Page 88 of The Heat of Us

31

HAZEL

I wasn’t sure how I suddenly went from having no men to having three. They had all crept up on me, weaselling themselves into my life.

It soothed my instincts to have Aleks with me. In my home, where I could properly look after him. Had anyone ever done that for him? I could see the way he felt each gesture was somehow a tally against him. My omega hummed with purpose, trying to make him see that he was worth the effort.

I gave her so little. The least I could do was give her this.

Remy and I began working together again, falling into a routine where he came over three times a week like clockwork. One day for planning, one day for filming and one day to review things and schedule the following week’s uploads together.

As for what we were, neither of us were looking to name it. A mutual pact that the work was work and the kisses, touches, fucking that happened outside of that simply a byproduct of that. We did not enjoy being apart post-heat so it was better not to be.

I told him about Ben. It wasn’t like I could hide how I smelled of another alpha every morning. Remy accepted this with a dragged out “okay” and his scent marking got even more intense.

I slept at Ben’s every night. My nightmares got less lucid. More fragmented. Like watching a film through water instead of living every sound and sensation. Chocolate and peppermint wove through my memories, guiding me back to the present. His purr would lull me back to sleep every time.

His dick was usually what woke me up.

I’d done a post office drop that morning, following my usual routine of replying to DMs. I would get stumped on what to say often, but for different reasons. Sometimes it was clear how lonely they were and I was not callous enough to make them believe they had a chance with me simply because I wanted their money. Other times, they were like that persistent inbox tipper. He had now upgraded to telling me what a loose, used-up pussy I had. I really needed to get around to blocking him, or at the very least restricting him so he couldn’t send me DMs anymore.

At least there was no new graffiti when I left the apartment. I think expecting there to be was making me paranoid, giving me a creeping sensation like I was being watched or followed.

There was no reason for it. Bond dissolution was actually becoming more accepted, especially when Page Slick broke the news that the famous omega actress Sage North was confirmed to be undergoing the process. The rumours that began when she was photographed at a NOC fundraiser months earlier now had a ring of truth.

Since their divorce, her movie star ex had lost out on a string of roles before being consistently papped in compromising positions with multiple women. Stories of his abusive tendencies could no longer be squashed by his PR team, popping up regularly like a nightmarish game of whack-a-mole. Headlines like Hollywood’s golden couple headed for divorce: what went wrong and who’s to blame? very quickly turned into Free Sage and The Rise and Fall of Sawyer Callahan.

Suddenly the buzzwords surrounding bond dissolution were world first and groundbreaking scientific advancements instead of harping on about alpha rights.

Still, one could never be too careful. At least that’s what I told myself as I found myself in a domestic little bubble with no intention of ever leaving.

My evenings were practically a blueprint now. I loaded my fork up with more pasta. It was very good. Aleks would insist we had cooked it together but I was pretty sure I had been a glorified pan stirrer and a tasting spectator at best. Tonight we had decided against a true crime show and chose a true crime podcast instead. Totally different. We were also excellent multi-taskers – eating and listening while we worked on a puzzle.

“You never struck me as a puzzle person,” Aleks said, staring intently at the laid out pieces in front of us.

“Why?” I replied brusquely. “’Cause I can’t fuck it?”

“No! I…that’s not…” Aleks floundered harder than a cat who had accidentally fallen into water. He clocked my badly suppressed smirk and put his head in his hands. “Hazel, stop doing that!”

Remy cackled before excitedly snatching up a piece. “Aleks, I think this is part of the tree you’re working on,” he said, passing it over to him.

Oh yeah…sometimes Remy hung around after we were done and would still be here when Aleks got off his shift. Today had been a planning day, mainly researching audio setup options and looking into equipment hire.

“The victim’s body was mutilated beyond recognition and the oppressive desert heat sped up the decomposition process…”

Remy blanched. “How can you listen to this while you eat?” he asked.

I purposefully took a large bite of pesto while the podcast continued to drone on about fly pupae. Without missing a beat, Aleks followed suit. Remy stared at our identical incorrigible grins and made a perturbed face.

“God, I can’t believe there are two of you.”

Remy eventually left, trying his absolute best to scent mark me excessively without coming across like he was scent marking me excessively.

“Remy, you are fooling nobody,” I griped, when his chaste goodbye cheek kiss suddenly turned into enthusiastic nuzzles. But I also tipped my head back and tugged his hair a little because, well, it felt very nice.

I smelled like I’d had a flagon of whisky poured on me by the time he was done.

“Say hi to Ben for me.”

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