Page 61 of Curvy Quirky Omega

Her giant, dark purple hoodie matched those little hats, but it didn’t cover any more of her ass than the shorts did. Had she purposefully pulled the waistband up to torture me?

The marks of my teeth on her ass from last night were still visible. They wouldn’t create a bond mark but if I kept it up, I could scar her there. If anyone else was ever lucky enough to see her ass like this, they’d know she was already claimed.

Lucy was concentrating so hard on what she was doing, I didn’t think she was even aware I was here until she turned toward the tray with a frown. Her sense of smell was wild.

“You really went all out, didn’t you?” She picked up the little creamer pitcher and studied the pink tail handle. “Is this that butter pecan creamer I like?”

“Had it delivered this morning.”

She turned toward me and I smirked when her eyes damn near popped out of her head. “Are you wearing an apron?”

“Yeah, and?” I crossed my arms over my chest and dared her to say something about the ninja cat with a gun riding a unicorn. Liam got it for me last Christmas because the asshole thought it was hilarious.

Lucy cleared her throat and poured some of the creamer into the coffee. “Well…I just think you should wear a shirt under it. I can see your man cleavage and it’s distracting.”

I felt the corner of my mouth turn up in a genuine smile, deciding to thank Liam for his unhinged 3:00 a.m. shopping. “You should eat something.”

“I will,” she promised, taking the mug in both hands before turning back to the giant whiteboard that had come in the other day. Just for her. “Is Liam still asleep?”

“Mhm.” He’d stayed up until almost six in the morning, making sure all this was set up for her. “What’s Frankie up to?”

“She’s digging into the Tinley pack over at the Lopez compound where she’ll be safe.” Lucy glanced over at the breakfast tray I set up for her and eyed the vitamins.

Then my omega grabbed the tiny spoon with the ginseng and sniffed it before sticking the whole thing in her mouth. “You know, this tastes better in hot water with a tiny bit of honey, right?”

“I didn’t know that.” I leaned against her desk and watched her make a face like it was too bitter or maybe sour. “How did you know that?”

“My dad was really into Chinese medicine and we lived just a few streets over before he got arrested. Where did you get this?” Lucy picked up the sauce dish and tipped all the vitamins into her mouth without once looking at the receipt, dry swallowing them like it was nothing.

I wanted to tell her how fucking stupid it was to take pills without knowing what they were, but it was also kind of mind-blowing to see just how much she trusted me.

She picked up the receipt then and read through the different ingredients before draining her water. “Oh, this place. My dad really liked this guy. His apothecary shop always smells amazing.”

I wasn’t sure how to feel about this. I hadn’t intended to remind her of her father or a past she clearly didn’t want to remember, but at the same time, she didn’t seem upset about it. I couldn’t feel anything other than nostalgia through the bond.

Lucy set the receipt down and narrowed her eyes at me. “Are you trying to get me pregnant?”

I didn’t think it was possible to choke on air until that very moment.

Lucy watched me hack and cough with an amused look on her face. “This is the same stuff my dad used to take when he was trying for a second child.”

I cleared my throat and studied the board with all the different-colored strings again when I realized how fucking embarrassed I was. “All I did was ask him for something that would keep an omega healthy.”

“Well…this will do that, but it’s also supposed to help regulate cycles and promote egg health.” She shook her head and sipped at her coffee. “You’re adorable.”

I growled, hating how much I liked hearing her say something I’d kill anyone else for saying – even Liam. I needed to redirect this conversation before I really did try to get her pregnant.

“What do all the different-colored strings mean?”

Lucy turned back to the board to study her handiwork. “Pink symbolizes love and compassion. White is innocence and red is passion. Yellow is usually used to represent friendship or teamwork.” She pointed to Gideon’s picture. “He definitely felt compassion for Melinda. I think he loved her all the way up to the very end too, but I used pink instead of red because his love for her wasn’t passionate.”

I turned away from the board to watch her, mesmerized by the way her eyes sparkled when she talked about something she was passionate about. Lucy loved her job. She loved untangling all the knotted strings until they were straight enough she could weave them into a story she could understand – one that would point her to all the answers.

Frankie’s style was very similar but a bit more chaotic since she relied on people for her answers instead of just straight facts. It made me wonder if this was how they usually handled things, or if Lucy was taking point for this case because so many of their clues were tech-related.

But I had a feeling that Lucy always did this much work, it just wasn’t as obvious since what she did was behind the scenes. People didn’t really see her when she was standing next to Frankie, but even on that first day…

Lucy Parker was the only one I could see.

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