Page 54 of Hired for Research
Her lips parted to say no but all that escaped was a moan as Jett dug his fingers into her flesh. She melted in his hold, the tension bleeding away under the firm strokes and careful pressure. She was content to sit there all night if he continued what he was doing, until she noticed the tent in the front of his pants.
Gaze jerking to his face, she could see his desire written plainly in his eyes and the tight line of his jaw. It was tempting to give in, to excuse it since they’d already slept together, but she shook her head and pulled her leg away.
“Thank you. That feels better.”
His stare was heavy on her as she bent to pull on her shoes, but he rose and stepped away without a word. When she stood to grab her bag, his expression was back to his usual, casual smile, and for a moment she wondered if she’d imagined what she wanted to see.
A quick check of his crotch assured her she was right about one part at least.
“Dinner, or are you tired?”
He tried to keep the question neutral, but she heard a tint of bitterness in it. Shewastired, but it had been a good day, and she still wanted to get more information for her notes.
“Dinner sounds nice, but I need to be back at my hotel by eight. I have interviews set up with a couple betas staying at the hotel.”
His brows rose but he turned away to open the door and seemed to be looking out at something as she passed him.
“Oh? I didn’t know you were doing interviews.”
She lifted one shoulder as she headed across the foyer.
“I went down to the lobby last night when I was waiting for my food to be delivered and met a couple who are here visiting their son. He’s only just transferred into Eden and it’s their first visit. They had a lot of useful insights I hadn’t considered before, so I thought it would be good to interview a few more betas to get their take on Eden. Knowing how the alphas act is all well and good, but it’s betas I’m trying to convince with my research, so I need more of their point of view.”
Jett sucked in a deep breath before letting it out slowly, and she looked up at him as he moved beside her. He seemed conflicted, but she figured he was trying to control the urge to say he needed to be there for these meetings. She understood he was trying to be sure nothing happened to her while she was in Eden, but even he’d said he was protecting her from other alphas. Betas didn’t pose a threat.
“Okay, so what are you in the mood for?”
She considered going to Community again, but it tended to take a while since it was served family style, and she wasn’t sure she was up for that much interaction. She wanted something where she could sit back and enjoy her food while watching the people around her.
“Is there a buffet pizza place here?”
A slow smile spread across his face, her heart stumbling over his dimples as he nodded.
“Yeah. It’s not too far.”
He changed their course, going straight where they usually turned. The place he brought her to was the lower floor of an apartment building, and the delicious smell of melted cheese and garlic met her when he pulled the door open, making her mouth water as her stomach woke and demanded she devour as much as she could fit in it.
She was still recovering from a heat after all.
24. Jett
It was hard to hold back his urges. The need to pull her closer, rub his scent on her, and snarl at the other alphas that looked her way. Evelyn was a bombshell, but she didn’t seem to realize it.
Or didn’t care.
He was astonished by the amount of pizza the little omega put away, and if he was willing to admit it, slightly intimidated. She ate just as much as he did and continued to eye the buffet as if she wanted more even though he was stuffed to the point of feeling a bit sick. If they hadn’t been forced to leave so she could get back in time, she may have outeaten him.
He felt bad for the way he’d acted toward her that morning when he’d thought she’d simply lied to him the night before. At least he’d managed to keep his mouth shut on all the things he’d almost said.
Thursday passed much the same, with them going out to another worksite in the morning before returning to the hospital. There weren’t very many volunteers during the afternoon, but Evelyn didn’t seem upset by it since she said it gave her the chance to catch up on processing the samples she already had. She wanted to travel with as little blood as possible, which made sense. Speeders were great for quick travel, but there wasn’t much space, and they didn’t have the smoothest ride. An accident with all those samples in the speeder could cause all kinds of problems.
Friday dawned bright and sunny, but Jett’s mood didn’t match. It was her last day, and he didn’t know how he was going to handle it.
He was waiting in the hotel lobby when Evelyn stepped out of the lift, towing her luggage behind her. Seeing it had been a punch to the gut, and his hands clenched at his sides as he struggled not to do something stupid.
Dragging her to his apartment and tying her to the bed still seemed like a good option, but it would ruin the chance for her to save other alphas, and he had to remind himself that was more important.
“Hungry?”
