Page 25 of Lavender and Lightning

“We’ll get the scent blocker off with time, but I’m sure we can find something that you like around here,” I say, stepping back and giving her a kind smile.

“Luc, I can’t—”

“Can’t what? This is your house, too, Lydi,” I interrupt, looking back as I pull her into the foyer.

She stops and I wait, studying her face. There’s the slightest hint of a blush as she looks at where our fingers weave together. Her eyes follow as I bring the back of her hand up to my lips and brush a kiss over her knuckles. The color spreads out from the bridge of her nose, turning her whole face pink. My stomach does a flip as she steps toward me, finger flexing around mine to squeeze lightly. I hold my breath. Is she going to make the first move? Is she waiting for me to make a move?

My stomach drops back into place as she clears her throat and looks away, breaking the electric tension zipping between us. The back of my neck feels hot as I cough a little and continue leading her upstairs.

She’s quiet as we head up the stairs, and as I reach Rhett’s door, she pulls to a sudden stop. I turn back to look at her, concern and confusion lining my face.

“It’s his room. He hasn’t—I’ve never been in here,” she admits, blushing pinker.

I blink at her, but my surge of frustration is directed at Rhett. Of course, she doesn’t feel settled. We’ve been keeping parts of the house from her unintentionally. We’re all so used to just floating around each other, going in and out of each other’s bedrooms that it never occurred to us to tell Lydia she can do the same. I back off and lead her away from Rhett’s door and toward my own.

“We’ll ask him for permission when he gets home, okay? But for right now, let’s see what we can find in my room,” I say, firm but gentle.

Lydia relaxes under my direction, and I feel my heart flip. I have the most experience with omegas, and I try to stay ahead of her instincts as best as I can. I may not have an alpha’s drive to protect and care for omegas, but I do enjoy seeing Lydia’s face light up when I correctly anticipate her needs. So it’s especially rewarding when I lead her through my door and watch her shoulders relax after a long inhale and exhale.

eleven

Lydia

WalkingintoLucas’sroomand breathing in the thick layer of not only his scent, but Rhett and Alexandra’s scents, relaxes me in a way that I hadn’t been prepared for. Tears prick at the corners of my eyes, and I swallow them back as I look around. Lucas’s room feels lived in, untidy in a cozy sort of way. His bed is unmade, laundry flows in and around the hamper, papers and books lay strewn haphazardly over a desk. There’s an open door leading to a bathroom, and another leading to a walk-in closet.

“This is where the magic happens,” Lucas says with a laugh, closing the door and moving around me.

I giggle and watch as he walks over to the bed and throws himself down in the center, making the pillows and blankets bounce around him. A soft smile pulls at the corners of my lips as I take another look around. I step toward his closet, following a pull in my chest, but stop and glance back at Lucas. He nods and motions with one hand for me to continue, his blue-gray eyes sparkling with silent laughter.

“Take what you need, Lydi-bug. I’ve got more than enough,” Lucas calls from the bed.

“Lydi-bug?” I ask in an amused monotone.

Lucas grins bashfully. “Too cutesy?”

My smile softens, heart melting a little. “No. I like it. Just... maybe not in bed,” I reply with a laugh.

As our eyes connect for a moment, goosebumps rise up and down my arms, and I take a shuddering breath. The teasing sparkle in his eyes flickers out but is instantly replaced with a molten ember. I stand still, unable to move as his stare slowly drags down my body, and then back up again. It’s not quite as predatory as Rhett or Mateo, the phantom touch on my skin feeling more admiring than proprietary.

“And what, pray tell, would you like me to call you in bed?” he asks, and I can’t tell if that husky purr to his voice is just a tease, or something else entirely.

I swallow around my suddenly dry mouth, words sticking in my throat. Images I’ve seen in my dreams, both asleep and awake, flash through my mind. I’ve only ever slept with one beta since leaving Darren, and it had been… fine. He’d gotten the job done, but it hadn’t been a performance worthy of writing home about. But Lucas… he knows how to play. Would he want to submit to me, like he does to Alexandra and Rhett? Or would it be a struggle for dominance, both of us taking and giving, trying to get the other to yield—

“You gonna make it, sweetheart? Or do I need to perform mouth to mouth?”

Lucas’s voice pulls me from my spiraling thoughts, and I startle a little, sucking in a breath. His smirk is all teasing humor, and I give him a halfhearted glare that only makes him laugh.

Blushing, I turn away and move to his closet, gathering my wits again. I sigh as I step into the smaller space, graham crackers and chocolate and fresh cotton strong here. My lips pull up in an unconscious smile, and I run my good hand along the row of hanging shirts, enjoying the different textures against my skin. I stop on a particularly soft one, pulling out a concert T-shirt for a band I’ve never heard of. But the material is thin, almost threadbare, so full of Lucas’s scent, and even a hint of Rhett’s. I press it to my face, tucking it into my chest.

“That was a shirt I got on one of my first dates with Rhett.”

I jump and spin on my heel to find Lucas leaning against the door frame with his hands in the pockets of his jeans. He’s shed his leather motorcycle riding jacket, leaving him in a simple short-sleeved Henley. His eyes are distant, but the smile pulling at his mouth is fond.

“Was it weird? Dating the boss?” I ask curiously.

Lucas chuckles. “Technically, he’s never been my boss.”

“But he owns Alice’s,” I state, a little confused.

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