Page 9 of Why Cruise

“Oof, Mackenzie,” he groaned with a laugh, the sound turning into a chuckle as my elbow jabbed into his ribs. I slid off him and nestled into the crook of his arm.

“Why is it so fucking hot?” I sat up, plucking at the collar of my dress where it clung to my skin with a thin sheen of sweat.

“You’re not…” Theo’s eyes widened in concern, his scent sharpening with anxiety.

“Heat? No, just finished my cycle last month.” And I absolutely did not want to think about my next.

Theo blew out a relieved breath, his coconut scent settling back into something softer.

I chewed on my lip for a second, considering. Well, we were roommates. And omegas. The alcohol made everything feel possible.

“Fuck it,” I muttered, going to pull my dress over my head but stopping as my face flushed with sudden shyness. “Oh, sorry. I really shouldn’t curse.”

“I don’t fucking mind,” Theo said, shifting his weight. The movement sent another wave of his scent washing over me.

“You just seem proper. You know, have your shit together. Not a hair out of place. Your underwear drawer is always organized.”

“Underwear drawer?” Theo sat up on his elbows. I covered my mouth like monkeys had just flown out of it.

He nodded, solemnly. Or tried to. Three seconds later, he broke into snorting laughs. “So proper. Fuck that.” He over pronounced the words, and I lost it.

I wiped laughter tears from my under-eye and checked to see if my mascara smudged and wiped sweat from my forehead. “Well, since we’ve established we are not proper andfuckis acceptable…” I struggled with the dress, the fabric twisted around my shoulders. Theo helped me strip out of it, his hands gentle and careful.

“Do you think they have laundry on cruise ships? I don’t think I brought enough panties. I’m going to soak through at least three pairs a day.” I sat up straight, my eyes going wide.Oh my god, Mackenzie, what is wrong with you?“That should have been an inside thought. I’m so sorry. That was TMI.” My face burned. Daryl would have been mortified. But Theo just laughed, and it wasn’t a polite laugh. It was real and loud and made me want to say more inappropriate things just to hear it again.

“My dick is so hard it could break glass.”

We looked at each other and said, “Alphas,” at the same time, then burst out laughing, falling back onto the bed.

“Why do they have to smell so good?”

“I thought you said cruise ships had scent-dampening technology.”

“They do, but I guess it doesn’t really help.”

“And we were outside almost the entire time. How are we going to get through a sit-down dinner?” I moaned. Theo stretched and unbuttoned his pants with a groan.

I eyed the tent that had formed in his pants and squeezed my legs together. It did nothing for the ache. I knew it was an urbanlegend that omegas could actually die from horniness, but right now, it felt true.

I looked Theo up and down, studying him with an entirely different kind of hunger than I was used to. He was boy-next-door pretty, soft in all the places alphas insisted on being hard. He didn’t have a body sculpted in the gym, but rather an honest sexiness about him, like he’d never tried to be anything other than exactly what he was. And he smelled so good. It was not the overwhelming, heavier scents of an alpha that demanded attention, but something sweeter, inviting. The kind of scent that asked instead of commanded.

“Maybe…” I stopped myself. This was insane.

“Maybe what?” he said, tracing lazy circles on the small of my back.

“Well, I mean, no, this is crazy.”

“No, tell me.” He sat up and gave me his full attention.

I licked my lips. Daryl hated it when I was forward. He said it was unbecoming and needy, that I should just trust him to take care of me. But Daryl was gone now. I had to take care of myself.

“Well, you’re an omega. I’m an omega. We’re both…” I glanced at his crotch and the obvious hard-on.

“You want to…?”

“Sorry. I know I sound desperate. Right? You don’t want to…”

He grabbed my face, his tongue parting my lips. I jumped in shock and then melted.

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