Page 23 of Omega's Fire

Leo moves past me. Another wave of scent rises between us, rich and provocative. At the doorway, he pauses.

“Your methodology in the Erikson follow-up was actually quite sound,” he says. “Your conclusions were the problem.”

Before I can respond, Leo is gone, the bedroom door closing behind him.

I stand in the kitchen, pulse elevated, mind racing. As I clear the kitchen, I find myself smiling slightly. This is it. He’s finally talking to me. Soon he’s going to realize how good we are together.

Leo

I wake with my skin on fire.

The heat roars through me without warning, dragging me from restless sleep to full consciousness in seconds. Sweat slicks my skin, my pulse hammering against my ribs like it’s trying to escape. I kick the sheets away, a curse tearing from my throat.

“Fuck. Not now.”

My body has betrayed me, just as the Bureau planned, just as I knew it was going to do. Seven days of proximity to Nash Thorndike, breathing his infuriating scent, and now my body is staging a coup. I’ve felt it building—the fever, the hypersensitivity, the way my gaze kept tracking him even when I wanted to look anywhere else.Fuck.

I press my palms against my eyes, trying to focus through the rising tide of need. Options. I need options. I could lock myself in this room. Ride it out alone. It would be agonizing, but I’ve endured worse. I knew I was going to give in on this part. I’ve known it since I’ve arrived and if I am honest, I’ve been looking forward to it. Thorndike is right about the chemistry, if nothing else. Fucking him will get him out of my system.

A fresh wave of heat crashes over me, and I bite my lip to keep from making a sound. My skin is too tight, too hot, too everything. Between my thighs, I’m already slick and aching, my body preparing for him.

The soft knock at my door isn’t a surprise. Of course he knows. He can smell it and he’s been waiting for this moment since they dragged me here.

“Leo.” Nash’s voice comes through the wood, deeper than usual, with an edge I haven’t heard before. “Let me in.”

Not a request. A command. The dominance in his voice makes me want to clench my thighs together. He’ll know that too. Damn alphas.

“Go away,” I manage, though my body screams the opposite.

“You’re in heat.”

“No shit, Professor.” I press my thighs together, trying to ignore the pulse of want his voice triggers. “Your observational skills are breathtaking.”

“This isn’t a debate.” His voice drops lower. “Open the door.”

“Everything with you is a debate,” I snap, but I’m already moving toward the door, my body overriding my brain’s objections. “And I’m still winning.”

I wrench the door open, ready with another cutting remark, but the sight of him steals my breath.

Nash fills the doorway, his pupils blown wide, nostrils flaring as he takes in my scent. His own scent has intensified, cedar and bergamot. It calls to something so primal that it makes my mouth water and my knees weak.

“You don’t look like you’re winning,” he says, his eyes never leaving mine.

“Fuck you,” I hiss.

His mouth curves in a dangerous smile. “That’s the general idea. Are you going to say yes? I am going to leave if you tell me to.”

The thought of him leaving sends a wave of panic through me. All I want to do is rip his clothes off. I don’t think I can do this. I can’t just go sit in the corner again. My body is aching for him.

I blink twice, desperately trying to clear the heat fog frommy head so I can think. I’m no virgin. I’ve ridden out my heat with alphas before, a couple of omegas too. They were fun and satisfying and not one of them led to any kind of claiming. I can have sex without losing myself completely.

“Let’s get one thing straight,” I say, keeping my distance even as my body begs me to close it. “If you fuck me, it doesn’t change anything”

“If--?” His smile is infuriating. Why on earth did I have to match with such a smug son of a bitch?

“Yes. We both know I’m going to give in. That this whole thing was leading here. It’ll just be sex.”

Nash’s eyes darken, turn predatory. His gaze sweeps the length of my body. I should want to hide it but I don’t. I want him to strip me naked and pin me down.

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