Page 20 of Curvy Nerdy Omega

We were both fucking insane. It was the only explanation for this sensation in my chest that had me ready to fight a god of war just to keep him from leaving me.

Somehow, Liam released me and I watched him stumble toward the stairs, biting my tongue so hard my mouth filled with blood again to keep myself from begging him to stay.

What the fuck was wrong with me? I needed to see Nathan before I killed us all. I knew that. So, why was it so goddamn hard to let him go?

“He’s going to come back to you after doing what I told him to do.” Cas slid his fingers through my hair and gently tugged, forcing me to look up at him.

The expression on his face was cold and emotionless, but for some reason I found that reassuring. Cassius had insane control for someone who wasn’t a legacy alpha, and if he was with me, then maybe we could make it through this without destroying each other. His dark presence used to freak me out, but now it was something I found comforting.

Cas squeezed me tight and all I wanted was for him to squeeze hard enough he crushed all my bones into dust.

Maybe then I’d finally feel like I wasn’t alone.

Cas pulled back and placed his hand on my chest, pressing down hard. He narrowed his bright blue eyes and I couldn’t help but think they were just as mesmerizing as Liam’s. “I need you to calm down, okay? I’m going to help you manage this.”

“How?”

“It’s easier than you think.” Cas leaned down and his lips brushed against my ear. “It’s just like breathing.”

I wanted to tell him I’ve never been very good at those breathing exercises, but I wrapped my arms around his neck instead, needing to be closer.

“Imagine that with every inhale, you put your pheromones back in their glass jar.” Cas opened his mouth wide to grip my jaw with his teeth. It was sharp, but he released me before I could melt into him.

“It’s just like with emotions,” he explained, pulling back to drag his lips across my cheek. They hovered right over mine and all I wanted was for him to kiss me. “You’ve learned to keep your emotions from your face when you need to, haven’t you?”

His deep voice was soothing and strangely gentle. It gave me the strength to nod, but I was still so frantic and needy I didn’t think I could do any of that right now.

“It’s all here, Lucy.” Cas pressed down on my chest even harder. My heart was pounding, but it was already more rhythmic. “Shove it down into your lungs with every breath.”

I didn’t think I could inhale deeply enough for that, especially when the pheromones were so thick I couldn’t even smell the blood anymore.

“It’s going to take some getting used to.” His lips brushed against mine with every word and I dug my nails into his skin to keep from doing something that might shatter his careful control. “I’ve been doing it all my life, but even still, I can barely manage it when I breathe you in.”

I held onto him for dear life, crushing his hand between us. “This isn’t normal, is it?”

“Why are you asking as if I’ve ever known what normal is?”

Maybe that was why it felt so natural to let him hold me like this.

“Your racing heart steals my breath away, Lucy. I keep losing myself in you.”

I couldn’t process his words. They made no sense to me and I tried to see if he was just saying anything he could to pull me out of the panic, or if he really meant it.

Cassius could hide what he was thinking and feeling better than anyone I knew, but in that moment he didn’t try to hide from me. He let me see just how serious he was and what that vulnerability was doing to him.

This wasn’t something he knew how to deal with either and for the first time since coming down here, I was able to take a deep breath.

“You promise he’s going to come back?”

Cas picked me up with one arm under my ass and held me against his chest as he turned on his heel. “I’m pretty sure Liam would die if he couldn’t see you for more than an hour at this point. I was just waiting for him to get into the shower before taking you up there.”

There were a thousand questions I could ask about that, but for once, I didn’t feel the need for answers. I trusted Cas to do what needed to be done, and that terrified me even more.

I was already so attached to these two that detoxing from each other’s scents might not even work anymore.

“You’re such a brat, you know that?” Cas muttered as he carried me up the stairs and into one of the empty guest bathrooms. “Always thinking the worst of me.”

“I woke up and you weren’t there.” It was fucking embarrassing to admit, but I couldn’t keep my mouth shut this time. “I needed to find you so I could see if it was just the pheromones. It’s not my fault you’re so suspicious.”

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