Page 32 of Claiming Their Omega

We all sit down to dinner, and the food is delicious. Simple, but hearty and well-made. I do miss my dad’s cooking, though. I wonder to myself if while we’re staying here, I could ask to make dinner a few times, add in my dad’s little tricks to things. I’m sure the men would appreciate a night or two off, and it’s the least I can do for them after all they’re doing for me.

“So,” I say, steeling myself for this awkward conversation. “I hate to bring this up, but I know we need to talk about it. The fake courting.”

Four pairs of eyes stare at me and I feel heat crawling up my body. I clear my throat. “We need to figure out ground rules.”

“Ground rules?” Hendrix repeats, apparently taken aback. The other three men look just as puzzled.

“Well, we can’t hide out here at the ranch for the fake courting period. Not the whole time, anyway. I don’t want to be cooped up here and I think my family would object to not being able to see me. And people will get suspicious. We have to be seen around town.”

“I don’t follow,” Jesse admits.

“You’re supposed to be courting me. We know it’s fake and you’re just giving me a place to stay while I figure out my next steps. But nobody else knows this. Nobody else can know this or it’ll all be ruined.”

I can’t trust that some well-meaning nosy person wouldn’t report it to the ORD and then not only would I be back at square one, but the four Alphas would be in trouble for helping me. That’s the last thing I want for them. I don’t want them punished for their kindness toward me. It’s my idea, anyway. Not theirs.

“This is a small town. Everybody knows everybody. They’ll know that you bid on me. They’ll talk and we need to make sure they talk about the right things. We’ll have to pretend to actually be courting when we’re in public.”

“I… we hadn’t thought about that.” Jesse glances at the others as if to confirm, and they all nod.

“It’s okay, I didn’t think—I know this is a lot, that I’m asking,” I stumble through my words, my heart beating a little faster. “I don’t want to make anything weird or make you uncomfortable. I don’t think we need to act super cuddly or anything. But I just wanted to know if there are any lines that I shouldn’t cross. Anything I shouldn’t do. Ground rules for what is or isn’t okay.”

All four men stare at me, still looking completely baffled. If I didn’t feel so awkward about all of this, their expressions would make me laugh. I narrow my eyes. “You guys do know how people act when they’re dating, right?”

Jesse bristles. “Of course we do.”

“Oh, so, you’ve had a girl put her hands on your chest like this?” I get up and press my palms onto his chest—and then nearly have a heart attack because wow, that chest is firm. Pure muscle. My mouth goes dry.

Jesse stares at me, stiff all over. He probably hates that I’m touching him, and I wish that I could get my heart to slow down. It must be beating loud enough for all four men to hear it.

We’re not even particularly close, and yet his heat and his smell envelops me. I’m drowning in honey butter, toasted pecans, and freshly baked cornbread. It smells better than the actual food we’re eating, if I’m being honest. I want to bury my nose in his throat and take big gulps.

It’s just your Omega hormones, I tell myself sternly.

All right, yes, so I had a wild crush on Jesse when I was younger. It’s why I… well, it’s best not to think about that embarrassing decision. But I’m an adult. I don’t need to let some latent attraction control me or make life decisions for me.

“Yes,” Jesse replies. “I’m not exactly inexperienced here. You’re the wildcard, not me.”

The idea that I, Grace Whitmore, who didn’t go to parties or break any rules and focused entirely on her career and has had one entire boyfriend her whole life, could be considered a wildcard is simultaneously annoying, flattering, and a bit surreal.

“So would it be fine if I touched you like this in public?” I ask, trying desperately to stay focused.

I want to rub my thumbs in little circles on his chest, to squeeze a little even and feel the muscle give under my touch. Or, rather, how it doesn’t give, because of just how much muscle there is.

Jesse’s still stiff, but he shrugs. I glare at him. “You’ll have to actually act like you like me when we’re out around other people, you realize.”

“Great, will you be able to do the same?” Jesse snorts in return.

I take my hands off him. “I have a new question, is it okay if I flip you off? Or is that too much?”

Hendrix bursts out into laughter. “I could watch you two all day.”

“Watch it, you’re next.”

“Oh, I’m sure.” Hendrix holds out his hand. After a moment of staring at it like an idiot, I realize what he wants and I put my hand in his. Hendrix squeezes it and then kisses the back of it.

I ignore the way my breath hitches in my throat. It’s just hormones. It’s a natural response now that you’re an Omega. So keep it together, Grace.

“What was that for?” I ask, clearing my throat. “Are we in a Jane Austen novel?”

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