10. Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine

Lana

E zra’s mates are every bit as attractive as he is, albeit in very different ways. It makes our whole encounter feel charged with sexual energy.

Shadow has the typical Omega charm with that sweet smile he gives out so easily. His pale blue eyes and smooth, milky skin are in stark contrast to his eyebrows and lashes, which look as black as his clothing in the dull lighting of the office. His bleached hair is showing an inch of dark roots, and he’s wearing a few silver rings on his fingers.

He’s attractive in that uniquely perfect way that all Omegas are.

Something about him makes me want to spend more time around him.

I can’t say every Omega in Goldcrest affects me the same way.

They’re all attractive, sure, but they don’t all make my body flush through with heat.

In fact, I’ve only ever felt this way about one other Omega, and, sadly, like Brooke, this guy is already taken.

“This way,” I tell them, glancing back to see Pete is still looking at me as if he wants to bend me over my desk, and I’m sure if I asked him what he was thinking, he’d give me those exact words or something like them, without a hint of shame.

He’s so completely different from Shadow.

I can tell he’s fit and muscular in that plain white T-shirt and lightly ripped blue jeans, and he has a fiery intensity that should be turning me off but is having completely the opposite effect for some damn reason. He also has a sexy, rough English accent. Working class. Unrefined.

He’s exactly the kind of guy my mother would have warned me off when I was younger.

Trouble, with a capital T.

His hair has been shaved close to his skin, he has tattoos on his neck, his hands and his arms, and only the arm tatts look like skin art. The others are prison jobs, for sure.

Probably a good thing I didn’t get security to run background checks.

I lead them through the double doors that go straight to the medical wing, and they follow me down to the right, past a few patient rooms and through another set of doors to an unused section that might end up becoming something if we make the medical ward a permanent fixture here. Funding is probably going to be the main obstacle to that, but I don’t need to think about it right now. Sticking to a week-by-week plan is tricky enough.

“All the suites are on the first floor,” I tell them as I lead them toward the staircase.

It feels a little weird to be leading two men upstairs alone, when I’m attracted to them, and at least one of them has signalled pretty clearly that he’s also attracted to me.

If they weren’t attached to Ezra, I might be hoping for something out of this.

As it is, I remind myself these men are mated to one of my employees.

Thankfully, Ezra should be getting relieved from door guarding duty soon, and all I need to do is lead these two to his room and leave them to have their reunion.

I get to the top of the stairs and find the corridor seems kind of dark.

The light switch does nothing when I flip it.

“Huh,” I murmur. “I guess that’s another one for the list.”

Though the priority will be hiring a new handyman, since it’s not security’s job to change lightbulbs, and I have no idea where the old guy we had before kept any that kind of stuff, besides.

“I can fix that,” Pete offers.

I look back and give him a smile.

“It’s okay. I’ll have someone do it later.”

“It’s no bother,” he murmurs.

“Just let him,” Shadow suggests. “It’s easier than getting him to take no for an answer.”

I raise an eyebrow at the Omega.

He shrugs. “He’s the persistent type.”

I don’t know what to say to that, and it’s just as well, because Pete’s already walking to the end of the hall and placing the ornate chair that was sitting by the only window under the first light fitting. It’s probably a three-grand piece of furniture. He checks it’s stable before he uses it like a stool, climbing onto it to get the height he needs to get the bulb out.

“Wait a minute,” he says, before he lets the bulb go and steps down from the chair.

“What is it?” Shadow asks, moving over to where he is.

I manage to inhale at the worst possible moment, and suddenly the scent of his perfume is filling up my senses. It’s sweetly spicy and it absolutely makes my mouth water.

I clamp down on the urge to moan, and I stay where I am by the light switch while I try to compose myself. I watch Pete move the chair to the next light, and the next, each time doing something to the bulb and stepping back down.

“Seriously,” Shadow says. “What were you doing?”

Pete shakes his head as he sets the chair back down where it was, by the window at the end of the hallway. He moves past his Omega toward me. I swallow thickly as he approaches, that intense gaze fixed on me.

