Page 65 of Curvy Dirty Omega

“I suppose.” Liam smiled like he’d told a joke and it had gone completely over my head. “It doesn’t have to be a hobby though. I’m just curious what you like to do in your free time.”

There was no reason he would need to know unless…

Unless he thought he’d be quizzed on the information? There was only so much of a relationship we could fake without getting to know each other.

Looking out the window, I watched the trees whizzing by as I considered his question.

What did I like to do?

“Do you have any pets?”

The slight tension in my chest eased and I was grateful he’d picked up on it, asking me a more specific question instead, but it was unnerving how well he seemed to know me when we’d barely spent any time together.

“I don’t have any pets.” How could I when I never knew when I’d be home? “Usually I just hang out with Frankie at home. We watch TV while I crochet, or she reads while I draw. Five days a week we workout at the gym in our building, and once a week she takes me out somewhere. Frankie always worries that I’ll become some weird hermit or something, so she picks an activity and we go do it if we aren’t busy with work.”

But now that I was making her sick, that entire routine was impossible until I could figure out how to manage my pheromones.

“I’m surprised you don’t have any pets,” Liam admitted. “You seem like a cat person.”

“I’ve never had a cat, but I can see why you’d think that.” Introverted people were more likely to have a cat than a dog as they were less demanding of their time and energy. “You’d probably never guess what pet I used to have.”

“Maybe I’ll surprise you.”

The playful tone in his voice had me turning to look at him, wondering if maybe he could. Liam was always so confident, but what made him think he could choose something so obscure the first time around without knowing very much about me?

“Go ahead then.” I crossed my arms over my chest and raised an eyebrow, wondering what exotic animal he thought I’d keep as a pet. “I’m waiting.”

Liam chuckled, keeping his eyes on the road.

He looked so beautiful and carefree that I envied him.

What would it be like to have such overwhelming confidence in yourself and your place in the world? That was an experience I’d never get to have.

“Okay so, you’re definitely not the type to have a dog since you already have Frankie.”

I snorted. Liam could be funny when he wanted. I hadn’t expected that.

“I’d say a snake, but they’re a lot of work to take care of.” Liam glanced at me, his red eyes sparkling. “I bet it’s something weird.”

“I’m a weird person, so that is an accurate assumption.”

He laughed and warmth spread through me at the sound of it. This legacy alpha was enchanting. It was a word I didn’t think I’d ever use to describe an alpha, but he had this whole fairytale prince thing going on that had me ready to fall all over myself just to make him laugh like that again.

“Hm, I want to say…ants.”

It was impossible not to smile. “Your choice is certainly unique and I’ve seen someone with an elaborate ant farm before, but insects aren’t my thing.”

“So then, what is it?”

“I really like axolotls. They’re not easy to keep alive since they’re so delicate and you can’t touch them without the risk of making them sick. They prefer to live a solitary existence, and they can’t stand the heat. We happen to have a lot in common.”

I turned back to the window and looked up at the bright blue sky with the occasional white cloud drifting by. “Did you know that most other aquatic creatures can’t cohabitate with an axolotl? They will try to eat anything that fits in their mouths including another axolotl. They’ll choose cannibalism over companionship, and there’s just something about the appetite for flesh from a creature so fragile and delicate that makes me wonder if we should be afraid of the alphas, or something else entirely.”

Make an omega bleed over and over and eventually, they’ll start craving the taste of blood.

CHAPTER 22

Lucy

---