Page 14 of One for the Money
I wrinkle my nose. “Hey?”
“I’m Quinton.” His voice is surprisingly deep, and despite not being able to scent his pheromones, I just know he’s an Alpha.
But after this morning’s texts, I’m a little wary.
“Dr. Alex,” I say through gritted teeth. I try to walk around him, and he sidesteps, cutting me off.
“Where are you off to in such a hurry?”
There’s no aggression in his words. If anything, it sounds like pure curiosity. But I don’t like a man trying to hold me in one spot.
“I’m trying to find Jude to see if there is a truck or something I can borrow to go into town.”
His eyes light up. “Well, isn’t that fortuitous. Matteo and I were just about to head out. You can hitch a ride with us.” He ruffles his hair, and I can’t help but greedily devour the sight of his toned stomach as his shirt rises up. I catch a glimpse of a dark tattoo, but there’s not enough skin showing to figure out what it is.
Luckily, he’s too high to catch me ogling him.
“I need to go to Towne Center Mall. I’m not sure where you two are planning on going, but…” I trail off, not wanting to reveal precisely what it is I need to get there.
I’m not ashamed of being an Omega.
Honestly, I’m not.
It sucks in some ways, but it’s not a part of me I’ve ever felt the need to hide. And there are some benefits.
But that doesn’t mean I want to shout to this Alpha that I need to go nest shopping. Who knows if his instincts will take over, making him shove himself into the process? Alphas typically assist Omegas in building a nest, as ithelps the Omegas settle and be more comfortable in an area that they feel like their Alpha “provided” for them. Still, I’ve never had an Alpha help in my nest, and I’m not looking to start now.
“Teo, baby,” he calls out, in a sultry purr, startling me. “We got a hitchhiker.”
“It’s fine, I can find another way,” I mutter, backing away from him. I feel the presence of another man approaching from behind me, and I jerk away before he can place a hand on my shoulder.
When he rounds me, he looks apologetic. “Sorry, forgot your rule.”
“He’s very tactile,” Quinton says in what I’m sure he thinks is a whisper. “Good in some ways, not so much in others.”
“You love it,” the man, I’m assuming he must be Matteo, but no one introduced me, says with a broad grin. “So are you coming with us, then?” He holds up the keys and jingles them. “There’s only the one truck, but rideshare comes out here.”
“She needs to go to Towne Center Mall,” Quinton tells the other man. If my senses are right, he’s a Beta. “Is that near where we’re going?”
“Yeah, actually. We can get what I need at the mall.” He waves me forward and then starts walking through the trailers. “I’m sure they have an art store there.”
“Art store?” I ask, following them without ever realizing I agreed to go with them. “You’re an artist?”
“Matteo is,” Quinton answers, moving to walk directly behind me. He probably doesn’t even realize he’s doing it, but his Alpha instincts have him protecting my back. “You should see it. Gorgeous stuff.”
The Beta looks back, his cheeks flushed pink. “It’s justsome sketches, some charcoal. Nothing major. Just a way to pass the time on the road.”
I hum quietly, taking in his appearance for the first time. Matteo has long hair on top and short hair on the sides, reminiscent of a soccer player, and brown, olive-toned skin. Between his name and appearance, it’s obvious he’s Latino, but he doesn’t speak with an accent. His smile is sunny and inviting, and despite being thin and on the shorter side, barely taller than me, he looks like he could kick ass if he needs to.
Compared to Matteo’s sun, Quinton is a cloudy day. His bloodshot eyes are gray, and his skin is pale, like he never goes outside. He’s got on a t-shirt that says, “My other ride is your Omega”, which, gross, and baggy black pants. He purses his lips in a little air kiss when he catches me looking him over.
Matteo opens the door to the truck, which is just a single row, and gestures for me to get in. “You’ll need to ride bitch, being the smallest.” I resist the urge to tell him that we’re roughly the same size and climb in. “You realize we’re going to have to touch you, right? It won’t be able to be avoided.”
I grit my teeth as they slide into the truck on opposite sides of me.
“I’m aware.”
The ride is brutal,and every brush of their arms against mine surprises me, making my stomach roil.
