Ryder cocked a brow. “You’re really asking? Yeah, I liked it. Could do that every day. What’s not to like? You’re tight and hot and you moan like?—”
“A slut?” Spencer offered happily.
Ryder gave him a glare. “Like you love it.”
Spencer’s cheeks went pink. Ryder pressed on. “You know, all those things you think make you hard to handle …Ican handle them. So can Ash.”
Maybe Ash would get pissed at Ryder later for putting things so bluntly when he had his long, drawn-out seduction plan, butRyder could deal with Ash’s ire. Maybe Spencer needed to hear some things. And for that matter, maybe Ryder needed to say them.
“Do you know why Ash and I were never officially together?” Ryder asked.
Spencer turned his head fully to face Ryder, clearly intrigued. “I thought the undesignated thing, maybe. Or you’re just like, too cool for labels.”
“We know how we feel, so yeah, there’s that, but also, I’m … intense.” Ryder cleared his throat. He’d forgotten that words didn’t come any more naturally to him than to Ash. “I like to … provide, maybe. And possess. I like taking control. And Ash likes the same things sometimes. He wants to careforsomeone just as much—maybe more—as he wants tobecared for. It’s part of why the omega thing freaks him out. He doesn’t want to be some alpha’s omega. Or that’s not all he wants.”
“But you love each other.” Spencer said it with such conviction, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
“I’m just saying.” Ryder paused to gather his thoughts. “I know what it’s like to be too much. So does Ash. So you’re not going to scare us out of the cabin.”
Spencer stared at Ryder, something bright and vulnerable in his eyes.
Ryder held his breath. Maybe—just maybe—something Ryder had said had finally gotten through that thick skull Spencer toted around. Maybe he was going to start realizing this was more than new friendship and unexpected heats.
And then, just as quickly, those blue eyes shuttered. “You’re lucky,” Spencer said lightly, turning his gaze back to the ceiling. “You both are. And youshouldgo official when Ash presents. The world should know you belong to each other. ’Cause—’cause you deserve each other.”
Ryder was struck with the unfamiliar urge to bang his head against the floor repeatedly. Maybe Ash was right about words being useless, if Spencer was always going to be so good at ignoring the meaning behind them.
Spencer pointed a finger in Ryder’s face. “See? That eye twitch right there—I know it well. Bugging.” He smacked his lips together and sat upright, propping himself onto his hands behind him. “Can we have burritos now? I’m starved.”
Ryder let out a sigh and sat up. “Sure. Why the fuck not?”
17
SPENCER
“But how do I know if helikesme?”
It was an omega sprawled across Spencer’s bar this time. The guy wasn’t wasted so much as in some sort of crush-induced emotional state. But he’d come in with two others who were finishing up their drinks in the corner, so hopefully they’d be carting him off to safer pastures soon.
Spencer fiddled with his bar rag. He didn’t really have the juice for this tonight, but he needed to at least half-ass it or he was going to feel all guilty for shirking his holy bartender duties. “Well, how does he act around you?”
“What?” the omega asked sharply, as if Spencer had said something stupid, even though it had been a totally reasonable question. It almost made Spencer smile, it reminded him so much of Ash.
“I mean, does he flirt? Or get quiet? Or does he get kind of stupid, like …?”
Like getting emotional and weepy after getting fucked by two hotties in a row, developing very stupid feelings when there weren’t supposed to be any stupid feelings?
Spencer coughed, shutting himself up before he let any of the words floating around his head actually spill out.
The omega looked up from his sprawl, a little frown on his face. “You’re not very good at this.”
“Sorry.” Spencer shrugged. “Off night.”
At least he had tips enough, after a raunchy, middle-aged book club had sat for hours, ordering multiple rounds and flirting up a storm, then tipped Spencer generously for the pleasure. But yeah, Spencer was pretty off his game. Off his head, probably, considering … everything.
The omega gave Spencer one last frown and left the bar to join his buddies, leaving Spencer alone with his very stupid thoughts.
Well, his thoughts were always kind of stupid, but they’d becomeespeciallystupid lately.
