Page 20 of Room 1003

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” I chanted. I wasn’t one for having a potty mouth, but this scenario definitely called for it. “Ben!”

“I’m here,” he gasped as he rushed in, dropping to his knees beside the hole. The floor groaned with the added weight, and he froze. “This was a bad idea. I should’ve lowered you down from below, but I didn’t want to scrape your sides going through the floor.” He bit down on his lip, debating how best to get me out of this mess.

“There’s no time for that,” I moaned, just as some teeny-tiny jaws bit down, and I yelped. “Ouch! Something bit me. Get me out of here!”

Ben lumbered out of the room and came back with a drop cloth from the bathroom. He tied one end to the old radiator, and the other end he passed to me. “Just in case the floor caves in, don’t let go.” It seemed a sorry safety line, but I wasn’t in the mood to split hairs.

Using the fabric to help pull myself up, Ben hauled me out of the floor. As soon as I was clear, he dragged me farther from the hole, and we collapsed, gasping, in a heap. My heart was pounding, adrenaline coursing through me, and I allowed myself a moment to revel in feeling safe—but that godsawful crawling was still there!

“Shirt! Off!” I started swatting at the little black insects scurrying over my skin, and Ben caught on right quick to what I was attempting. Within seconds, he had shucked my shirt up and off, and my pants down, until I was standing in front of him nearly naked, for the second time in a week.

“Oh my gods!” he shouted, stomping on any of the ants within reach—until he realized how much skin I was showing. His stomping slowed, and he dragged his eyes up. He swallowed thickly. “Oh, um… are you okay?”

Short of a small scrape along my ribs and a couple insect bites, I seemed relatively unharmed. “It could’ve been a lot worse,” I said, peeking through the hole in the floor to the dining room far below.

Feeling the chill over all that bare flesh, I crossed my arms over my chest self-consciously and narrowed my eyes at Ben. “You just had to invoke Murphy’s Law,” I griped.

His face scrunched up in a wince. “Do you want me to say you were right?”

“It couldn’t hurt,” I said smugly, and I was surprised to find that I could still smile.

Ben held a hand over his heart. “You were right, and I was wrong. I will never doubt you again, for as long as I live.”

I laughed, but it was short-lived. I reluctantly examined the nest of ants we’d uncovered living in my floor. “Any chance you’re an exterminator too?”

“No such luck, but we’ll handle it.”

“Together,” I reminded him, and I felt hope blossoming in the place of dread.

12

Ben

Therewasaknockat the front door. Shane’s voice echoed down the stairs. “Can you get that? I’m not dressed.”

Uuuuugh, I really wish he hadn’t told me that. “Got it,” I called back, heading for the door, brushing off my hands on my jeans.

I tried very hard to expel the image of Shane naked from my mind, or I would be answering the door with a hard-on. I’d seen him in all sorts of undress, but not the one I was craving the most, and my imagination had been working overtime trying to fill in the gaps. No matter how creative I was, there was no doubt the real thing would be a million times better.

Pulling open the door, I found myself face to face with a tall alpha with tawny skin and lean muscle cording his forearms, exposed where he’d rolled up his sleeves. “Hey, you must be Roman,” I said, holding out my hand in greeting.

“Yeah, and you’re Ben?” He accepted my hand, squeezing it just a bit harder than necessary. Alphas often found my large size a little intimidating and tried to compensate by posturing. I was used to it.

“Nice to meet you. I appreciate you coming by on such short notice.”

“Not a problem at all. I was in the neighborhood anyway.” Roman was a friend of a friend, which was how a lot of our business was often passed on. Word of mouth and recommendations among colleagues. Finding an insect infestation in an old house like this wasn’t uncommon, so tradespeople likely often dialed his number. “Care to show me the problem?”

I led him upstairs, but before we could get far, Shane came out of his bedroom, straightening his shirt, his hair extra tangled. “Oh! Are you the exterminator? My name’s Shane. I’m seriously so glad you’re here. I barely slept a wink last night, imagining there were ants crawling all over me, eating me alive.”

Roman’s body language changed, and I could almost see the swagger descending over him. His eyes lit up in interest as he took in the omega. “I’m Roman, and it’s absolutely my pleasure,” he drawled. “Anything I can do to help you sleep at night.” His voice had gone down an octave, and it sounded like he was offering extraservicesfor no added cost. When he shook Shane’s hand, he didn’t let go straight away, his touch lingering.

A flare of possessiveness flared in my chest, and I found my fists clenched of their own accord. I was not an aggressive guy by any means, but maybe that was only because I’d never had anyone to fight for. When Shane’s lips flatlined and his gaze flicked to mine, I could’ve sworn it was a wordless plea for help. Without hesitation, I stepped over beside him, placed my hand on his lower back, and staked a claim, even when I had no right to it. Shane inched into my side, peeking up at me, and even though there hadn’t been anything declared between us, Roman got the drift.

Roman released Shane’s hand and stepped back, clearing his throat. “Right. Ben, why don’t you show me that nest.”

“For sure,” I said, smoothing my metaphorical ruffled feathers. “Shane, you can get to work if you want. I’ll take care of this.”

“Are you sure?”

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