Page 77 of Talk About… Rivalry

It really wasn’t him, it was me.

His intense, gray eyes tracked my movement as I shifted in my seat. I took a bite to busy myself, cheeks burning furiously under his stare.

He didn’t look away until Maverick took his chair. The grumpy giant sat down, not bothering to answer Bennett.

Bennett let out a sigh before talking again. “It seems I’m going to be the one to have to facilitate this. I’m going to make it very clear that if she wants me to bite her, I’m going to do it. I know that she’s mine, so is Taylor.”

“She’s mine, too,” Leo said. “As I explained.”

“This isn’t going to work if everybody is just always ready to bite each other’s heads off,” Bennett said, his voice calm and collected as it always was.

He was right, the entire pack was wound tight and snapping at each other. It was the exact reason I’d avoided them, especially Leo and Maverick.

Leo ran a hand over his face before looking at Maverick. “If it’ll cut back on the tension, then I won’t open the lounge.”

Maverick’s head snapped up so fast that I wondered if it hurt. He blinked at Leo for a few moments before he finally found the words.

“You would do that?”

“For her,” Leo clarified. “Yes, I would.”

Maverick let out a breath. “Don’t. I shouldn’t have been such a dick. I just…” He trailed off, his hands fidgeting with his napkin. He was tearing it into little pieces as he tried to get his head on straight. “Things have been tough. We managed to save that business so that my mom could put food on the table. Then when we took over completely, it felt like we were in this awful rut of barely making ends meet. Then Avery came home and changed everything. Things were finally going well and we were taking time off. I’ve been able to focus on getting the Artisan Fair ready again. Then you came along.”

“And I threatened everything you’d built,” Leo finished. Understanding and compassion filled his eyes. My best friend was a great person, he just could be abrasive. He was the epitome of big dick energy when he wanted to be, always posturing like an alpha even though he was a beta.

“I don’t want you to give up on your business. Everybody assures me that it’ll work out, so let’s let it work out,” Maverick finally said.

It was crazy. One little conversation and it felt like half the tension in the room had drained away. Leo looked relieved and Maverick looked settled.

Bennett’s eyes met mine and he gave me a wink. My stomach clenched and I glanced down. The way that man affected me wasn’t fair.

“I’ve been thinking,” I said, refusing to look up at them. Mainly because I didn’t want them to talk me out of this. “Sidney is afraid that we’re going to find scent matches and leave her for them. I’m going to make an appointment to talk to my doctor about blockers. If her scent doesn’t come in, I want to prove to her that I’m not trying to find a different pack.”

“I considered the same,” Leo admitted. “I’m willing to do it.”

Bennett beamed at me and I flushed with pride. I was so fucked.

“If that’s what she needs then we can make an appointment together.”

All of us looked over at Maverick. He’d been the quietest every single time the topic of packing up came up.

“She’s been mine since the moment our designations came in,” he said simply. “If that’s what she needs I’ll do it.”

“I’ll call the Omega Network and see what we can do,” Bennett said. “Maybe if we tell her this before her heat comes, she’ll understand that the heat will change nothing.”

“That’s what I was thinking,” I agreed, eyes drifting right back to my alpha.

My alpha. It still sounded crazy, even in my head.

He was gorgeous. My heart beat a little faster every time my eyes locked on his. I’d always been on the go, my life busy and my parents always needing me. When I looked at him it was like all the chaos settled.

Maybe that was why I was so scared. I didn’t know how to process that.

He didn’t let me look away. His gray eyes held me captive. There was compassion there and understanding, laced with enough heat to make me squirm.

His scent had been taunting me for days and I tried to ignore it. The deep, rich, and spicy tones of the mulled wine scent wrapped around me, intensifying as we kept our gazes locked.

My body responded to the scent and to his attention. Slick soaked into my lined boxers and I sent a silent thank you to past me for wearing this pair today.

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