Page 30 of A Pack of Honey
Jess is clearly not the same. I don't want him to think I left in the night. Imagining the look on his face breaks my heart. So, I snuggle into his shoulder. He wraps an arm around me and squeezes me tight, like even in his sleep, he's afraid of losing me. The thought of someone caring so much that even unconsciousness can't deter them has my heart fluttering and an embarrassing giggle slipping from my lips.
"Jess," I whisper, trying to pull away again. This time, a handsome brown eye cracks open.
"I want to go make breakfast," I explain. His arms flex around me like his entire body is protesting the idea of letting me go. He grumbles but plants a kiss on my mouth and slowly lets me go. When I get downstairs, I'm greeted with the smell of fresh citrus.
I pad into the kitchen and find Luca on his laptop at the table. He looks up, and our eyes lock. He's wary at first. We haven’t hadany real one-on-one conversations since the cafe. But his gaze turns heated as he slowly scans me from head to toe. I'm aware of every inch of skin I haven't bothered to cover. Considering the hot morning air, there's a lot on display right now. I'm wearing a pair of pajama shorts I've had since high school that end just under the curve of my ass and a tank top. I'm not even wearing a bra, and Luca’s eyes definitely snag on the hard peaks of my nipples against the thin fabric.
When I designated as an omega, my grandmother was so proud. She said the best thing an omega can do is follow their instincts. Omega instincts are the standard. No one understands quite how, but omegas inherently know precisely what they and the pack need, especially in scent-sensitive packs. Some scientists theorize that we already have a psychic link to scent-sensitive alphas even before bonding. I don't know about that, but if I do this, the whole courting thing… I'll try to follow my grandmother's advice. She's never steered me wrong.
So, instead of starting breakfast, I walk over to Luca and slide into his lap between him and the dining room table. He appears as shocked as I feel, but doesn't push me away. Instead, he encircles my waist with his long, muscled arms. We look at each other for a long minute. I feel my omega chuff inside me.
"My omega's mad at your alpha," I tell him. That's what the nagging pit in my stomach is. It's disappointment. To my surprise, he doesn't get upset, deny it, or become defensive. He simply sighs and squeezes my waist.
"I was afraid of that." His voice is resigned, and I hate it. His head hangs down. I take him by the jaw and tilt his head to meet my eyes.
"She's mad that you didn't recognize us, which is ridiculous since we didn't recognize you either."
This earns a small chuckle, which feels like a victory.
"Omegas are wonderful creatures, but don't have to adhere to logic. She can be mad. And me and my alpha can do everything to prove to her that we'll never stop recognizing her and you as ours again." His words slip into my core, and I perfume.
He groans, leans forward, and presses his nose to my neck, inhaling. My hand twines into his long black hair, gently pulling his mouth closer to my pulse. His mouth comes down to the plane of my throat—biting, but not hard enough to break the skin. Then licking the hurt away. Slick gathers in my panties. His hand reaches under my shirt, trailing a hot line up my spine until he's cupping the back of my neck with his broad, warm hand.
No one else is awake. I feel cramping in my core. This can’t be another heat spike, can it? It's like my omega was justwaitingfor me to let them in the house to go hog wild.
Luca tears his mouth from my throat and brings a hand to my forehead. I'm definitely hot. He doesn't even have to tell me.
"Good," he purrs. "I know what I want for breakfast."
My stomach does backflips. He didnotjust say that.
But apparently, he did, because he's moving everything on the table to one side and lifting me off his lap to lay me flat on the surface, legs dangling off the end. Luca isn't nearly as gentle as Jess. He practically rips my panties off, and the morning air caresses me. A chill of anticipation runs up my spine as slick coats my pussy. He makes a low sound of satisfaction and dives straight for my core, lapping up my slick like it's a delicacy, and he's a man starved. I arch off the table, making breathy whines.
“You taste like honey. You make me feral.” He says as his fingers play at my opening, gathering the juices there.
I think he's going to spear me with his fingers, but he licks up my slit, and then I feel his thumb lightly pressing at my back entrance. I tense up slightly, but he doesn't push. Just looks up at me over my stomach and breasts. Clearly asking permission. I nod and let my head fall back as his thumb pops in. It's not myfirst time with anal play, but it’s so exhilarating to find a partner who's not put off by it. It's rarer to find a man willing than you'd think. He’s pressing down on that sensitive bundle of nerves inside that makes me see stars. He hooks his middle two fingers of the same hand into my clenching pussy, hitting the same spot on the other side of the thin membrane.
"So, close," I breathe.
Luca reaches up under my shirt, tweaking my nipples as he latches his mouth to my sensitive nub and swirls. That's it. I bite down on my lip to keep from absolutely screaming my release into the ceiling of the dining room, which I'm pretty sure is the floor of Hunt's room. Still, I'm loud, and I can't help it. He pumps his fingers into me throughout the entire orgasm, drawing it out until I'm coming down softly into his touch.
Once I've settled, Luca extracts his hand and moves to get up, but stops. He's looking at something in the archway to the dining room. The scent hits me before I look. In my heat haze, I hadn't noticed, and judging by his feral growl, Luca hadn't either. Cole stands in the archway, arms crossed, watching. I look back to Luca in confusion, as Cole is the dominant alpha. If we move forward as a pack, we'll do way more together than just watch. Luca seems to realize this, too, and sits back down.
Cole chuckles and tosses Luca the washcloth I hadn't noticed he'd been holding in his hand. Then he walks back into the kitchen and out the front door.
The washcloth is warm and wet, and Luca cleans me up while I still lay on the table. Then he cleans his hand and shoots the thing into a dirty clothes hamper in the corner. He scoops me up and pulls me back down onto his lap.
I instinctively nuzzle into his throat, scent marking him.
"What was that with Cole?" I ask.
He sighs, scenting the top of my head with his cheek. "Before we met you, Cole recognized that the pack was beginning tofracture. He started using scent match services to find someone to bond us."
I tense. Even though we've only just started courting, the idea of them being with another omega makes mine strain at the surface, and I'm filled with the urge to claw someone's eyes out. My scent must shift dramatically because Luca pulls back, takes my chin, and tilts my head up. The kiss he brings down on me could make a god weep. Not until I'm melting does he pull away from the kiss and tuck me back under his chin.
"None of them worked out, obviously,” he says. “Either the omega didn't match one of us in an offensive way, or they didn't work with us together. One or two did scent match well to everyone, but that didn't matter because Jess would go out of his way to scare them off." I raise an eyebrow. "I'll let him tell you. In any case, they didn't work out. It really…"
Luca trails off, looking pained. "It left a hole in our pack. Lots of things were said. Cole's ability to lead. About Jess's ability to be a reasonable adult. About my ability to be emotionally available. And Hunt's ability to say no and stand up for himself. We had fights just us, and I wish I could take them back. I know he does, too. I want my friend back, but maybe we broke our friendship. I don't know." His voice is so sad, and my omega hates it. One good table trist, and she's completely forgiven Luca. She's very fickle like that.
