Page 24 of Ember

I’ve packed you some this evening, no arson necessary

I considereda joke about a five-alarm fire in my panties, but decided against the innuendo. I went back to work, wrangling more bugs out of the program.

I cleared some appointments off my plate and tried to dig into the code to see why the software was doing stupid things like matching up people who clearly had opposite preferences.

I also went back in and checked Ben and Rian’s profiles since they asked to meet so they could tweak some things.

My stomach did not swoop at the idea of seeing the two of them. Nope, it did not. I was not actively craving their scents like a junkie waiting for her next fix.

Dating them would be a beautiful disaster, a train wreck of epic proportions. Ben was sweet and sexy, Rian was the right amount of brooding and intense, and it wouldn’t end well.

I could sniff them all I wanted, but I told my omega instincts to calm down. We did not hump our clients. I needed that embroidered on a pillow. It would become my new mantra.

I fiddled with the software all morning, working myself into a fugue state where time had no meaning. I blasted my favorite work playlist and pulled out lines of code that had warped some of our algorithms.

Someone knocked on the door and scared the life out of me. “Come in.”

Maybe it was Sunshine coming to take pity on me and deliver lunch.

Stella poked her head inside instead. “Ben and Rian O’Shea are waiting for you?”

I cursed and looked at the clock. I’d hoped to meet them looking less like a feral goblin, but that ship had sailed. My office was presentable, and my omega instincts wouldn’t be denied. Having the meeting in my office meant they would sit on my couch. Afterward, I could huff their scent all afternoon.

Not that I was planning that far ahead, of course.

“Can you show them to my office?”

“Sure.” Stella smirked as I straightened up random papers on my desk. I wasn’t anywhere near as messy as Sunshine, but my desk had seen better days.

I kept the door open and scanned the floor for any tripping hazards. I pulled the two chairs opposite my desk closer and shifted the coffee table away from the couch a little bit.

Rian entered first, looking like he was going to his own execution, and Ben followed behind him, looking pleased with the world by contrast. Rian’s left arm was behind his back, like he was a fancy waiter, and Ben had his left hand on the omega’s elbow.

I may or may not have done a massive deep dive on YouTube about visually impaired people. I didn’t want to ask stupid questions, and knowing my squirelly brain, I probably would if I didn’t get some basic answers. Also, I wanted to be able to prep their dates beyond the basics Ben had given me.

Three videos I’d watched suggested Rian was acting as a sighted guide when leading a visually impaired person down a narrow space.

“Hello,” I said, unable to contain my joy. My utterly unfounded joy, I reminded myself. “Good afternoon.”

“Fancy meeting you here.” Ben shook his cane out and did small swings in front of him.

“There’s a couch to your left,” I said. “We could sit there if you two would like?”

“’To your left’ isn’t actually helpful,” Rian said, sounding annoyed already. “Directly to Ben’s left? Fourteen feet? In another state?”

“Sorry,” I said, not annoyed with Rian’s tone at all. “Precise would be better.”

“Thatwashelpful,” Ben said, his cane lightly hitting the leg of the coffee table and then the couch a moment later. “Rian’s in a cranky mood.”

I cocked my head at the other omega. “Are you hungry? Thirsty? We have some catering in the lodge on the grounds. We could get a decent lunch.”

“The grounds?” Rian perked up but then shook his head and sat next to his alpha. “I’m okay.”

Their scents filled the room, and I debated sitting in the small armchair next to the couch. Most of our offices were big enough for a desk and a small sitting area to the side, since more than half of us saw clients.

I took the armchair, needing more of their heady scents. Rian’s smoky oak and amber had a small hint of greenery, like moss. Ben’s spicy woodsy scent with the sharp berry scent I still couldn’t place hit me like my next addiction fix. They mingled together, and I felt like a heroine in a gothic novel, standing on a desolate moor with the wind whipping through my hair.

I leaned forward to get more of that scent.

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