Page 79 of One for the Money
I watch the gears turn in her head, trying to come up with a way to deny me.
She won’t find one.
But she still tries. “We’re colleagues. I cannot be your doctor and your Omega.”
“Is that the best excuse you have?” I sit back in my chair, crossing my arms over my chest. “Because I can’t find myself to care about that.”
Her cute nose crinkles as her cheeks turn pink with frustration. “It’s not as simple as not caring, Quinton! I have my medical license to think about, here.”
“There has to be a caveat for scent matches, though, right?” Dario asks, resting his elbow on his knee and his chin in his hand.
She sputters for a minute before deflating. “Yes, but…”
“But nothing. You’re here until December. You’re under a strict contract, right, Jude?” I look at our showrunner for backup.
He does not disappoint.
“Yes, the doctor made it quite clear that the contract is ironclad.” His curly hair falls into his eyes as he leans closer to her. “She’s here until December.”
“Then let us date you,” I insist again. “All of us. Let us show you that we’re different.”
“I dare you to,” Dario whispers.
She tries to deny us, looking around the room for backup.
Unfortunately, she finds it in Dexter.
“I don’t want to date her,” he says sharply. “I don’t want this any more than she does.”
“You said you’d try,” Dario hisses, hurt bleeding into every word. “You promised.”
“Why should I try if she’s not?” he responds petulantly. “My trying is pointless because she doesn’t want this. It doesn’t matter anyway. She’s made it clear that she’s going to leave as soon as the contract is up.”
Is that hurt in his voice?
Alex’s chocolate scent takes on a bitter edge, and she pushes back from the table, wobbling to her feet. “You don’t get to pass judgment when you have no idea what I’ve lived through!”
Dexter crosses the room in two steps, crowding my Omega. I want to intervene, but Dario shakes his head tightly.
We have to let this play out, or nothing will ever get better between the two of them.
They’re nearly chest to chest, her head thrown back so she can glare at him. Dexter’s hands are clenched at hisside, like he’s fighting with himself not to grab her. “My Omega father killed my Alpha mother in front of me, and I have no idea what you’ve lived through? It seems to me that if anyone understands the fear of being shackled to a designation, it’s me.”
“Then why are you acting like you’re only against this because I am?” she shouts, throwing her hands in the air. “I thought you, of all of them, would be on my side with this. I thought for sure you’d want me gone as soon as possible.”
“You smell so fucking good I can’t function!” His words cause her to drop her hands and blink at him. “You smell incredible. Like the best dessert I’ve ever tasted—rich, decadent, and undeniablymine. And you were hurt and in danger, and the only thing I could do to help was to be an Alpha.YourAlpha.” He groans and turns his back to her. “I have never let my Alpha instincts take over before, and when I did, I wasn’t afraid. I knew you wouldn’t hurt me, ever, because you need me as much as I need you.”
“I don’t need any of you,” she whispers, shaking her head as she backs away from him. “I can’t. I have to do this on my own. I can’t trust anyone.”
“Keep telling yourself that,” he snarls, spinning around. “But when your old Alphas come after you, you’ll want us by your side, facing them down.” He stalks closer to her, taking a strand of her still-wet hair in his fingers.
The tension between them has their scents swirling in the hair and making my cock swell. Do they not understand their arguing is just aggressive foreplay? I can’t be the only one affected by this.
Matteo’s hand slips up my thigh and squeezes right below the crease of my leg, telling me it’s not just my horny ass that is into this display. It takes everything tohold back my groan at the sensation. I’m sure my scent is thickening, but I can’t do a damn thing about it.
“I can do this on my own.” Alex crosses her arms over her chest petulantly.
“But why? Why do it yourself when you have us?” Dario questions, finally jumping to his feet to back up his brother.
