Page 52 of One for the Money
I bite the inside of my cheek to keep myself from groaning as the sweetness increases.
“Have you been using the cream?” I ask, taking Quinton’s temperature. When Matteo nods, I hold out my hand for the tube he produced. It doesn’t look like a dent has been made. “How often?”
“Once a day?”
“Damnit, Matteo, I prescribed it three times a day for a reason.” The Beta flinches back from my harsh words, andI slow down to take a few cleansing breaths. “I’m sorry. I’m sick and grumpy. That was unprofessional of me. I know you’re doing your best to keep up with his complex needs. It can’t be easy being a caregiver to your lover.”
He continues blinking at me, expression completely frozen as he stares me down. After a moment, he inhales deeply and speaks. “Your pheromones.”
I wince. “Yes, apologies. Apparently, while I’ve been sick with the stomach flu, I could not keep enough of my suppressants down to avoid this. We should open a few windows.”
“No, he needs exposure to your pheromones. If you’re matches…”
I look down at the Alpha, who almost looks like he’s resting peacefully. Of course, I know better, and it makes my stomach ache to see him like this, knowing there isn’t anything I can do.
He’s not okay, and he’s not going to be okay, no matter what I do medically. The only hope of slowing this illness is for him to find his scent match, and for some reason, he thinks that’s me.
What’s the harm in seeing if he’s right?
But in the back of my brain, I know what the harm is. I know that a scent match is the most surefire way to control someone. That there is no escape once they’ve found you.
“Give me your shirt,” I tell Matteo. I hold my hand out, and after a moment, he pulls it off and hands it to me, wrinkling his nose in confusion.
It smells like fucking kettlecorn, and I nearly start purring right there. I want to roll around in it, rub it all over me. I pull off my shirt, uncaring that the Beta can see my breasts, before slipping into the fabric he gave me.
Being surrounded by Matteo’s scent like this has meaching to be in his arms. It takes every bit of my self-control to stop myself from pulling the collar of it over my face and inhaling deeply.
My shirt hasn’t been washed in days, and is soaked in my fevered sweat, so if anything has enough pheromones to bring Quinton out of this, it’s that shirt.
If we’re scent matches, that is.
I gently fold the shirt up and wrap it around his neck like a scarf, covering his mouth so it rests right below his nose.
Matteo stares at me, eyes shiny with tears. “What do we do now?”
“We wait.”
Chapter 19
Yes,there is pain, but it is an undercurrent of suffering layered with sweetness.
And oh, it’s sweet. Rich and chocolatey, with hints of cherries and cream, overwhelming my senses. Like a decadent dessert at a way too expensive restaurant.
It both hardens my cock and relieves some of the ache in my head.
I can feel the weight of a cloth over my mouth, and I grasp it, quickly realizing it’s where the scent is coming from. I shove it against my nose, trying to get it as close as possible, inhaling deeply. A purr rattles my chest reflexively.
Thisis what all those romance movies were talking about. I never quite believed it until now.
They said all you’d need is a single moment, and you’d know. Deep in your bones, in the genetic code that makes you an Alpha, you’d know the Omega that was supposed to be by your side.
And this one is mine. Not a single part of me doubts it. I have no hesitation.
This Omega, this chocolate cake scented dream, is my Omega, and I will do whatever it takes to stay by her side and make her happy.
“Quinton?”
My Beta sounds scared. Scent matching with him was different, but no less intense. Instead of the desire to nurture and spoil, I wanted to possess him. To staple his body to my own and ensure he could never stray from me.
