Page 89 of The Omega Lesson

As for Finn Visser and his research project... Well, I’ve accepted his invitation, but only up to a point. So far, I’ve been to his office once, under the heavy guard of my entire pack and a guy called Barker who could level a building with either his enormous muscles, or his alpha dominance. He didn’t talk much, but even Visser’s goons from the facility handled him with wary respect. I saw enough to agree to be part of their project as an anonymous contributor. I’ve filled in all their forms, provided various physical samples, and undergone some genetic and pheromonal testing. Visser wants me to become more involved, especially with Jack in close vicinity, but at this stage, we’ve refused. But next week I’ve got a coffee date lined up with Maddie Dove, Travis’ old flame, so we’ll see how I feel after that.

“You guys can wait here,” Jack tells them as we pull into the carpark outside his shiny new lab. “Lexi’s just going to help me with a couple of finishing touches.”

“As if!” Noah snorts, already slinking out of the car. “If Lexi’s handing out finishing touches, I’m lining up for my happy ending.”

Jack rolls his eyes, but they all decide to come, and we traipse into Jack’s lab in our graduation finery. Ben laid on a sumptuous spread at the second-best restaurant at the casino - since The Oyster Club was off the menu, for obvious reasons - and I got to wear my pretty silver sequins again. But as soon as we step into the sterile reception area, I kick off my heels and hassle the guys until they’ve done the same. “This is a temple to agricultural innovation,” I lecture them as Jack leads us across the room to the secure lab at the back. “We can’t have you contaminating his important scientific work.”

“Which is basically just playing with dirt all day,” Mattie says with a cheeky grin in Jack’s direction.

“Wait until you’ve spent six months cataloguing sea algae,” Jack smirks back, which leads to a debate about whether seaweed is a weed. I tune them out, because as soon as Jack has swiped us into his inner sanctum, I notice one important change. The room next to Jack’s office has been under construction longer than any of the others, and secure tape has been across the door for the last couple of weeks. Jack told me it was an area where his highest-priority work would take place.

But instead of the industrial seal, there’s now a big pink bow on the door.

“What’s that?” I look at him with wide eyes. “Is it finished?”

“Ready to go,” he replies, looking a little nervous as he slips past me and swipes a card across the reader. The door slides back and then I’m staring into the exact opposite of a sterile lab environment.

It’s an office, but cosy in a way that brings a purr straight to my lips. It reminds me a little of the library at Noah’s house, but in softer tones, with thick cream carpet and pale pine furnishings. There’s a beautifully-carved desk at one end, with a top-of-the range computer, and a pair of matching bookshelves. At the other is an art studio, complete with easels, mobile art supply carts, and sleek storage units. “What is this?”

“It’s yours,” Jack says almost shyly, as the other guys pile in behind us.

I stare around at all the beautiful things, my mouth open in shock. “But you said it was your top-secret project room!”

Jack wraps his arms around me, his nose pressed to my neck. “I said it’s where my most inspiring work is going to happen. That’s you, love. And I know you’re going to miss Mattie next year. This way, you can study here, nice and close to any class you want to take. Or, if you prefer, you can just stalk us both from the comfort of your office. Either way, it’s a win-win for me.”

Melt. My. Heart.

But just as I’m falling into his kiss, Noah pops up at our side, his eyes narrowed and a sea-blue finger pointed at the wall. “Is that what I think it is?”

My eyes just grow wider as I take in the small wooden desk against the back wall. It’s a near replica of mine, but in a miniature size.

“You fucking one-upper!” Noah glares at his brother. “I get Sweetpea a mini horse, so you have to go and get her a mini office! I thought this was aninnovationlab. Where’s your originality?”

Stop it!” I smack Noah, laughing. “She’s going to love this just as much as Poppy, notmorethan. For God’s sake, she even goes to bed in that little pink riding helmet you bought her!” That makes him smirk a bit and I lean up to kiss his mouth. “My girl has a lot of love to share around.”

“Just like her mum,” Travis says quietly from the corner, although the look he gives me wakes up every one of my nerves.

Oh, yes.Lotsandlotsof love.

“Hmmm. Good work, Dr. Lyall.” Ben says, flinging his arm around Jack’s shoulder. “I think we’re about to see how much Lexi likes touching things in her new office.”

I put my hands on my hips and try to look stern. “My desk is obviously pretty, not pack-proof, so don’t even think about breaking it in.”

We’ve already tested the limits of most of the horizontal surfaces at Noah’s place. And our extensive research has proven that five grown men can do a lot of damage once you get them wound up.

“And while the shag pile has potential,” Noah adds, running his naked toe across the floor, “it also has a high zap to thrust ratio. And it’s a scientific fact that no one likes carpet burn.”

“Well, you might want to come this way then,” Jack says, opening a connecting door with the kind of smile that puts the rest of our pack on high alert. “This ismyoffice… Well, shit.”

He’s stopped right in the doorway, so the rest of us have to slip around him, and I can’t help the giggle that bubbles up. His office looks a lot more like I expected, with sturdy furniture, chrome-and-glass cabinets, and more monitors and plastic tubs than a space station.

But Mattie asks the obvious question. “Bro, why is your desk still wrapped in plastic?”

“It’s not meant to be.”

Ben walks over and touches the industrial cling film, raising a quizzical brow. “Are you planning to kill us or fuck us, sweetheart? Because you could basically wrap the evidence in this and no one would ever know.”

Everyone laughs at that, but Jack gives us a quelling look. “I wasplanningto take it off. Or my assistant was.” He strides over to his bookcase and plucks a post-it note off the top. “Shit. Lloyd just quit and is going backpacking for a year.”

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