Page 9 of Lion's Crossing

Once we stopped, I headed out into the crowded aisle, hoping Knox followed right behind me. I considered holding his hand to help him, but he seemed even more withdrawn after I’d offered him a place to stay. Maybe I should have suggested another hotel, helped him book at my discount price, but I didn’t want him to have to pay more than he would have at The Vista after losing his deposit there. Honestly, I wouldn’t have a problem if he stayed at my place the entire week, but he’d been adamant about only rooming at my place for one night. My lion urged me to find a way to get him to change his mind, not wanting to lose contact with him. If I was honest with myself, my human side wanted him to stay, too. He was very different from the omegas I was used to meeting, and felt like a piece of home. But with the invisible distance Knox kept between us, I didn’t see how convincing him to forgo a hotel was possible.

I sighed as I gathered my luggage before stepping off the train. What about Knox had my lion so obsessed? No omega had garnered such attention from that part of me. I had to get control of myself before I scared the small-town omega any more than I already had.

A few feet onto the platform, I glanced back, expecting him to be right behind me. Instead, I saw him through the window, still on board. At the back of the crowd. Ishouldhave held his hand.

When he reached me, I yearned to pull him into me like he was mine. The urge was so strong, I had to turn away.

“Here’s a voucher for your next trip on the Shifter Express.” A man wearing a rail company uniform handed Knox and I each a piece of paper.

I was thankful for the distraction and took the ticket from the station attendant, though I doubted I would ride the train again anytime soon. Especially if the ride was anything like the one I’d just endured.

Yet, one good thing did come out of it. “C’mon. I’m this way.” I gestured my head toward Shifter Towers, the three tallest buildings in the middle of Saramto that held hundreds of businesses from restaurants and recording labels to doctors’ offices and specialized schools. Adan Records, where I worked, took up several floors in the third building, my studio situated on the fifth floor. Yet, I had no desire to go there, only to get Knox safely to my home.

As a chivalrous alpha, I probably should have offered to take Knox’s luggage, but I had my hands full with my own. He didn’t seem to struggle with his.

Knox followed me—I made sure of it—into the second tower, which was the closest. We rode the elevator down to the parking garage where my car waited.

Knox paused after exiting the elevator. “It’s really dark down here. Are you sure it’s safe?”

I nodded, charmed by his naivety. “It’s much safer down here than out on Main Street at night. I would never do anything to harm you. In fact, I would severely hurt anyone who dared to do anything to you.”

Hurrying to catch up to me, Knox grabbed the hem of my shirt with his free hand. “Okay, but where are we going?”

“My car.” I paused to grab my key fob from my messenger bag. “It’s just up ahead.”

His grip on my shirt made my lion happy, excited that Knox had been the one to initiate the contact. It wasn’t holding his hand but close enough. After everything that had happened on the train, beside me was exactly where I wanted him to be. Under me would be even better. Or sitting over my hips while riding my cock.

I groaned as the images played in my head, though I hoped Knox hadn’t heard. I’d promised him I wasn’t taking him home for sex. Though I wouldn’t complain if he offered.

At my car, I opened the passenger door for the omega first before loading all our luggage into the trunk. I needed a moment away from him to calm every part of me. It wasn’t just my lion who wanted to get closer to Knox. If I didn’t gain control of myself before getting into the car, his scent would overwhelm me.

Breathe in. Breathe out. I’m simply being kind to someone who knows my family. Nothing else.I couldn’t let it be anything more than that.

As soon as I got in the car, I opened the windows, desperate to keep his scent from messing with my mind.

I drove through the underground roadway as far as I could until I reached the exit for the street I lived on. Once parked, I hurried around to get the door for Knox, but he had alreadystepped out. Though I tried to manage it all, he grabbed his spinner case to wheel along himself into the back of the building. The distant omega had returned, yet my lion wasn’t put off at all.

“The elevator is over here.” Another cramped space with him and this time without a console between us. Only his demeanor. Why did I find it so hard to resist Knox?

On the ride up, I kept my eyes closed and focused on my breathing. A technique our coach from FNL taught us when we started performing in front of an audience of enthusiastic fans. I hadn’t expected it to be useful when not on stage, yet it kept me in control.

I breathed a sigh of relief when the elevator door opened on the fourteenth floor.Almost there.

“Hey, Linc. It’s good to see you again! Who’s this?”

I snarled as I turned the corner to see Cruz, my former bandmate. The smirk on his face agitated my lion, though I knew I should be happy to see him after being away for several months. “This is Knox. He’s a friend from home, and after our very delayed ride, his hotel canceled his reservation and he needed a place to stay. That’s it.” I needed to set him straight right away before he made any assumptions about the omega. Not for my sake but for Knox’s.

“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Knox. Enjoy your stay in Saramto and enjoy your night with my friend here.” He patted my back on his way past before giving me a wink only I could see.

The gesture made me want to question our friendship, but I held my tongue. I would probably make the same assumptions and do the same thing in his situation.

“C’mon.” I jerked my head toward my place, only a few doors down.

Once inside, I dropped my luggage in the foyer and turned on all the lights in the main part of my space. I’d arranged for someone to clean my condo the day before, so I didn’t have todust the moment I came back. A good thing since I’d ended up with an unexpected guest. Though I still would have offered him a place to stay regardless of what my home looked like.

“This is all yours?” Knox glanced around at my kitchen, dining room, and living room with wide eyes, like he’d just entered a palace.

I shrugged. “Yeah. It’s a perk of being signed to Adan Records.” Even though I no longer sang with FNL, I still worked for the label and planned to release a solo album sometime in the future. So, I kept the place. Though I would like to have someone to share it with someday. Though not with someone as just a roommate. I’d done that already and didn’t want to live with another messy alpha ever again.

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