Page 41 of Where There's Smoke
That was okay, though. That’s why she needed a pack of alphas. They could watch over her and keep her safe while she did her amazing work. And I was very okay with that pack being ours.
“I need to head out. Errands to run, but, umm, just keep an eye on her, okay? There’s a lot going on, and weallneed to be cautious.” Elliot nodded at me, and I did not like his tone in the slightest.
Still, there was little I could do about it. He was a grumpy, stick-in-the-mud alpha if I’d ever seen one, and unfortunately, his precautions usually paid off.
“Fair enough. I’ll let you know if anything develops with the fire or the shelter hunt.” Elliot stomped off, and I snorted, calling out, “Bye to you, too, then!”
It was about two and a half seconds later that Fitz sauntered into the room, going straight to the fridge and getting a bottle of water. He was wearing his workout gear, glistening with sweat and stinking up the kitchen. After chugging nearly half the bottle, Fitz sighed before joining me at the kitchen table, his shit-eating grin ever present.
“And hello, Sammy! How’s lunch?” He was annoying when he was this happy, but I could hardly blame the guy. Knotting an omega like Melody, one that I knew we both wanted to get more of, had a way of making the sun shine out of the darkest corners. Even for me, and that was saying something. I was pretty take ’em or leave ’em with people in general.
Rolling my eyes, I stood up, taking my empty plate to the sink. “It’s over, Fitz. Sandwich done, and back to work.”
“We’re off for the afternoon. Or did Elliot change his mind?” Fitz’s too-bright gleam died for a moment.
“No, no. We are. He just had to run some errands, so we should keep an ear out. Tommy and Luke are down in the on-call room, though. I was going to chill in my bunk.”
“All right, all right. That’s fair. I think I might?—”
But before he could finish, Melody padded into the kitchen, wearing this fluffy sweater that was massive on her and chunky socks. She smelled delectable, that melony scent swirling around her and going right to my inner alpha.
Ever since I’d learned that she’d given things a shot with Fitz, I’d been thinking about how far it would go. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t interested in getting my hands on her too. My hands, my mouth, my tongue, my cock. I wanted every inch of my skin to be coated in her scent, keeping me company for hours.
Looking up from the floor, she stopped short, her eyes widening. “Oh, hi. I was, umm, going to have lunch.”
“Kitchen’s all yours.” I smiled. Freaking Melody out or moving too quickly was most definitely not part of my plan, and with my limited social skills, I figured it was better safe than sorry.
But then I noticed her shoulders droop, and I froze in place a few feet away from her.
“Oh, okay. I was just thinking that maybe…”
Fitz sidled up next to her, ever the flirt who couldn’t be restrained. “Maybe what, firecracker? Something on your mind?”
Her cheeks pinkened, and dammit, it was soverypretty. My dick twitched behind my sweats. How this gorgeous girl hadn’t realized she was an omega was beyond me. Hell, how she didn’t realize that she was something special beyond everything elsewas a damn mystery. She was too damn good, so sweet and charming and caring.
One of three people on this planet that I actually wanted to be around, even if Fitz tested that designation on the regular.
“Well, umm, yeah. I…You’d said yesterday that—” Melody didn’t finish, looking between my pack mate and me, and I did everything to keep my expression open and gentle. “Well, that we should have a conversation about this dating thing. So, I figured, why not start now?”
“Oh, we candefinitelytalk about that.” Fitz smiled, nuzzling into Melody’s neck, and her scent perfumed all the harder, filling the room with her potent fragrance of arousal and anticipation.
“Why don’t we take this somewhere a bit more private,” I added, gesturing out of the kitchen.
Melody nodded, and I led the way to our bunks. Fitz brought up the tail end of our little train, and as soon as we got inside, I shut the door and locked it. I wasn’t going to deal with any interruptions right now, regardless of what happened. If Melody wanted to just talk, we’d talk. But if she wanted more…
No goddamn interruptions.
After a moment, during which Melody looked back and forth between Fitz and me, she turned and sat on my bed, her hands resting on her knees. Melody’s stare was pinned to the floor, but she cleared her throat, like she was gearing up to speak.
“Umm, so I’m guessing that you know about what happened between me and Fitz.”
She looked up at me, and I nodded. “Yeah, I learned about that almost right after it happened, sugar.”
Melody winced but shook it away. Still, Fitz walked over to her, sitting down on the bed next to her.
“Wearea pack, there’re no secrets between us,” Fitz pointed out.
Melody’s face turned bright pink. “I know that. It’s just…”
