The omega gives me a pointed, almost teasing look. "It's been over a week since I was bitten." He forces a smile as he lets out an exaggerated sigh. "Honestly, it's fine. I've always been a late bloomer." He flicks the blade of grass onto the ground. "Twenty-six years late, apparently."
I open my mouth.
Then close it.
Because the truth is I don't know what to say, and telling him it'll definitely be fine feels like it could be a lie. And I’m done with those.
So instead I wrap my arms around his middle, pulling him into me.
Adam is only a few inches taller, which means he folds himself easily around me. His chin finds the top of my head as his arms come around my shoulders, holding me close.
"Life is pretty spectacularly weird and cruel sometimes," he says as he presses his nose into my hair. "But you already know that.”
"Understatement of the century," I snort softly against his chest.
We stand in the cooling grass, holding each other.
Adam’s hand moves up and down my back, steady and warm, and after a moment I feel his face turn into my hair. He breathes in, slow and deep, scenting me.
"You know," I say after a moment, "you should probably be grateful that you and Raff aren’t Raff isn't in your head yet."
Adam pulls back slightly. "Yeah?"
"Because then you'd have to feel his mood all the time." I look up at him, and smile. “That man is horny approximatelytwenty-three hours a day, and listening to that would be a nightmare.”
Adam bursts out laughing, his chest shaking with it. "And the other hour?"
"Sleeping," I say. "Probably dreaming about being horny."
He laughs again, hugging me a little tighter, and I feel it move through his whole body, warm and real, the kind of laugh that loosens everything it touches.
"You know," he says, his voice settling back into something quieter, "you are painfully kind. Has anyone ever told you that?"
"Constantly," I say. "It's exhausting being this wonderful."
He smiles, but it's softer now, the humor fading as his hand comes up and cups my cheek. He tilts my face toward his, and when he speaks, his voice has dropped, serious and soft at the same time. "I mean it, Elle," he says. "You're smart and funny and." His eyes move over my face slowly. "Unbelievably sexy."
The two words land somewhere low in my belly and stay there, spreading outward like heat from a fire. I feel my breath catch in a way I can't entirely hide.
There's something about the way Adam says it, without any performance behind it, a simple, certain fact, that makes it hit so much harder than it would coming from anyone else.
His thumb traces my cheekbone as I stare up at him.
“Such a pretty girl,” he whispers as his honey-brown eyes drop to my mouth and then back up. “I really love having you in this pack, Elle.”
Without thinking, I push up and press my lips to his.
Adam kisses me back, his lips moving against mine witha softness that makes my heart ache. His tongue traces the seam of my lips, waiting for me to open. When his tongue slides into my mouth, it's gentle, exploring, tasting me as if he has all the time in the world.
I can feel the faint tremor in his hand where it cups my cheek, the slight hesitation that tells me he’s as excited as I am.
My bond with Cliff hums with curiosity, a warm awareness of what I’m feeling, but I ignore him for now. I’m too busy soaking up my omega.
“You taste so good,” I moan into Adam’s mouth as I wrap my arms around his neck, pulling him closer.
Adam’s arm slides around my waist, as his other hand pushes into my hair at the back of my head. He tilts my head, moving me.
While I love kissing my alphas, there’s something so quietly intense about making out with Adam. He kisses me like he's been thinking about it all day.
