“Didn’t say I liked it, just what is.” His nose dropped down then and he snuffled noisily in my hair. Just like a dog, I tried to remind myself furiously.
My conscious mind had the right of it. She was angry, irritated and beyond pissed at these breaches of her carefully articulated boundaries. But my body? My muscles slowly loosened, allowing myself to be moulded against him, my head going back in surrender.
It’s his scent, I told myself, and there was an element of truth to that. This close I could feel the heat radiating off him and with it came a deep musky scent. Woody and sweet, like sandalwood, but also with a sharp edge like grass or citrus. Something that set my teeth on edge and also prompted me to take deeper breaths. Logan pulled away just enough so he could stare into my eyes and while I knew they were burning with irritation, somehow that made him smile.
“We’re destined to be together,” he said with a cocky smirk. “You’re receptive to me, and by the smell of you, you’ve dallied with at least a couple of my brothers.”
“Dallied? Who says a word like dallied in the 21st century?” I spat.
“You’re still young, fertile.” He removed the hand covering mine and then put it over my belly. “You’ll still be able to bear a brace of sons, and having a strong daughter could work well for creating bonds between other packs when she’s ready to find a mate.” His thumb felt like it burned through the thin cotton of my shirt as it swept back and forth over my stomach. “No one needs to know you’re not an omega. Yes, you’ll do nicely.”
“Oh my freaking god!”
Whatever strength I was lacking before, I found it now. I shoved him with every muscle in my body and then some. I felt a rush of satisfaction when he was forced back, but that was quickly replaced by a burning rage.
“You haven’t been able to find your mate, have you?” I didn’t wait for an answer as he was done talking as far as I was concerned. “I can’t think why. You’re such a bloody catch. I’m not going to be your fake omega. You aren’t getting your dick anywhere near me, so it’ll be impossible for me to bear your sons and Evie will marry whoever she damn well pleases when she’s like forty and I’m ready to let her go.” I jerked my phone back up and tapped 000 into the keypad, showing it to him. “Go, or I’ll call the cops.”
“We need to sort this out,” Logan growled. “None of us want this situation, but we all have to make the best of it. Running away like a little girl isn’t going to help anyone or anything.”
“I’m not running away from anything,” I snapped. “I’m rejecting any and all offers you have to make outright.” My finger pointed imperiously to the door. “Get out. Now.”
“Beta—”
“Get out before I count to five or I’m calling the cops,” I said. “One, two, three…”
Bloody dickhead took until I got to four to leave, turning around, after treating me to another searing look, then unlocking the door and striding out.
I was glad there were no early morning book buyers around, because once I sank into an armchair, my head went to my hands. My heart was racing so fast, readying my body to fight or fly, even though the danger had now passed, but as it did, his words rang in my ears.
None of us want this situation, but we all have to make the best of it…
Was that what this was? It’d always been my fear if I ever saw Ben again, that he’d feel forced to ‘make do’ with a beta when what he really needed was an omega. Logan was brutal. We’d had a conversation that barely lasted a few minutes and yet he’d found all of my vulnerabilities in a split second. Practically, I knew his opinion didn’t matter. He was just some fucking guy, trapped in a situation due to his brother’s actions, lashing out as a result, but, fuck… He was like a wolf in a trap, savaging everyone who came within two feet of him. My shaking fingers went to the bridge of my nose, pinching the skin there as my head throbbed and that was when the door bell jingled.
Get it together, Lily,I told myself.Get your shit together and sell some books. You can fall apart afterwards.
“Hey…” a masculine voice said as I forced my head up and then I caught a big blurry shape walk over and then drop down by my knees. “Jesus, Lily, what happened?”
“Jasper?”
The big alpha smiled, a funny lopsided thing that was so at odds with his brother’s it was impossible to tell he was related.
“You didn’t call, and I figured right about now you’d be looking for a coffee and…” The smile faded and was replaced by a frown. “Why do you smell like Logan?”
Chapter 32
None of us want this situation, but we all have to make the best of it…
Those words were going to haunt me and part of me wondered if that’s why Logan said them. That awareness didn’t stop me from inspecting Jasper and the tray of coffees he held closely. Could I see it? Some evidence of resignation, of weary acceptance? I pulled away from him, bustling over to the front door and flipping the open sign.
“You look like you just saw someone kick a puppy, and you have that tight thing going on in your jaw.” Jasper gestured to his face as he set the coffee down on the counter. “A sure sign my brother has come to see you.” He let out a sigh, then raked a hand through his long hair. “This was supposed to be my day.”
“To do what?” I asked. “Take me for coffee or off on some death-defying stunt. Woo me with sweet words or just finger me under the table of a cafe.” His eyebrows jerked up at that. “Anything to ‘make the best of things’.”
I bent down to grab a box of new books that had been dropped off by the courier yesterday, but Jasper swooped in, both our arms wrapping around it for a moment, my eyes forced to stare into his until I relinquished hold of it. He set the box on the counter and then produced a bloody bowie knife like he was Crocodile Dundee or something.
“Don’t use that,” I said with a frown. “You’ll slice through the covers on the top and…”
My waspish little order was disregarded as he pulled the top flaps of the box up as far as they would go, then sliced through the tape, knife parallel to the books. He opened the box, pulling out the paper packaging and then inspecting the shiny new copies ofThe Vixen’s PleasureI’d gotten in.