Page 26 of Curvy Nerdy Omega

Considering the fact that we were both very strong alphas with deadly auras, anyone would assume this was going to turn into a fight for dominance, but it had never been like that between us.

His hands framed my face and they were freezing cold against my skin – still hot from my shower. Those glowing blue eyes searched mine, and I could see the smallest bit of red – a trick of the light thanks to the reflection of my own eyes in his.

“She’s going to get better at it than you.” His annoying smirk should piss me off. He was trying to get a rise out of me after all, but all I could feel was relieved.

“I expect nothing less of her.” I closed my eyes so I could fully enjoy the soothing sensation of his cold hands against my overly warm face. This was helping me let go of the lingering rage more than his stupid breathing techniques.

“You’re a wreck,” Cas muttered. “What happened?”

“Frankie’s going to pick her up and take her to see Nathan.” I almost purred when Cas’s hands slid up into my hair, combing the wet mess back in the style he preferred. “Lucy needs to go without us. With the scent blockers, soap, and suppressants Frankie should be fine around her.”

“What?”

My eyes shot open when his grip on me tightened enough it was actually painful.

Cas glared at me with that psychotic look back in his eyes and I could finally see just how close he was to losing it. He couldn’t hide it from me this time. “Shoving it all down isn’t working anymore, is it?”

He growled slightly and released me like he was afraid he might actually hurt me this time, but then Cas gripped my waist and pulled me in closer. This was unsettling him just as much as it was me.

Letting Lucy go off on her own went against every instinct we had as alphas.

“What if something happens?” The hand on my waist squeezed hard enough to hurt but I didn’t let him see the pain. Not when he was just as dangerously close to losing it as I was.

One mistake and he might just tear Frankie apart when she got here without meaning to.

“We won’t let her out of our sight,” I promised. “But she needs space or we’re going to lose her.”

Cas grabbed me with both hands then like he wanted to shake some sense into me, but I knew him better than almost anyone. This was more than anger. He was afraid, and desperate not to show it.

I sighed and pulled my hands out of the hoodie pocket so I could pull him in closer, giving him the comfort he needed but couldn’t bring himself to ask for.

Lucy chose that moment to open the bathroom door, wearing a pair of black sweats that were identical to the ones I had on, but Cas had ordered the women’s version – just big enough they were baggy like all her favorite clothes were.

Her grey eyes held mine hostage, glimmering slightly in the light to show me just how clear they were.

Nearly white – like fog.

I gritted my teeth and tried to figure out how to tell her what she needed to know without sounding absolutely unhinged – like I’ve been stalking her for the last fifteen years without telling her I knew exactly where she was while she suffered.

If I’d known she was in the same city as me for years now, I would have bonded her a long time ago, but that wasn’t something that was going to be easy to convince her of. She needed time to process and absorb without me hovering over her, pressuring her to respond.

Lucy opened her mouth like she was going to start an argument with me just for fun and I raised my eyebrow, waiting to see what she might say.

“Frankie’s on her way?”

I stepped to the side, but I didn’t let go of Cas. My arm went around his waist and Lucy looked down to study it. I could have watched her like this forever, especially when her cheeks turned such a pretty pink, but we couldn’t risk triggering her heat symptoms again.

“Frankie will take you to see Nathan,” I confirmed. “You don’t need to inform us of anything if you don’t want to, but he will send me a report regardless since you’re still working for Valor. When he clears you for work, you can reach out to us, but it’s not necessary unless you need something to help with the investigation.”

She looked up into my face when I released Cas and the hurt in her eyes nearly gutted me, but I had to do this or she’d constantly wonder. “You think it’s the pheromones, right?”

Lucy nodded. “Why else would you be like this?”

“I have my reasons.” Jerking my chin toward the kitchen, I indicated she should go first, but she crossed her arms over her chest and glared at me.

“What are they?” Lucy sounded irritated, but she was also just breathless enough to make me smile. My spicy sweet omega was intensely curious and that gave me just enough hope to hang myself with.

“Are you going to kill me if I tell you?” Half teasing, half genuine. She might really kill me after finding out that boy she’d liked was an infamous legacy alpha now.

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