Page 12 of Outback Mate
Abruptly, like he’s forced himself to move, he leans over me.
Alpha is going to kiss me!My Omega squeals in excitement, and I eagerly press forward with my lips puckered.
Instead, the button on my seat belt clicks and he pulls back like he’s been burned.
I sit there, my lips still pursed, as he climbs out of the ute like he’s being chased by a pack of dingoes.
Oh.
I blink through the windscreen, bleary with the streaming rivulets of rain, and squint to read a sign on the front of a building.
Bodella Surgery. Dr. Luke Nichols. Monday to Friday. Call-outs available.
I hope the good doctor’s in, because I feel like shit. I can’t even find it in myself to be embarrassed by my actions. I feel drunk, like the few times I’ve gone out partying with Kirsty and had one too many wet pussy shots.
The door opens and I’m blasted by a spray of rain. It’s hammering down, and the Alpha is already dripping wet, droplets running down his chiseled features and over his plush lips.
I want to lick it off.
“Come on.” Before I can insist on walking, he scoops me up into his strong embrace. I hold the joey close to my chest, sheltering the little guy from the rain, and the Alpha does the same to me.
I don’t hesitate to burrow my face into his chest again, smiling to myself.
Ah yes, this is where I want to be.
He carries me into the weatherboard building, his wet boots thumping against the worn wooden floorboards. The door slams shut behind him, and I don’t get more than a second to see thewaiting area before I’m carried into a smaller room. He sits me on an examination table and shuts the door behind him.
A boom of thunder makes the wooden walls shiver, and the pounding rain on the tin roof roars in a relentless cacophony. It makes my head ache even worse.
He scoops the joey out of my lap. Holding him tenderly in his big arms, he opens the make-shift pouch to check on the little fella.
“You did a good job of keeping him warm and safe. I’ll take him from here,” he murmurs, running his hands over the creature, like he’s checking for injuries. Nodding to himself, satisfied with his inspection, he turns and gently places him in a box in the room’s corner. There is a click, and a heat lamp hums to life above it.
It seems like this isn’t the first time he’s cared for an orphaned animal. The setup is ready to go.
“I like a caring man,” I say out loud, my filter entirely gone.
It’s true. I’m a complete sucker for a soft Alpha with nurturing instincts. Something about them caring for things smaller and weaker than them makes my hormones go bonkers. I’m not baby crazy. In fact, I’m not even sure I want kids, but that doesn’t stop my instincts from responding to his careful consideration of the baby kangaroo.
Except when he spins to face me again, his eyes are dark and devoid of emotion. There’s no glowing affection or softness.
I frown, feeling a different kind of whiplash. So much for warm and nurturing.
He’s closed off.
Cold.
Detached.
A complete grump.
“I’m going to clean and close up your head wound.”
I cock my head in confusion as he snaps on a pair of latex gloves.
“What?” I breathe, confused and a little dizzy. “Don’t you need to call the doctor?”
“Omega, Iamthe doctor.”
