Page 56 of Why Cruise

“Here.” Justice’s fresh scent enveloped me as he reached for my helmet. “Let me help with that.”

“I’m fine,” I babbled, my words coming too fast and too high. “Totally fine. Just a weird clasp design, right? Though I guess all helmet clasps are probably the same since safety standards are pretty universal but I wouldn’t know because I’ve never worn a helmet before because I’ve never needed one because omegas don’t do things that require helmets and oh god I don’t know how to drive. My alpha said omegas don’t drive, but now I’m alone and…”

Justice grabbed the front of my helmet, hooking his fingers under the faceplate. He gave my head a gentle shake that made me focus on his face. His dark eyes held mine, steady and calm.

“Mackenzie.” His voice was low and even, “You have all the power here. You are in complete control. You get to decide what happens next. Do you understand?”

His scent was suddenly everywhere. And his aura felt like a hug. No impatience, none of that feeling of being pushed or pulled in whatever direction my alpha wanted.

He said my name again. “Can you answer me?”

“Yes, I understand.”

Hand still on the faceplate, he nodded my head once for me. “Here are our options. We can go on the tour and both ride ATVs. We can go on the tour and you can ride on the back of my ATV. Or we don’t go on the tour at all and head back to port.Each one of those options is equally valid and correct.” He kept holding my gaze. “What do you want to do, Mackenzie?”

Every time he said my name, it was like a magic spell, cracking open something inside me. What did I want? When was the last time anyone had asked me that?

I looked at the ATV, then back at Justice. No judgment, no pressure. Just… waiting for my choice.

“Can I…” I took a deep breath. “Can I ride with you?”

His smile made my knees weak. “Of course.” He adjusted my helmet one final time, his fingers lingering at my throat.

Justice climbed onto the ATV like he had done it a hundred times. He probably had. He probably jetted around the world for adventures with omegas who were elegant and knew how to drive. He grabbed my hip and pulled me close.

“I need you to know, to really understand that you can say ‘no’ at any time, about anything, and everything stops.”

What an odd thing for an alpha to say. “Okay,” I said softly. “But I’m… I’m scared.” I wasn’t talking about the ATV, but he didn’t need to know that.

“Can you do something and be scared at the same time?”

“I… I think so.”

He helped me onto the back of his ATV, showing me where to put my feet. Then he pressed a button on the handle and the machine roared, making me scream in surprise. I shifted around, looking for a place to put my hands. Justice caught one and slid it around his waist. He leaned back into me to pull my other arm around him.

“Ready?” he asked, pulling on his own helmet.

I pressed closer to his back. His aura felt so good I could just crawl inside it forever.

“Ready.”

Theo

My hands shook as I tried to shape the perfect rice ball. Chef Tanaka made it look effortless, his fingers dancing over ingredients with practiced grace. I had tried so many times to get the rice right. It would always fall apart. It was just rice. It shouldn’t be that hard to cook. The sushi station was set up with everything labeled and organized, rice cookers humming along the back counter.

Grace and Bridget moved around each other with easy familiarity, passing ingredients with no need to speak. Their scents all blended together, so that it was hard to pick out who was who. I wondered if Mackenzie and I would be like that if we were in a pack together.

I glanced down at my attempt at rice shaping. The edges weren’t nearly as clean as Grace’s perfectly formed balls.

“Beautiful technique, Grace,” Sterling said, pride evident in his voice as he watched her work.

The door squeaked open and Chef Tanaka stopped mid-sentence. I kept my focus on the rice in my hands, willing it tocooperate. How did they make it look so easy? The silence grew long and awkward, so I picked my head up.

“Delano. A pleasure.” The chef’s voice held a note I couldn’t quite read.

Ren.

Fuck me. My heart fluttered. Actually fucking fluttered.

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