved a hand towards Ronen’s Jeep, “not leaving cute little duckies for my son. Maybe in a few months, you’ll work up the balls to actually ask him out. ”

Shaking my head vigorously, I told him, “Your son doesn’t really like me much, sir. But thanks for the…permission? ”

Jamie shrugged, turning and starting towards…well, I didn’t really know where he had come from, but I hadn’t recognized any of the cars in the lot as any I knew belonged to him.

“He’d probably like you more if you’d stop losing his books,” he called over his shoulder.

Well, that was likely sound advice, but I couldn’t heed it.

Books were one of my comfort things, and the ones that had Ronen’s scent on them? There was something about them that made it impossible for me to not keep at least one from every batch I checked out and add it to my hoard.

And it also seemed to be the only way to get the man to actually speak to me. Even if he was chastising me for losing books.

It was hot, okay? The way his back got ramrod straight, and his eyes flashed fire that he did his best to keep inside, always staying the consummate professional.

The way he bit off each word, like the jagged edge of a knife.

And every once in a while, he would say a certain word, with a slight British accent.

I knew his omega dad was British, so I figured that was where he had picked it up, and when he did it my dick got so fucking hard.

It was seriously sexy.

There’s something not right with you , my dragon grumbled. Not right at all.

Did you hear what he said? I asked my dragon, my stomach giddy like it was full of butterflies. I fought the urge to bounce on my feet like an excited kid.

He said a lot. I zoned out. What did I miss?

Asshole. He said Ronen keeps all the ducks! That has to mean something, right? He’s keeping them! I don’t know where, but that doesn’t even matter .

I bet if he knew you were the one leaving them, he’d toss them straight into the trash.

Why do I bother talking to you?

Feel free to stop at any time.

The radio pinned to my shoulder crackled, my dispatch letting me know an accident a few streets over had been reported.

I’d have time to look for more ducks later to leave for Ronen; right now, duty called.