Page 80 of Dubious Match
This should be interesting.
“Ask away,” I tell Adrain.
“Are you planning to go into the office next week?” he asks.
“No. I look like a patchwork quilt of bruises. I’m positive I would scare people. Why?”
“Wondering. Don’t go in for at least two weeks,” he says. “You have a penchant for healing quickly, and I don’t want you to use that as an excuse for going in too soon.”
“Adrain,” I sigh.
“You know that you’ll be right as rain in a week and a half. Don’t play with me,” he grumbles.
He’s not wrong. Migraines are the only thing that really tend to knock me out for the count. I can bounce back quickly from everything else.
“Fine,” I sigh, digging into the bag for a chocolate chip cookie. Smiling slightly, I break off a piece before putting away the rest. I know my sugar limits.
“Next question, how secure is the Ledger pack home?” he asks.
“That’s cute,” I murmur, glancing at him.
“Cian and my father put me up to this part. Yell at them,” he says.
“I’ll answer this,” Brice says. “Felix just went home and added more cameras around the property. There’s a gate, high fences with barbed wire, and there will be at least one of us working from home next week. Cian left me his number. I can send that to him, as well as ask if there’s anything else we should be doing.”
“Good,” Adrain says, glancing over at Brice nervously.
“Why do you look as if he’s going to swing on you?” I ask.
“He may after this question,” he grunts. “You’re very particular about your space. Lights, where things are, etc. Except, you’re not usually quite so emotional about it. I’m not saying that it’s not warranted, but?—”
“I’m not usually known to leak so much,” I say wryly.
“Yes,” he says. “Where are we on your heat cycle? I mean… Are you going to be safe and comfortable at Pack Ledger’s house if you go into heat?”
“I would rather drop a delivery of sex toys from my company’s warehouse to her nest than ever pressure Hollis,” Brice growls. “The rest of my pack is currently setting up a nest for her.”
“What? Really? But how?” I ask.
We haven’t known each other for long. I don’t really think that they’d know what I’d want in a nest.
“I’ve been in your loft, though I haven’t seen your nest,” Brice admits. “However, you have a really specific color scheme,Hollis. Between your office and your loft, it’s clear what you do and don’t like.”
Taking a breath, I nod. I have friends who notice what I like, and I do consider Adrain a friend. It’s why he’s interrogating Brice under the ridiculous idea that his father and Cian care about my nest. I just rarely have other people really pay attention to me like this.
Or maybe, it’s more so that I’m so used to holding people at arm’s length that I don’t realize they’re paying attention.
“When we get to the house, if there’s anything that you need, we’ll get it for you,” he says. “We really want you to be safe, which also means having your own space.”
“Thank you,” I say softly.
“That makes me feel better,” Adrain says under his breath. “Last thing, your body should hold off until it can handle a heat. Alpha pheromones won’t trigger it immediately even if you are close to having one. The end result of a heat biologically is to get pregnant, which is why your body will wait.”
I glare at him, and he cringes. I did not need that out in the universe.
“I can make sure to get you birth control before you leave the hospital if you want, presuming you’re not already on it,” he rushes out.
As a very single omega, I can appreciate that he’s not assuming anything.
