Page 120 of Omega's Secret Guardian

Tripp shook his head. “I saw the way you looked at your omega. He calms you down. Makes you a bit more mellow.”

“He’s the best thing that ever happened to me,” Storm admitted.

“Wasn’t that supposed to be me?” Tripp snorted and gave a small laugh. “He’s good for you.”

“Linus and I are not actually in a relationship, you know,” Storm hurried to clarify. “But I’m courting him. We’re getting to the relationship stage. At least, I hope we are.”

Tripp’s smile softened. “I hope so too. You’ve needed someone to protect for a very long time.”

Storm blushed. “Yeah. And maybe... more than one someone.”

“What do you—Wait. You mean...” Tripp’s eyes bugged out. “What happened to having a relationship before a baby!?”

“Shh! Not so loud!” Storm hissed. He looked over his shoulder, but his parents weren’t peering through the windows and eavesdropping. So maybe Linus’ secret was still safe. “We want to wait for a bit before telling people. So... you’re the first to know.”

Tripp’s eyes widened. Then he smiled, and sagged against Storm. “Thanks for telling me.”

“Don’t tell anyone else.”

Tripp nodded. They settled into a more comfortable silence, still holding each other. Storm didn’t care that his back was starting to cramp; he was finally hugging his brother. Tripp was okay; he wanted to see Storm again. That was all Storm could ask for.

Well, that, and some good luck for Linus. With the baby coming and Dert lurking around their lives, Storm would take any kind of help so things could go their way.

29

TWO KINDS OF FIRE

Storm had been givinghim subtle looks over dinner, looks that grew more intense as the minutes ticked by.

Linus squirmed and tried not to blush. Just that the little smug curl of Storm’s lips... It made him want a kiss. Maybe several. All over his body.

Storm’s gaze darkened; he knew exactly what he was doing to Linus.

“Remember little Johnny down the street?” Storm’s mom said suddenly. “When you were five, you wanted to marry him.”

The sultry looks evaporated. Storm cringed. “Mom, no. Not in front ofmy omega.”

Tripp snickered. Linus’ face burned bright red.

“You were so sweet, too,” Cora said meaningfully, turning to Linus. “Storm picked every single flower on the block for Johnny, except he held them too tightly in his pudgy little fists. Not that he noticed. He was too busy stuffing them into hispockets, and he even sneaked into Mrs. Robinson’s backyard to steal her poppies.”

“Oh no,” Linus said, horrified.

“I was hoping he would take out the flowers from his pocket and realize he was destroying them.Nope.Little Storm just kept going, crushing more lilies and daffodils. A few leaves, too.

“You can imagine what they looked like by the time he was ready to gift them. Mind you, Johnny was three years older than him. Storm chased Johnny down when he was about to go to dinner with his parents, and began emptying his pockets.”

Linus held his breath. “Did Johnny accept them?”

Storm made a strangled sound.

“You should’ve seen their faces,” Cora said sagely. “Storm didn’t present his gifts like a proper alpha. Noooo, he dug the flowers out of his pockets and dropped them on the sidewalk, waiting for Johnny to pick them up.”

Linus buried his face in his hands, burning with secondhand embarrassment.

“They were a shriveled mess, like they had been sautéed in a pan,” Storm said, rubbing his face. “I know better than to do that now!”

Cora shook her head sadly. “I can only wonder what manners you haven’t learned yet.”

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