Page 51 of Welcome to Bone Town

Roman’s gaze follows Archer and me back to the fire where we lay down next to Cora. I can understand his hang ups, but I really hope he can get over them, at least while we’re down here. I have a feeling we’re gonna need to work together if we want to get out of this place alive.

41

The night is endless. A dozen feet from the rest of the group, I toss and turn, unable to sleep. The hard stone floor tortures my back, but it’s not discomfort keeping me awake. It’s the little omega, framed by her scent matches on either side. Jax is facing her, his features relaxed in sleep. Bear’s body is curled around Archer, but the mammoth alpha pushes the beta as close to Cora as he can without being in the sleeping bag with her. His meaty arm is draped over them both.

In sleep, they look like they’re already a pack. Even without formal courting, or intentions being stated, it’s clear where this is going. She’ll be mated by the next semester, maybe before this dig is over. Although, that’s not saying much, since the excavation of a temple like this could end up taking years.

Unable to stare at the ceiling for another second, I creep closer to the rest of the group. The strength of Jax’s scent pummels me first. I’ll never confess it to him, butI’ve always loved absinthe. Not the cheap bright green stuff, but the good stuff, the top shelf stuff. The kind that has more complex notes than just licorice, that has other botanicals and herbs mixed with the anise seed. That smells as complex as Jax’s personality. It’s fitting.

Bear’s spicy honey, and, to a lesser degree, Archer’s herbal berries, mix surprisingly well with Jax’s potent liquor. But all of it covers the scent I’m looking for, the scent I need to satisfy my curiosity.

To avoid making noise, I sink to my knees and crawl forward, creeping closer and closer to Cora’s head. Her hair fans out on the thin pillow she made out of Jax’s button up, and I know if I can get near enough, I’ll be able to smell her.

Almost there.

Jax throws his arm over Cora, startling me. I look at him, and he’s staring back, that infuriating smirk lifting one side of his face.

“Go ahead, professor,” he whispers.

Cora stirs, rolling closer to Jax.

Staring the man down, I ease forward. There’s an undercurrent to the scents now. Something… my heart squeezes. Breath knocked from my lungs. I scramble backward so quickly, that I miscalculate how close I am to one of the pools. My knee hits nothing but air, and it’s too late for me to recalibrate.

Splash!

Water floods into my nostrils, but it does nothing to cleanse the scent.

Mate.

42

Istartle awake to the sound of a splash, droplets of water hitting my face, and Jax cackling like he’s just seen something ridiculously funny. Roman gasps for breath, breaking the surface of the pool, dripping wet. He glares at Jax like whatever happened was his fault, but Jax just holds up his hands, palms out.

“Don’t look at me, man,” Jax says, still laughing. “You’re the one who freaked out when you realized–”

“Shut it, Indiana,” Roman growls.

“Oh, you think I’m like Indiana Jones, huh?” Jax grins and pretends to be slashing the air with a whip.

Roman narrows his eyes and climbs out of the pool. He’s still wearing his khaki shorts.

“Did you push him in?” I ask Jax, even though I know Jax was right beside me when I woke up.

“I fell,” Roman says curtly, before Jax can answer.

“Yeah, you did.” There’s something teasing in Jax’s words, almost like an innuendo I don’t quite get.

“Okaayyy.” Deciding to drop it, I stretch, then stand up and make my way around the corner to the little room Bear and Archer found last night. We all agreed to set it up as a place to do our business—a little gross, but necessary.

After taking care of that, I check to see if my clothes are dry. We all washed at least a few garments last night, then hung them over the rocks near the fire. Roman is laying his wet pants out on a rock when I return. I slow my steps. He’s only wearing boxer briefs, the fabric damp and clinging to his body, emphasising the outline of his thick cock. The material is covered in little shovels. They’re so unexpected, I laugh.

Roman jumps and nearly falls into the pool again. Rather than glare at me like he normally would, he looks almost sheepish, maybe even apologetic. He grabs his dry shirt and edges as far away from me as possible.

“It’s fine,” I mutter to myself. “He can act like I have the plague if he wants to. I don’t care. We don’t have to be friends.”

“You okay, honey?” Bear asks.

“Oh, um, yeah.” I hadn’t realized he’d come up behind me. “Why?”

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