Page 23 of The Omega Project

Have I been taunting the arsehole by having Emily sleep on my shoulder?

Yes, indeed.

Rick Wagner might not be thecurrentmission, but that doesn’t mean I can’t get him primed while we take care of other business.

“He won’t do anything,” she says quietly, drawing my jacket off her shoulders and folding it neatly. There’s a small indent on her cheek from where she’s been leaning against me, and she rubs it absently. “Or not right now, anyway. He’s too much of a wimp to take on someone like you.”

Exactly. Wagner is not just an arsehole, but a coward. My team has tailed him all day, and the guy is a braggart and a liar, short-changing his staff and snitching on his customers. He’s also got a tracker on Emily’s phone, despite the fact they’ve been broken up for months. It might be hypocritical, but when I keep tabs on people, I always know where to draw the line, and this dickbag has gonewayover it.

“I’ll take care of him,” I tell her, picking up her purse from where it slipped to the floor. It puts me back in close proximity to her sweet perfume, and I take a moment to brace myself before I hand it over. “Just go inside and lock the door.”

She accepts the purse, but her plush mouth curves down at my instruction. “You’re not getting into a fight with Rick overme. He’s not worth you hurting yourself.”

I don’t know whether to be touched or insulted. “There will be nofight. He’ll yell and make threats, and then he’ll decide it’s better to just go away quietly.”

Her eyes narrow suspiciously. “That’s soldier-speak for breaking him into a dozen pieces and dropping him in a ditch somewhere. Claudia says the same thing to me at least once a week.”

I can feel my lips twitch, and a small part of me settles knowing she has someone like Corporal Nash in her corner. Her sister might have gone through some heavy shit with her pack, but I know from personal experience, that makes you twice as dangerous when it comes to defending your own.

“Maybe you should just kiss me, then.” Emily says, blowing thoughts of her sister out of my mind with the force of an AT landmine. “I bet that would really rile the bastard up.”

I know she must be kidding, but my mouth doesn’t get the memo. “I like that plan a whole lot better.”

A silky red brow lifts, and I expect her to laugh me off, but instead she cups my cheek, drawing me down with some kind of magical power. No one other than Finn has touched me in nearly a year, and I wait for my muscles to lock up on reflex. Affection of any kind feels like claws across my skin, but I’m putty in her soft hand as she brushes her lips over mine. Like Finn said, she smells like ours but tasting her is a whole different matter.

When I pull back, my skin is burning, but this time with a need for more. “Jesus, I didn’t think you’d do it.”

Her big hazel eyes gleam up at me. “Want to stop?”

I cast a quick glance at the windscreen, but her dickbag ex is the last thing on my mind. “He only looks semi-riled.”

“You mean we can do better?”

There’s a note of sass in her voice, and I grunt. “I’m not sure aboutbetter,but I’ll take more,if it’s on offer.”

I wait for her to pat my cheek and tell me to keep dreaming, but she bites her lip as she studies my face. I don’t know what she sees there, but I feel my mouth go slack as she climbs over the console and settles herself in my lap. She’s all warm curves and velvety skin, and I’m pretty sure I’m gaping at her like an idiot as she rests her hands on my shoulders. “Rick told me I was a frigid lay. When I broke up with him, he said no other alpha will ever waste his time on my mediocre beta pussy.”

I’ve listened to her interview with Finn, and I know that being considered mediocre is a trigger for her, considering her father told her on a daily basis that she didn’t measure up to his expectations. Did she share that hurt with her ex in a vulnerable moment, only to have him turn around and weaponise it against her?

Maybe I’ll ask him when I’m removing his teeth with a hammer and chisel.

But thoughts of violence spin apart like shrapnel as she leans forward and nuzzles the side of my neck. “I guess I won’t have to hit him that hard,” I mutter, gently squeezing her soft thighs. “His brain is clearly already broken.”

She snorts into my throat, but then pulls away and gives me a sly look. “Maybe it’s healed up since then. Rick has always had a pretty thick skull.”

“Then I guess it’s back to the million pieces in a ditch approach.”

She smirks, but I can see the need in her eyes, and my fingers tighten on her hips. She’s an intriguing mix of strength and vulnerability, and it seems to flip a switch inside me, because the next thing I’m saying is, “You’re the first person I’ve touched like this since Soren. I can’t… usually it feels like knives grinding in my skin, but this feels so good, I don’t ever want you to move.”

She makes a soft humming sound in the back of her throat, rocking forward gently over my lap. We’re both fully aware of thestate I’m in, my dick so hard I can feel the ache in my back teeth. Most of my fucks have been hard and fast, a few forgettable moments in dark clubs or on a stranger’s bed. Before Soren, I thought the closest I’d get to a relationship was the bond I have with my brothers, Finn and Lang, but this feels like how it’s meant to be. Soft kisses and gentle touches, her lips mapping my face and neck, while I hold her close enough to feel her heartbeat echo mine.

“I like the way you touch me, too,” she murmurs as her hands slide down my chest, resting against my ribcage. She’s still riding me, but it’s slow and almost teasing, like we have all the time in the world to find our rhythm. I’m imagining what that would look like when she says, “You know, I’m with Derek. Not just dating him, but he’s my best friend, and the last person in the world I’ll ever hurt.”

Which just confirms he’s also on my protection list, because what matters to her matters to me. It’s as instinctive as breathing, but I know that these kinds of pack dynamics are new to her. Ours might be more complicated than most, but there’s a simple principle at the heart of our pack:no one is ever left behind.

“And I’m with Finn, and Lang, and Soren,” I say simply, brushing back a curl from her cheek, “even though we’ve never touched like this.”

She looks at me in surprise. “You’ve never cuddled your mate?”

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