Page 25 of Holly Jolly Heat
"Not without permission," I agreed. "But I can learn for personal knowledge. For when I want to make you cookies at three AM someday."
Michelle's cheeks flushed, and her scent went warm and sweet.
"Fine," she said. "You can help. But no judgments about my chaotic baking process."
"Wouldn't dream of it."
We headed to the kitchen, leaving Ro and Dex in the living room. Through the doorway, I heard Ro say to Dex, "That went better than expected."
"Phase one complete," Dex agreed. "Now we prove we're worth the wait."
In the kitchen, Michelle was pulling ingredients from the fridge with the efficiency of someone who'd done this a thousand times. Her hair fell forward as she measured flour, and I wanted to reach out and tuck it behind her ear.
I kept my hands to myself.
Slow. Boundaries. Patient.
I could do this.
"So," Michelle said without looking at me, "what do you want to learn first? The family gingerbread recipe or my grandmother's sugar cookies?"
"Whichever one you're most willing to share."
She glanced at me, and there was something soft in her expression. "Sugar cookies. Gingerbread's sacred. You have to earn that one."
"Fair. How do I earn it?"
"By proving you're worth trusting with family secrets."
"I'll work on that," I promised.
We fell into an easy rhythm, Michelle directing, me following, flour getting everywhere despite our best efforts. She moved with confidence in this space, completely different from the guarded professional I'd seen on video calls. This was Michelle at home, comfortable, letting her armor down slightly.
And god, she was beautiful.
"You're staring," she said without looking up from the mixing bowl.
"Sorry. You're just... different here. More relaxed."
"This is my safe space. I get to relax." She added vanilla extract, and the smell mixed with her peppermint scent in a way that made my alpha very happy. "In Seattle, I'm always 'on.' Professional Michelle, competent businesswoman, beta in the industry."
"You're not beta."
"No, but I play one on video calls." She looked at me. "It's easier. Omegas face so much bias in business. People assume we're too emotional, too driven by biology, can't be objective. Suppressants let me bypass all that."
"That's not fair."
"No, it's not. But it's reality." She started rolling out dough. "Which is why this—" she gestured between us, "—is so complicated. If people know I'm omega and bonded to my client, all those biases become ammunition."
"We won't let that happen."
"You can't promise that, Lucas. You can't control how people react."
"No, but we can control how we present it. When you're ready." I picked up a cookie cutter, a star shape. "We show them that pack bonds make us stronger, not weaker. That you're the best manager in the business, and the bond is just an added benefit."
Michelle was quiet, pressing her own cookie cutter into the dough.
"You make it sound simple," she said finally.
