Page 41 of Outback Mate
He clicks off the radio and hooks it back into the cradle hanging from the dash.
“You’re really dedicated to your job, huh?” I say. He must be to head out into weather this bad, putting himself at risk for the sake of others. It does something funny to my insides.
I have a thing for heroic Alphas, apparently.
“It’s my calling, I guess,” he shrugs. “My dad was the town doctor before me, and my grandfather was a medic in the war.”
“That’s a long tradition.”
“I always thought I’d work in a city hospital. I couldn’t wait to get out of Bodella when I was younger, but when it came time for me to finish my training, I just… Bodella needed me. These are my people. They’re tough and would rather suffer than go to the city for treatment, and I knew I needed to step up and help them.”
He looks at me directly, and I shift in my seat under his scrutiny. He’s an intense guy.
“It’s brave,” I offer. And it is. It’s admirable to devote your life to helping others. He’s selfless in a world where the individual always comes first. I’m beginning to realise that he’s a better person than he believes.
I don’t understand why he thinks he doesn’t deserve to have a mate.
“It’s not,” he shakes his head. His wet hair is curling at the ends as it dries, and I find it softens his masculine features. “Being out here is better for my aura sickness. The people don’tmind that I’m…” he trails off and waves his hand in a broad gesture to himself.
I frown as he skirts over what he wants to say. Why is it easier for him to focus on the town’s needs over his own? It makes me sad, because the man he is underneath the guilt and self-flagellation seems wonderful. He has so much love and caring to give to his community, but it’s as if there is a blockade stopping him from making the connections he so clearly craves.
I imagine how frustrating it must feel to be unable to express those emotions, and a bigger picture of this complicated Alpha forms. No wonder he freaked out after claiming me.
I just have to chip away at that icy, clinical exterior.
Or blast it off with dynamite.
Chapter Thirteen
Poppy
I’m not a patient person.
I look at Luke, his face illuminated by the dash, and sigh at how handsome he is. Everything about him gets my motor running, but his lips are one of his best features on display. Thick, with the lower one being the slightest bit plumper, and it thrills me that I know they feel just as nice as they look. They were soft and hot as they skimmed over my skin, and his breath was so sweet on my neck.
I indulge in my fantasies, reliving how good it felt when he bit my gland.
He keeps throwing furtive glances at me when he thinks I won’t notice. I like that his body is in tune with mine.
I crave more. I crave him.
I wonder if he’ll taste the same as he did earlier if I suck on his lower lip, or will there be a coppery tang lingering from the mating bite? I squirm in my seat as the ache inside me grows and the tingling on the side of my neck starts to throb.
My perfume floods the cabin, and my hips roll on their own accord as his own pheromones flare in response.
I stroke the side of my neck and wonder if he’d be receptive to completing the bond.
My Omega is restless, pacing back and forth like an animal, making me shift in my seat. I know she wants the bond to be completed. It’s an ache in my chest and a warmth in my lower belly. I want that too. I want my Alpha in the most primitive and possessive sense.
I lick my lips, watching the rain fall on the road in the beams of the ute’s headlights.
An idea forms.
It worked before, it can work again.
“It’s rather hot in here, don’t you think?” I ask with a rasp in my voice as I unzip the weatherproof coat.
I turn in my seat and place the joey securely in the backseat. The seat belt strains against my top, outlining my breasts. I internally smirk as Luke’s breathing stutters.
