AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Who is it?” instead of the words she tried for, the rattling croak from something dying or unhinged clawed its way free from her. Clearing her throat hard, Devin leaned forward and tried again. “Who’s there?”
“It’s Jackson. Thought I’d pick you up a little early in case you wanted to do drive-through.”
Against all her better judgement, Devin cracked the door, blinded by the bright sunlight streaming from somewhere below. Blinking away the watery surprise, Devin squinted at the well-muscled male standing before her. She almost lost it. A scream, sandpaper rough, at the back of her throat before she realized he was a Beta. He was familiar as well. Replace the worn rock band shirt for one emblazoned with Wicked’s logo and he’d be…
“You’re the bouncer.”
“Hey, you remember.” Jackson’s pale cheeks flushed with pleasure as he flashed a charming, dimpled smile.
Devin noticed he couldn’t lower his arms all the way, too much muscle packed onto a frame not designed to carry it. Narrowing her eyes, she gave an experimental sniff in his direction. The moment she realized why, she threw her weight against the door.
“Hey, hey, it’s okay! I don’t take the pheromones, okay?” Jackson stepped back, letting the door slam shut in his face.
“That doesn’t matter,” Devin hissed, wondering how much he could scent through the door, despairing of ever being safe again.
“Yeah, honey, it does,” Jackson said with a rueful chuckle. “You ladies don’t know I exist, and I’m not a big enough asshole to play at being one. You smell nice, but I’m not going to lose my shit.”
“How do you know?”
“Because Beau shoved your clothes in my face last night to see what would happen. So long as… Well, I’m not going to work you up, and we’re good so long as you don’t get worked up.”
Devin didn’t think, wrenching the door open with a furious growl. “He made you sniff my clothes?”
“Uh, yeah. I’m real sorry about that.” Jackson had the grace to look ashamed, head ducking as he shuffled his feet. “I promise, wasn’t until they got to your underwear that—”
“Oh, fuck’s sake, stop now.” Devin groaned, shoving her hands through her tangled hair. Eyes squeezed shut, she tried to block the mental image from forming and failed.
“How about food? You have to be hungry. I know a great place. They’ve got the best breakfast burritos in town. You can get me a grocery list and I’ll get it for you tonight after I drop you off.”
“How’s that supposed to work? I’ve only got… I don’t have much. Do I pay you in advance and you give me the change or…?”
“Fuck no, honey. They’re footing the bill. Eat steak every night if you want.” Jackson grinned, taking several steps backwards before he turned towards the stairs. “There’s some clothes for you at the club, too. No one told me until I was coming up the stairs, only reason I didn’t bring them with.”
“Can someone go to my apartment and get some stuff from there?” Devin eased away from the doorframe, not quite ready to leave the relative safety of the solid door behind.
“Possible. Have to run it by the bosses, but I don’t see why not. Now, how about breakfast?”
“O-Okay.”
Devin groaned as she took another bite from the burrito. Steaming potatoes, creamy eggs, and cheese scalded her mouth, but she didn’t care. She was readying for another bite before she’d even swallowed.
Jackson grunted, adjusting his hold on the single burrito left to him as if Devin was already trying to steal it. Which she might, if he didn’t finish it soon. The Beta had ordered five of them, thinking Devin would maybe consume one. Whether from so much time spent going hungry or the rush of hormones that seemed to plague her constantly, Devin was starving. Her sour stomach of last night seemed long forgotten. She’d never felt this before, even when she’d had her first heat. She hadn’t had one since, not until the botched pills. Maybe it was always like this, and she didn’t know. It wasn’t as if Omegas compared notes. They were all more interested in blending into the shadows, never being noticed. None of them wanted to be Omega, loud and proud.
And then she was sniffling, thick tears dribbling down her face as she swiped at them. Sobbing into your burrito had to be against the law or something. Curling her legs up, Devin set her forehead to her knees, muffling her quiet sobs into the now mushy tortilla.
“Hey, it’s all right,” Jackson murmured. He made soft sounds to shush her, though he didn’t quite dare to touch her rumpled curls or bared shoulder. “We’ll be at the club in a sec. You can’t show up crying, honey.”
“I’m fine.” Smeared into a choking sob, obviously not at all fine, Devin still wiped at her cheeks and eyes to staunch the flood of misery. She wasn’t even sure what she was crying about anymore.
“Shit. Shit, shit, shit.” Jackson drew in a deep breath, letting it out with strained control. “I’ll circle the block, but you have got to quit. They’ll kill me if you show up like this. Drink some coffee. Maybe you need some sugar or something.”
“People get angry when they’re hungry, not weepy. Besides, I just ate everything!”
“That what you’re worried about? Honey, you’ve got nothing to get concerned about! You could stand to put a little meat on those bones, and one big meal isn’t going to make a huge difference.”
“Please, just… shut up.” Devin twisted to face the passenger window, watching the worn brick buildings crawl by as Jackson made his promised circle around the block.
She recognized the area much better under the harsh light of day and tracked their progress from the sprawling warehouse at the docks to just a few blocks over the club. In part, she didn’t want to know what the warehouse was used for, and the other part just wasn’t brave enough to ask Jackson. He seemed too kind and sweet to be tainted by whatever went on in those filthy rooms. If he knew everything, it would tarnish him forever in her eyes.
