“We fucked,” I blurt, hating how excited and hopeful he sounds. I want to have the same hope and I would’ve if I hadn’t made such a colossal mistake.
“What?!” There’s a bark in the background, Jackson’s shocked gasp startling Dahlia.
“Well, technically, we kissed a lot, and I fingered her. But that’s still sex. We did it on my desk.”
“Shiiit, that’s hot.” Jackson clears his throat like he’s embarrassed by his own reaction. “The whole forbidden workplace thing and worrying you might get caught is risky, but sounds fun.”
“That’s not everything.” I fight the urge to take a wrong turn and head far away from the city to somewhere I can hide and wait for everything to blow over without me. Hell, maybe I should go away permanently and leave everyone alone so they can be happy in peace without me always ruining things.
“Oh fuck. Did you get caught?”
“No… Okay, before I tell you this, I need you to understand that I thought it was what she wanted. My alpha was nearly feral with need for her and she kept begging me, and… Fuck, I promise, I’d never have done it if I knew.”
“You’re scaring me, dude,” Jackson says, all the usual levity gone from his voice.
“I… I bonded her. She smelled so good and her cunt was gripping my fingers like a vise and soaking my hand, and she asked me to do it.Beggedme. So I did.”
“You didn’t.” Jackson lets out a disbelieving groan. “River, tell me you’re joking. You promised to talk to us about big pack decisions, and then you bit her impulsively?”
I take it back. Doing this over the phone is worse than inperson because he can’t see how damn guilty and worried I am.
“That’s not even the bad part,” I murmur.
“It’s not?” Jackson’s voice pitches higher in alarm.
“Afterwards, when we’d both, uh, finished, I apologized for not thinking clearly in the heat of the moment. She was confused. She…”
God, saying it out loud makes me feel like a monster.
“Camille didn’t know what she was asking for. She said it was no big deal and that it’d heal. She apologized for asking for it, assuming I was upset about indulging a kink I wasn’t comfortable with.”
“Oh… damn, that’s…”
“I bonded our omega, and she doesn’t even know what I did. She didn’t consent to it and now Camille is stuck with me when we didn’t even have a conversation about what our mutual attraction means. I wanted to talk to her, but then I was trapped in a meeting and she’s out at lunch and…” Hot tears prick my eyes. “I don’t know what to do,” I murmur weakly. “I’m so sorry.”
Jackson’s reply takes a few agonizing moments, in which my mistake keeps flashing before my eyes. “Meet me out front,” he says. “I’ll be out there by the time you get here.”
“What? Why?” I immediately imagine Jackson dumping all my belongings on the curb and not wanting to let me into the house. I know it’s absurd, but that doesn’t make the panic go away.
“We’re going to go to the clinic and talk to Ambrose,” Jackson replies matter-of-factly.
“I don’t want to bother him at work,” I say weakly, dread spiking at the thought of my mate’s reaction to my mistake.
Jackson sighs like I’m being ridiculous. “He needs to know, dude.
“I thought you said you could handle this,” I grumble.
“That was before I found out you bit Camille!” Jackson scoffs. “No, this is definitely emergency meeting territory. I already texted Bradley to ask him to page Ambrose so he can wrap up whatever he’s doing by the time we get there.”
With no room to argue, I agree and hang up. When I get to the house, Jackson is outside. He races up to the car and slides into the passenger side, reaching across the center console to tug me against his bulky body.
I release a sound of surprised protest, but he squeezes me harder in an awkwardly angled hug. After a few moments, the tension that’s coursing through my body eases as Jackson crushes it out of me and I go slightly limp in his arms.
“That’s right, relax. I’ve got you.”
My heart squeezes at his casual reassurances. I have the terrible urge to bring my lips to his and kiss him as a thank you. I clear my throat and pull back.
“T-thanks.” I take off my glasses to wipe off where they got smeared on his shirt.
