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That was terrifying.
Xander turned his back as I changed into the clothes he’d bought me. They fit like a glove and were perfectly my style, and my Omega preened. He knew me. I spotted all my clothes—the ones I must have taken off before climbing that damn mountain—in my backseat. Thank god this trailhead wasn’t very popular.
Slipping my feet into the faux-Uggs he’d picked up for me, I walked back around to where he was standing. He was looking up the mountain, and I followed his gaze. It certainly was beautiful out here; I could almost understand why my Omega had chosen it. Or, I guess it must have been my subconscious that had chosen it. It was mostly spruce forest, and the trees raced up the mountain, strong and tall.
“You don’t remember anything?” he asked once again. I shook my head, and he sighed heavily. “You could have been eaten by wolves, or attacked by a bear. Died from exposure. It’s a miracle you aren’t dead.” He wasn’t looking at me, but there was real fear in his voice. Like plucking me naked off the side of a mountain hadn’t really sunk in for him until now.
I put my hand on his arm, gripping the muscles tightly. “But I’m not. You guys found me. That’s all that matters.”
He sucked in a deep breath through his nose, turning to face me, all expression being replaced by a neutral mask. “We should go.”
I stared up into his brown eyes, the color of liquid chocolate. When I was younger, I’d been so jealous of the thick lashes that framed their perfect bedroom eyes, while I’d had to coat and curl mine just to make sure I didn’t look like I’d burned them off in an unfortunate birthday candle incident.
Those eyes were staring down into my soul now, simmering heat in their depths bringing me back to another time, another life even, when Xander had looked at me like that, just before he’d kissed me. My lips parted; I desperately wanted to relive that moment. He leaned forward, and I tilted my head up, an invitation that I was aching for him to accept. His hand hovered just above my hip as I watched him fight with himself.
Then he took a huge step back, and the breath I’d been holding rushed from my lungs. He opened the driver’s side door to my car. I slid in, not meeting his piercing gaze, because I didn’t want to know what I’d see there.
“I’ll follow you home.”
It wasn’t a suggestion, but I didn’t want to fight about it. I was exhausted, and I wasn't interested in galavanting through the countryside anyway. I just wanted a warm bed and to get my life in order.
“Fine,” I answered, shutting the door and putting a much needed barrier between myself and this Alpha male who was consuming my thoughts.
Peeling out of the parking area, I drove back toward the main road. I knew that soon enough, Xander’s big truck would be right behind me, and I resisted the urge to see if I could lose him. A part of me liked the idea of him chasing me, having to work for what he so obviously wanted but was denying himself. Denying me.
But I’d risked my life enough for one week. So I drove the speed limit and watched as his big black truck pulled up behind me. It felt protective, and my fickle Omega ass liked that too. Shaking my head, I tried to get my libido back under control.
I’d get a handle on this Omega thing, then go back to my life. I’d ignore it, and maybe it would go away. There was shit you could buy to help hide your scent, and to suppress the heat, though it wasn’t particularly legal. Plus, it was crazy expensive.
Worth it, though, in my opinion. But I was going to need cash.
By the time I made it back to the triplets’ house, my brain was going around and around in circles, trying to find a solution to a problem that had no easy fix. I turned off my car as Xander’s truck pulled in behind me.
He leaned out the window and grinned. “You drive like my grandma!”
“Grandma Jude was a fucking maniac behind the wheel,” I yelled back, and he chuckled. It was a warm sound that made my whole body feel gooey.
“Exactly. Get in—we’ll go have lunch down at the bar.”
On cue, my stomach rumbled. I was interested to see what they’d done to the old bar. Last time I was there, it had smelled like twenty-year-old stale beer and boob sweat, with an inexplicable undertone of corn chips.
I grabbed my purse and locked my car, skipping down the driveway to the truck. Hauling myself inside with a huff, I raised an eyebrow at Xander. “Do you really need a truck this big? Are you compensating for something?”
He growled low at me, a sound that was like a defibrillator to my clitorus.All clear! Zzzt!
“You know I’m not. Or do you need me to remind you?”
YES!my Omega screamed. I cleared my throat. “Nah. I believe you.” This flip-flopping internal monologue was going to give me whiplash eventually.
We drove down the street, and I took in the familiar faces and buildings. I hadn’t been back since Ma’s funeral, and it was like the place was stuck in time. Somehow, that was both stifling and comforting.
The diner was still there, the awnings faded but the same. Ma and Pa had taken me to the diner every Sunday after church for a milkshake. Pa used to say it was to help wash down the dry old sermons that Father O’Loughlin was prone to giving. I smiled at the memory, and not even the ache of their loss could tarnish the happiness.
The hardware store was still the same, as was the sporting and adventure goods store. There was a new salon squished between Henrietta’s Lady Boutique and the antique furniture store, which was really just full of secondhand goods. I doubted there’d ever been anything even remotely considered a proper antique in the place.
We pulled into a space in front of the bar, but there seemed to already be a few people in there, judging by the amount of trucks out the front. My door opened, and Xander held out a hand to help me down. It was easy to forget he was an asshole when he was being sweet. He hovered closely behind me as we pushed through the thick plate glass front door.
You know in Hallmark movies when the room goes quiet as the sassy female lead walks into the room? I was seriously feeling my main character vibes right now.
