Page 36 of Omega's Triplets

It went against Mark Driscoll’s nature to submit to the authority of others.

Had his nature also compelled him to take Maddy the way he had?

She had wanted it too. Of that he was certain. The way she had looked at him, the way she had opened to him, the way her body had welcomed his every touch— he was not at all worried that he had forced himself on her.

So, what am I worried about?

He didn’t know, exactly. He only knew that he had had a plan for how this encounter was supposed to go, and that plan had been tossed to the wind as soon as he and Maddy had touched.

And he worried.

Will I be able to be around her again?he wondered.What will happen when I try to sit beside her at the dinner table? What will happen when we pass each other in the hall? Will I grab her and fuck her the way I just did in the woods, but this time with all our pack around to see?That couldn’t happen. He would have to figure out some way to control the raging beast that had been awakened within him.

Until he could do that, he wasn’t at all sure that he ought to go home.

He sat under the tree until the sun began to sink toward the horizon. Eventually, it occurred to him that he hadn’t gotten any food for his packmates. If he went home tonight, he would be going emptyhanded. He would be letting them down.

Yet, he would go home, he decided. As hard as it might be to live in a house with a woman he now lusted for so fiercely, so passionately, it would be even harder to turn away from her. It would be impossible. He couldn’t leave Maddy behind. He had to be where she was.

Why do I feel it so intensely? Why can’t I put it from my mind, even now?

He didn’t know.

He got to his feet, brushed the pine needles and dirt from his shorts, and walked slowly through the forest, trying to gather his wits. He had told Maddy to go back to the house after their encounter, and he felt sure she would have done it, despite the fact she had snuck out in the first place. By now, she might have told the rest of the pack what had happened between them.

Mark hoped she hadn’t. It would be easier if he could tell the story himself. But he knew he had to be prepared for whatever was waiting for him at home.

He paused beyond the tree line, spying on his family through the brightly lit window of their little kitchen. Maddy was at the dinner table. It was her first time having dinner with the whole pack, he realized. There was Reese at the stove, laughing as usual.

Everything seemed fine.

He would just have to hope that it would be.

Heart pounding, he stepped out of the trees and crossed the yard to the front door of his house.

***

JAMIE HEARD THE DOORslam closed from the library and knew at once that Mark was home.

Take it easy, he counseled himself.Don’t just blow up at him.But it was all he could do to contain his anger. He couldn’t imagine Mark had a good excuse for what he appeared to have done.

He gathered himself and walked out of the library and down to the kitchen. Mark was smiling, leaning against the door and teasing Reese about something. The kids were laughing. Jamie seethed.

“Mark,” he said, his voice clipped. “I need to see you in the library.”

The smile vanished from Mark’s face. It was all the evidence Jamie needed, really. Mark already knew exactly what this conversation was going to be about. And there was only one way he could know.

He allowed Mark to precede him into the library and pulled the door closed behind them. As soon as it was shut, Harley stood up from the corner where he had been sitting in shadow.

Mark started. “What is this?”

“You know what this is,” Harley said. Jamie had shared his suspicious with his brother, and Harley had been equally outraged.

“Are you two ambushing me?”

“Did you sleep with Maddy?” Jamie asked coolly, folding his arms across his chest.

Not an ounce of surprise showed on Mark’s face. Jamie’s heart sank. So, he had been right.

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