Page 46 of The Omega Project

After a long nap, where Em wakes me twice – once to ride me like a salt-dusted goddess, and then an hour later to suck me off while she takes Langston’s knot – I head to the kitchen in search of lunch. I’ve missed a lot of meals since Clark moved out, but I’m feeling particularly woozy after so many hours buried in the nest. During the two days of Em’s heat, I’ve worked muscles I didn’t know I have, and if I manage to get the kitchen to myself, I wouldn’t mind putting an ice pack on my balls.

My nose must be stuffed full of sea water and pheromones, because I don’t notice Finn until I’m halfway to the refrigerator. He’s wearing jeans and a hoodie and is stirring something on the stovetop while bread rolls bake in the oven. It’s a strangely domestic scene, but my mouth waters at the delicious meaty aroma coming from the pot. “I’m making a beef stew, if you’re hungry.”

My stomach chooses that moment to announce its presence – loudly - and I rub my nape as I wander closer. “You cook?”

“Not often. Lang’s the chef.” My surprise must be obvious, because he nods towards a wooden door next to the fridge. “Check out his pantry, if you don’t believe me.”

I skirt the enormous island, grabbing a ginger beer from the fridge before I check out the pantry. I whistle as I look around the fully stocked shelves, although I huff as I take in the wall ofgleaming gold jars, each bearing an exotic label. “Did his fixation with honey start before or after he met Em?”

Finn snorts in amusement. “He’s always had a sweet tooth, but his hoarding tendencies are new.”

I just lift my brows at him and grab a bag of Cheezels from the shelf. Walking back over to the island, I perch on a bar stool, conscious of my audience as I dig into the cheesy snack. “You going to lecture me on not spoiling my appetite?”

“From what I’ve seen, your appetite can handle a few cheese puffs.” It’s my turn to snort, but Finn’s strange grey eyes are serious as they flick to my throat. “How are you feeling? Is Lang taking care of you?”

How do I describe what happened on the beach and not come off sounding like a besotted teenager?

“He’s fine.” I munch on a few more snacks, then set them aside, the treat sitting heavily in my stomach. I’ve got a lot of questions for Finn, but it’s hard to frame them when I’m not sure where we stand. Am I a packmate or an employee? He might be the head of the Visser Pack, but he also runs a billion-dollar security company that I hacked only a few months ago. I know things about him that have never made it onto the public record, and I’m damn sure he knows things about me that I’d prefer didn’t see the light of day.

And then there’s the not-so-small issue of my attraction to him.What the hell is with that, anyway?A week ago, I would have sworn I wasn’t into guys. I roomed with Clark for years, and if there was ever a more alluring example of the male gender, I’m pretty sure he’s an AI creation. As for alphas, I’ve steered clear of them since my high school days, and even when I thought I might present as one, I never looked at other guys like mate material. So why am I now gulping down these guy’s pheromones like I’m addicted to their scents?

And even if I am bisexual, it doesn’t mean Finn wants to know about it. He’s clearly not into guys – or if he is, he keeps it as lowkey as his company secrets. I looked his way more than once during Em’s heat, and while he was obviously turned on, he never made a move on any of us. He stuck to his facilitator role, even when Em was at her neediest, grinding on his lap through a slick test and begging him for more. His rejection stung on her behalf, but it was also a good wake-up call. Because if he turns down someone like Em, why would he give me a second glance?

“Lang says you guys are genuine,” I say as I slowly peel the paper label off my beer bottle. “But I’m guessing you’ve got an agenda here.”

He turns from the stovetop to quirk a black brow at me. “How so?”

“Well, you’ve been stalking Em for a long time, right? I thought I was the target after hacking into your system, but now I’m wondering if that was just a coincidence.” I lean forward, giving him a look that makes him lower his spoon. “Lang said something about soulmates. Is that just to sugarcoat the fact you lured Em here under false pretences?”

“False pretences?” He grabs some cutlery from the drawer, looking more curious than insulted. “You’re living in our packhouse, and you’re both wearing my packmate’s bites. This isn’t a game to us.”

“No? Because I get the feeling you’re a master at pushing chess pieces around a board.” He doesn’t deny it and I narrow my eyes at him. “What’s Em to you, really? A pawn or your queen?”

Something flickers in his eyes, and he grips the edge of the counter. With a keystroke, this guy could have me blacklisted in the tech industry for life. And with a single command, he could have me on the ground, writhing on my belly like a worm. But I don’t get any kind of threatening vibe from him as he leansforward and says quietly, “I promise you, Derek, I’m deadly serious about this pack and your place in it. You wouldn’t be here if I didn’t want it, and I’ll admit I’ve hoped we would all end up here eventually. But the soulmate discussion is something I need to talk to Emily about after her heat. When I have, I’d like to formally court you both, if you’re open to it.”

I blink at him. “Court us?”

“Yes. Take you on dates. Buy you gifts.” He picks up his spoon and starts filling a bowl with the aromatic stew. As he places it in front of me, I feel the full force of his dominance, not to mention his mind-scrambling attractiveness. I can’t tell if it’s because of his moody beauty or because Lang recently fried my brain with his alpha juice, but it takes everything in me not to drool all over the counter as he says in a low voice, “Feed you, knot you, claim you. If you’re open to it, of course.”

Fucking hell.

“Eat up while I grab the dinner rolls.”

What can I say to that? Instead of trying to form words, I focus on the food, barely looking up again until I’m scraping the bowl clean. Finn places a second helping in front of me and while I demolish that, he takes something from his hoodie pocket and slides it across the bench towards me. “I wanted to give you this. It’s… the keys to the kingdom, I guess. My passcodes, access files, everything is on there.” My surprise is so complete, I nearly swallow my spoon. “I know you’ve been looking into us, Derek. You shouldn’t have to work so hard to know us, now we’re pack.”

Coming from him, the declaration is both deeply unsettling and wildly appealing. A part of me yearns to be pack in a way I thought was dead and buried back in high school. But why would he hand this over? That kind of access wouldn’t just expose his business dealings, it would give me the keys tohim. “Everything?”

He nods, calmly eating his lunch like he didn’t just offer to lay himself bare to me. “There’s personal stuff you may or may not be interested in, but there’s also enough to get me thrown into jail if it fell into the wrong hands.”

I stare at him, the wound of past rejections throbbing against my ribs. “Then I don’t want it.” I push the access card back towards him. “If you’re going to court us, then we can get to know each other the normal way. Coffee dates. Beers at the pub. Whatever.”

“Netflix and Thai food?”

There’s a silky edge to his voice that makes me squirm. But it also makes me feel as giddy as a teenager, because Finn Visser can’t seriously be thinking about snuggling on the couch with us,can he?

“Then I’ll offer you a challenge, instead,” he replies, his pale eyes gleaming. “Break in. Do your worst, dig your deepest, uncover all my secrets. There’s an office upstairs you can use, or I can set you up with your own space somewhere. You can call it your first assignment, if you want, because it will help me improve my security measures once you’re done.”

And just like that, the guy becomes one hundred times more attractive to me, because who doesn’t want to go up against both their nemesis and their idol?

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