Page 33 of Claimed By the Cowboys
“God, the steak smells so good.” Zeke groaned. “Pipes, can I have two?” He batted his eyes at her playfully.
Piper laughed, throwing her head back. “I thought you guys might want seconds or thirds, so I'm prepping plenty of steaks.”
Zeke leaned forward, resting his chin in the palm of his hand as he gave her moon eyes. “You're a smart one. Smart and pretty. And you smell nice.”
Piper smiled. “Thank you. Luckily, all of you guys smell nice as well. If any of you smelled like motor oil or wet farts, I probably wouldn’t have stayed.”
“I wouldn’t blame you, though I think Clay smells like butt occasionally.” Zeke nodded thoughtfully.
“Hey!” I grumbled, taking a swig of my beer as he grinned sheepishly at me.
“My scent is the best, though, right, Pipes?” he asked, beaming at her as she unwrapped a few baked potatoes.
“Your scent is lovely, Zeke, even if I can’t quite place it…”
What sort of omega didn’t know scents? Zeke’s was painfully obvious to anyone who had grown up around these parts.
“You really can’t tell that he reeks like a ripe prickly pear?” I asked, my tone probably a little harsher than it needed to be, but I was baffled.
Piper blushed, and was suddenly very interested in the potatoes. “It’s just a scent I’ve never come across before,” she admitted in a small voice.
“That’s because you’re a city girl who has no place being in the country,” I told her.
It was true—clearly she needed to learn, or go back to her old life.
Montana raised a brow at me. “Dude, calm down. You probably can’t name half the scents she can.”
I gaped at my pack mate. Him too? Montana was supposed to be the other sensible one. Zeke was a lost cause, and Dakota was on the fence, but I thought Montana had more common sense than that.
Was he starting to like the omega as well?
Fucking hell.
“I’m just being honest!” I declared, taking a swig of my beer.
Every one of my packmates was looking at me in disgust.
Even Maisie looked confused.
“Well, that’s your opinion,” Piper said as she started bringing plates to the table.
I took the plate she offered, ignoring the uncomfortable feeling in my gut as I dug into my food.
My steak was hard as a rock and overcooked. The potato also looked charred.
This was what I meant. She was bad at cooking, and she was disturbing the careful harmony of my pack.
As I was about to open my mouth to bitch about her cooking skills, my eyes landed on Dakota’s plate next to me.
Hissteak was a perfect medium rare, and the potato looked fluffy and steaming. Even the veggies looked fresh and crunchy compared to the wilted mess on my plate.
Montana’s and Zeke’s plates were the same, and they were all digging in, making happy noises as they did so. Even Maisie was happily munching on the little cubes of steak Piper had cut up for her.
Had she sabotaged my food for being a dick to her?
As much as I hated it…I kind of respected it.
Chapter 17
