Page 21 of Stuck with my Pack
I covertly glance at the three of them. They’re in harmony today. I could smell that something had changed when they showed up this morning as a group to help me out. I don’t know what exactly is different, but they feel…cohesive…comfortable with one another.
And their newfound comfort with each other seems to be lighting my Omega instincts on fire. I’ve never been this turned on by anything or anyone, and all we’re doing is fixing a rickety old staircase together.
“Why don’t you both focus before Sophie fires us all?” Brodie says after a while, his gaze directed at Tyler, who’s now bickering with Ethan over whose job is harder.
Their laughter fills the room, and with them here the inn doesn’t feel so empty. The sound of their camaraderie, however chaotic, is comforting. It feels…right.
“Firing you is tempting,” I say, unable to hide my grin, “But I’d have to find replacements, and you’re all I’ve got.”
The weight of their attention is suffocating, and yet, I crave more of it. My heart hammers against my ribs, a frantic, dizzying rhythm that makes it impossible to think straight. I’ve never wanted anything—anyone—this badly, and it terrifies me.
It’s not just lust, not just heat coiling low in my belly; it’sthem, all three of them, their scents tangling around me, making me weak.
Why do they look at me, like that? Like I belong to them already, and a traitorous part of mewantsto. I don’t understand how I can feel this much, this fast, I suddenly need some air. If for no other reason than to take breath away from the alpha pheromones I'm drowning in.
Needing some air, I decide to go outside. I’m going to do something embarrassing like perfume if I don’t take a moment and gather myself. I stand, and I can tell by all their postures that they can scent me. It’s so mortifying that I can hardly stand it.
Clearing my throat I say, “Um, I’m going to go get some air for a moment.” I wipe the dust from my face, walking past Tyler, who’s decided to take a break and is lounging in a chair between me and the hallway with a look on his face that tells me he knows what I’m thinking.
“You’re getting the hang of this, rookie,” he says as I attempt to pass by him. I shoot him a slightly peeved look. I’m going to have to practically climb into his lap to get by him.
“Thanks, captain sarcasm,” I reply, rolling my eyes, but I can’t stop the smile tugging at my lips.
I decide it’s time to slip by him. I’m intent on putting some distance between us and the magnetic pull that’s only getting stronger.
But before I can take a single step, Tyler’s hand wraps around my wrist, his grip firm yet gentle. He tugs me back, catching me off balance, and I tumble onto his lap with a startled shriek.
“Where do you think you’re going?” he teases, his voice dropping into a warm, honeyed tone that slides over me like silk. My heart stutters, caught between surprise and something much darker, deeper.
His hands move quickly but without haste, one capturing both of mine and pulling them behind my back. The move is deliberate, commanding, yet careful enough that my Omega hums in approval.
His sharp citrus and sunshine scent—surges, wrapping around me and amplifying the heat pooling in my belly. My Omega instincts purr at the contact, the way his Alpha commands the moment with such ease.
“What are you doing?” I ask, though the answer hums in the air between us. My words lack bite, softened by the way my scent betrays me, spiking with arousal—warm, heady vanilla now edged with the undeniable sweetness of slick.
There’s no hiding it; Tyler’s nostrils flare, his eyes darkening as he takes in the shift.
"What I’ve wanted to do since the second I laid eyes on you,” he murmurs, his smile downright sinful, sending a thrill down my spine. “Brandishing that damn candlestick at me? Hottestthing I’ve ever seen. And sweetheart, you haven’t stopped driving me insane since.”
His free hand lifts, his fingertips grazing along my jaw in a way that leaves me burning.
I want to respond, to tease back with something clever, but his gaze pins me in place. There’s nothing but Tyler in that moment—his amber-flecked green eyes, the heat rolling off him, the rasp of his thumb brushing over my lower lip.
My Omega trembles, caught between the urge to submit and the need to challenge, to push him even further.
Tyler’s lips are warm, firm, yet impossibly smooth as they move against mine, teasing and coaxing without rushing. There’s a quiet dominance in the way he kisses, each slow, sensual stroke a deliberate command, unraveling me with nothing more than the pressure of his mouth.
His lips mold perfectly to mine, the slightest hint of roughness where the sea air has chapped them making the contrast even more intoxicating.
When he deepens the kiss, the heat of his breath mingles with mine, his lips parting just enough to draw me in, to make me crave more. He doesn’t just kiss—he takes, he claims, leaving no space between us, no doubt that this moment belongs to him. each stroke of his lips a deliberate claim.
My body melts against him, surrendering to the way he controls the moment, the way he tilts my head to take more, to give more. His grip on my wrists tightens just enough to remind me that I’m his to hold, his to kiss like this, slow and sensuous, until I can’t think of anything but the way he tastes—like heat, like possession, like Tyler.
Breaking free of his grip, my hands clutch at his shoulders, desperate to anchor myself as the world narrows to nothing but Tyler. His mouth moves against mine with a hunger that setsme alight, and when he trails kisses down my jaw and neck, I’m helpless to do anything but tip my head back and let him.
“Tyler…” I breathe, his name a whisper on my lips, more plea than protest. His teeth graze against the sensitive skin of my throat, and I shudder, a rush of slick soaking me. His chuckle vibrates against my neck, low and satisfied.
“God, Sophie,” he murmurs, his voice rough with want. “You smell so fucking good.” His tongue flicks against my pulse, and my hips jerk involuntarily. The primal edge in his tone, the raw hunger in his touch—it’s everything I didn’t know I needed.
