Page 79 of Sawyer

“I’ll let you deflect for ten minutes.” Sin leans back and looks at his own menu, giving me a slight reprieve.

“You are being a brat,” Rumor mutters under his breath. “And I’d spank you.”

Heat burns through me.

“Shut your whore mouth,” I grumble to all of them while twitching in my seat, which only earns me a chuckle from Rumor.

I am not winning.

I need to win.

They are gambling with my heart.

“Ready to order?” The poor kid comes back with a scent clip on his nose and our drinks.

My entire body blushes with embarrassment.

He quickly takes our order and then rushes off as though he can’t stand to smell us. I hang my head in shame.

It’s a Sin who breaks first with big guffaws of amusement, then Bryn, and finally Rumor.

“Laugh it up, boys.” I drag my fingertips across my cheeks, but not before smudging my glasses. This is why I never wear the damn things. They are always dirty. Even after I scrub them clean, they are dirty.

They only laugh harder at me when I take my glasses off my face to clean them.

“You know…” Rumor leans down and grabs my glasses out of my fingers. He dips his own in a glass of water before washing them clean at the table. “You almost perfume like an omega.”

“You know,” I mock, feeling brave because I can’t see their faces, “I spend enough time comparing myself to an omega, so I don’t need you doing the same.”

Bryn reaches across the table and uncurls my fingers from the napkin I’m clenching. “We aren’t trying to compare you to an omega,” he says, and I’m glad I can’t see him. “To us, and I think I speak for all of us, your scent invades our senses.”

Warmth spreads through my veins. It isn’t the admission I wanted earlier, but what he’s saying right now makes those newly built walls crack a little.

“No one of any designation” —Rumor slides my glasses back on my face— “has ever smelled like you do.”

“What do I smell like to you?” I ask, though I dread the answer.

“Like home,” Sin says.

The waiter shows up with our food just then. I’m equal parts irritated at his presence and also thankful. I want them to say more, but also, I want them to leave it at that.

When the waiter walks off, Rumor doesn’t let it go. “You ease the beast beating at the walls I have him caged in.” My heart roars in my ears.

A delta has the shortest life span of all of us. Without a bond, preferably with an omega, their nature will slowly drive them insane.

What Rumor’s acknowledging right now is huge. It’s not some small admission. I look at him, this beautiful man who grabs my pancakes and cuts them up for me before sliding them back and giving me his extra container of syrup.

“Eat up, baby girl.” He side-eyes me, his lips kicking up into a slight smile.

“Rumor.” Emotion clogs my throat, because I’ve never felt like I ever belonged anywhere. Not even with my own family.

“Rumor’s right.” Bryn steals my attention, his stormy blue eyes holding my gaze. “Eat up, Sawyer.”

“They just want to make sure you’re well-fed for the fuck fest later before we dive into the unknown,” Sin mutters around a mouthful of waffle.

Bryn gives me a wink before he slaps Sin on the back of the head and pieces of waffle shoot onto his plate.

Sin doesn’t miss a beat and uses his fork to grab the piece he spit out and shove it back in his mouth. “I’m filling up too.” He looks at me with that devil-may-care smirk, and I know he isn’t talking about food.

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