Page 3 of Rumble of the Crumble

I sighed. Like I had a choice? I ignored the obvious answer when no mate would force another to do anything they didn’t want. “Why don’t we share? I’ll bring the meat.”

Of course someone had to snort, but I ignored them, focused only on Butch’s smile.

“Perfect,” Butch declared. “Are you ready?”

Chapter Two

Butch

Leonidis blinked at me, his beautiful, thick lashes brushing his cheeks, before his eyes opened to stare at me again.

“You want to do the date thing now?” I drowned in his golden amber depths. His silky hair framed a gorgeous, pretty face that was more suited to an omega than an alpha. Especially the full, pink, kissable lips. He was stocky, but nothing like me, yet I got a sense of inner strength that was a real turn on. Pinning me to the floor will be a memory I’ll never forget. Fuck, I could come just from recalling the power vibrating from him.

Great Rhu had given me the most beautiful mate that ever existed. But it couldn’t work…could it? We were both alphas. I’d always wanted a mate who would be my equal in strength and mind. I’d expected a beta, rather than an omega. But an alpha? How would that work in the bedroom? I couldn’t submit to another, any more than Leonidis could.

When I’d returned to the pride house with Goliath after the ‘incident’, Leonidis and I had completed the mating ritual to prevent me from wilting. That is to say, my mate had lioned out and pinned me to the floor. Fuck, it was hard not to think of the effect on me.

To prevent the wilt, he’d bitten me in stalk form, that was it. To me, that didn’t make us mates in a genuine sense because that came with a more intimate connection. There was no link between us, or if there was, Leonidis blocked it. I didn’t dwell on how that thought hurt, when Tim had projected to the parcel how he had a link with Maximus just after they met.

After the deed, Leonidis had left me aroused to the point of pain, telling me it was for the best. He’d explained how I needed a mate who ‘wasn’t broken’, tearing my heart out of my chest. The sense that he was irretrievably broken after what that monster, Amell, did to him haunted me.

They were his words and fuck, I wanted to make him believe differently. I thought he was perfect, from his glorious mane to the tips of his cute little toes.

On top of all that, there was the alpha on alpha issue to contend with.

“Sheriff?” A soft voice broke through my thoughts and I started, making me blush the color of my stalk. I realized I’d gotten lost in my head and Leonidis was waiting for an answer to his question. “Unless you’re busy?”

“He’s not busy,” Maximus said with a toothy grin.

Leonidis glared at him, but the alpha just shrugged. “It’s gotta happen sometime, Leo. Grab a steak and get to know your mate.” He wagged his brows suggestively.

“I’m not ready,” Leonidis spluttered.

I raked my gaze over him. Tight shirt and sinfully tight jeans. He looked perfect to me. I smoothed my hand over his hair, then noticed his wide-eyed stare. “Your hair is sticking up. That’s better.”

“Told you,” Ricky crowed from his corner of the room.

“Don’t be mean,” Burke scolded, then spoiled it with a chuckle. “He can’t help it if his mate makes him all floofy.”

What did that mean? Leonidis’s cheeks glowed crimson and he refused to meet my eyes.

Drew opened the refrigerator and drew out a pack of meat, which he handed to me. “Get him out of here, sheriff, before the dating advice starts in earnest.”

Leonidis opened his mouth as if to protest. I sensed a wave of fear and was convinced it was coming from him. It was now or never. He needed me to take charge, otherwise he might keep trying to find excuses. I released a breath and took his hand firmly in mine, leading him out of the kitchen.

“I’ll bring him back later,” I said to Maximus.

It was a ridiculous thing to say. I sounded like a teen taking a boy on a first date. But I wanted to prove to the alpha that I respected the pride and Leonidis’s wishes.

Maximus nodded, and I herded my lion out of the kitchen.

“This is ridiculous,” Leonidis exploded as I shut the door. “I don’t need to go on a date with you.”

“I would really love to,” I admitted, putting my heart on the line now that we didn’t have an audience.

“You… would?” Leonidis licked his lips, a nervous habit I noticed he had. “You want us to date?”

“I don’t get time to relax,” I supplied, looking for something to entice him to come with me. “Even in Rhubarb, there’s always something that needs my attention. I like the idea of some downtime to get to know you.”

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