Page 8 of The Mating Game
I’m rewarded with another gaping expression, her lips mouthing the moniker back at me in a daze. “Oh, sure,” she huffs, throwing up her hands. “Since I’m already here.”
“Exactly.” I lift my arms above my head in a stretch, and my black Henley strains across my chest. “Well…there’s no one staying here right now, so you can pretty much take whatever room you want. The suites are upstairs. They’re all available except the one to the left of the landing. That’s mine. There’s an attached bath in every room. Living area is just through there.” I nod my head toward the wide entry across the room. “Got a pool table if you play. Jeannie cooks breakfast, lunch, and dinner—gotta be down by eight in the morning if you want to catch breakfast though. Lunch is at twelve, give or take a few, and dinner is at six. Got it?”
She nods at me with visible confusion, and I round the counter, sticking out my hand. She glances at it with a brief frown, flicking her gaze back up to my face warily before sliding her palm against mine.
“Okay,” she says. “I think I’ve got it.”
“Good.” This close to her, I smell a blast of something heavy and sweet, and my nostrils flare of their own accord as I try to breathein more of it, but it’s gone as quickly as it came.The fuck was that?“Well…” I say, clearing my throat and wrenching my hand from hers. “Welcome to the Bear Essentials Wilderness Lodge.”
I move to leave her there, because I suddenly feel strange, but I barely make it to the stairs before she’s calling out, “I just…pick my own room?”
“Seems the only way you’ll get the one you want,” I toss over my shoulder. And because I can’t help myself, I turn to give her a smirk. “Probably don’t want me to know where you’re staying anyway,” I say seriously. And when she gives me a puzzled look: “Since I might be an axe-wielding murderer.”
She flushes again, and I feel a tinge of satisfaction at her discomfort.
“Don’t you want to show me around and tell me some of your plans for the place?” she calls.
“Not really,” I answer, already starting up the stairs. “Jeannie is the one insisting on this little redecorating project.”
She makes an indignant sound. “I’m not adecorator.”
“Of course not, Miss Fixit.” I raise my hand above my head to offer her a little wave. “Breakfast is at eight,” I remind her. “Have a good night.”
She makes that same disgruntled squawk, and I hear her shoes slapping against the floor as if she’s following me. Even from several paces away, I’m hit with that strange scent, one that makes my steps heavier for the briefest of moments before it dissipates. I frown at my feet, turning again and narrowing my eyes at her as she skids to a halt. Jeannie definitely would have told me if—But it’s hitting me again, causing goose bumps to break out across my skin, and without even realizing I’m doing it, I’m stomping back down the stairs to loom over her.
She shrinks only for a moment before rising to her full height to stare me down. It might be amusing if my heart weren’t beating so fast.
“Are you an omega?”
She visibly blanches. “W-what?”
A pit forms in my stomach, because there’s no way Jeannie would have subjected me to this. Not after everything.
But I know this woman has no idea about my past, so I try my best to keep my tone from sounding as irritated as I feel.
“I’m only asking because,” I try again, going for less aggressive but fearing that I might be failing, “I’m not on suppressants.”
“Why would you even ask that in the first place?”
“Because…” I lean toward her, dragging in an inhale as if compelled. “You smell like an omega.”
Her mouth falls open. “That’s—that’s a really rude question, isn’t it?”
She asks it as if she isn’t entirely sure of the answer.
“Maybe,” I say truthfully, “but if you’re going to be staying here, it would probably be a good idea to take precautions. I wouldn’t want you to have an incident.”
“Anincident?”
She acts like I’m being outrageous. Surely she can scent me? She has to know how bad an idea it is for us to cohabitate in this enclosed space for however long without any kind of barrier.
“I…Yes,” I say, genuinely confused by her confusion, but what’s more, I can’t fathom having to endure sharing my space with another omega. Not after what happened. I can hear the aggravation in my tone now. “Something like this would have been nice to know ahead of time. It’s honestly a bit rude not to disclose this sort of thing knowing you’d be sharing a space.”
She snorts. Actuallysnorts. “Wow. Day one, and already I’m dealing with this crap.”
“What?”
“I’m fine,” she says through gritted teeth. “I can do this job regardless of what I am, and I’m not going to let you sit there and discriminate just because I’m—because I’m a—”
