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R ushing into the tent with a hand on my holster, I breathe a sigh of relief that the noise wasn’t something more nefarious than the scientist standing over a pile of medical supplies. You can never be too careful, though, so I quickly scan the room for any possible threats. When my sight lands back on Archer, he’s staring at me, his eyes bright with embarrassment. He’s taken off the black shirt he was wearing earlier, leaving him in just a white undershirt that’s smudged with dirt and looks a little sticky with sweat, like he’s been working hard at something. Nothing like the put-together man he was a few hours ago.

He doesn’t hold eye contact long, quickly turning away and crouching down to start picking up the mess.

Before I can offer to help, heavy footsteps sound behind me, and I whirl around, ready to take the threat head-on. There’s a big man coming into the tent, and a scantily dressed woman not far behind him. I can’t be certain on their designations, but I’d guess alpha and omega by the looks of them. Holding up my hand, I gesture for them to stop. “Whoa! Who are you?”

The man looks at me in annoyance, then over my shoulder to Archer. “Can you call off your guard dog? We heard a crash and wanted to be sure everything was okay.”

The pretty omega steps into the tent as well, and I get a better look at her. Jesus fucking Christ, I can see her hard nipples through her thin tank top. Why is she even dressed like that?

Disgust tinged with jealousy hits me when I realize this alphahole already has a piece of ass in his bed on night fucking one. I mean, I’m no saint, but come on. How did he even get her on the site anyway?

Determining they aren’t an immediate threat, I glance back to Archer for confirmation that he knows them. He’s chewing on his thumbnail, clearly embarrassed to be the center of attention and the cause of this spectacle. My cock twitches when his tongue peeks out from between his lips.

He nods and rises to his full height, speaking as he walks forward. “Bear, it’s ok. This is Dr. Roman Slate and Dr. Cora Whitlock, lead archeologists for this dig.”

Doctor? Well damn, I should know better than to judge a woman, especially an omega, on her looks. My sister would smack me upside the head if she knew where my thoughts went first, and rightly so.

“Cora, Roman, this is Bear, he’s head of the security team,” Archer continues before focusing on them. “Thanks for coming to check on me. Nothing’s wrong. Well, minus the fact that I can be a klutz sometimes. I just underestimated the width of the box I was carrying and upended the medical supply totes.”

My shoulders relax, and my hand finally leaves my hip. My cock is still semi-hard though. Kinda impossible not to be with the adrenaline, the need to protect Archer, and the vast amount of skin the omega is showing. I really should have gotten laid before taking this assignment. I’ve been working back-to-back jobs in remote places, and the lack of physical contact has my alpha side edgy—and apparently judgey, too.

“You guys can, uh, you can go back to bed. It’s gonna be an early morning.” Archer waves us off and goes back to picking up the medical supplies. “Sorry I disturbed you.”

“Do you need help?” The omega’s offer is sweet, but there are too many people in this tent already, and I can tell Archer would like to avoid any more interaction.

“I’ve got this. You two go, we’ll see you in the morning.” I don’t give them a chance to argue, immediately turning away and dropping into a crouch before Archer, who looks up at me gratefully. The tent flap rustles as Dr. Slate and Dr. Whitlock leave, and then everything is quiet.

“Thanks, uh, thanks, Bear. You don’t need to stay either, though. I made this mess, I can clean it up.”

I chuckle, but don’t leave my position. “I’m a medic, remember? I should know what we have on hand and where it all goes anyway. Plus, if I help you, I can make sure you don’t put it away wrong.” I throw him a wink to let him know I’m teasing.

He smiles and starts chewing on the pad of his thumb. Seeing the single digit between his lips has me picturing my cock there instead.

Fuck! I was just judging Roman—wrongly—for indulging in sex while on a job, and now here I am fantasizing about the same damn thing. I don’t fuck around while I’m working. I’ve got a reputation for professionalism, and I’m not going to ruin that by making a pass at some beta I barely know—no matter how hot he is.

Willing my dick back under control, we work in tandem, making short work of reorganizing the supplies. When I stand, I subtly adjust myself before gesturing to the tent door.

“Ahem. I—” My voice is strained so I grunt and try again. “I’m gonna go do a last perimeter check before heading to bed. You all good here?” As soon as the beta nods, I sweep out into the night to put some distance between us.

This is going to be a long assignment.