I don’t think I have any resolve left.

He moves in close, and I glance down at his lips.

When his hand goes over my shoulder, my body shakes in anticipation.

“I think you have a problem,” he tells me, as the lights flick on above us. “Someone unscrewed those bulbs on purpose.”

“Oh,” I murmur back, realizing he’s not about to make a move on me, even if he is staying close.

His hand moves down, and I let my gaze move back up to lock with his.

“Do you sleep here?” he asks.

“Since I took over, I’ve been too busy to go home at night,” I admit.

“Where’s your room?”

“End of the hall, on this side.”

“Show me.”

I blink at him. “What?”

“I need to make sure it’s safe.” He sounds serious.

“You should let him take a look around,” Shadow advises. “Our other Alpha runs a security company. We both know what to look for when someone’s being targeted.”

I stare back at him, looking for a hint that he’s joking. “Being targeted? What? No. The lights were probably just too bright for someone who’s staying on this floor. The people staying here are doctors and nurses. They’re here to help Omegas who were hurt by traffickers. They’re not looking to target anyone for anything.”

Straightening up, I cross my arms under my chest.

I ignore the hint of paranoia that I’ve started to feel now that both of them are insinuating there might be someone in this building who’s up to something nefarious.

These two might be sexy, but they’re also clearly a few sandwiches short of a full picnic basket.

“Do you have any enemies?” Pete asks, raising an eyebrow as look back at him.

“Stop. No one here is out to get anyone.” I stare back without blinking.

“Are you completely sure about that?” he asks.

Am I?

It doesn’t help that I probably have enemies numbering in the dozens at this point. People who have a lot of money at their disposal, and a vested interest in having me unseated from my position at the academy.

That doesn’t help with the hint of paranoia these two have instilled in me.

It hasn’t gone away, and it likely isn’t going to.

Thinking about it logically, it’s a little on the suspicious side, but unscrewing a few light bulbs doesn’t automatically mean someone’s planning something bad.

“I trust my staff, and I trust everyone who’s staying in this wing.”

Pete doesn’t look convinced by my certainty. “That doesn’t mean one of them isn’t out to get you. You’re giving everyone too much credit.”

“If that’s the case, maybe I should insist on those background checks I skipped when I let you two into the building?”

He smirks. “Go ahead. We’re clean.”

“With those tattoos? I don’t think so.”

“So, you noticed,” he murmurs. “There might be hope for you yet.”

Oh my God. He’s infuriating.

I glance at Shadow and the sweet-smelling Omega shrugs.

“It might be nothing,” Shadow starts. “Or it might be something. Isn’t it better to play it safe?”

Damn it. Why does that have to make sense?

“I need to get back to work,” I tell them, side-stepping and moving around Pete swiftly.

Of course, I misjudge how much space I need and bump my hip against his side in passing.

The jolt I get from that tiny bit of physical contact is jarring.

My clit throbs, and suddenly I can feel my nipples rubbing against the fabric of my bra.

I hate to imagine what might happen if we touched in more direct way.

A cleansing, deep breath, and a few steps later and I’m unlocking the door to their Alpha’s suite.

I can feel them both close behind me as I turn the handle and give it a push inward.

“We don’t have spare keys for this section of the building, so you’ll need to stay put until Dr. Clarke gets back.”

“Ezra,” Shadow says. “You should call him Ezra.”

“I don’t think that would be appropriate.”

Pete snorts. “That’s not going to matter soon enough.”

Shadow sighs. “Come on, Pete. We should let Ms. Cole get back to work.”

“Don’t worry about that,” Pete says. “I’m coming.”

He leans in as he passes, and whispers, “You’ll be coming soon enough, too.”

My skin burns as he moves past me, that smirk back on his lips.

Shadow gives me an appalled look.

“Sorry,” he tells me as he follows Pete inside. “I’m just … sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry. Just keep him in the suite, okay?”

He nods as he turns, hand on the door. “You know where we are if you need anything.”

I press my lips together. Because it’s Shadow, I don’t blurt that I won’t need anything from them.

Somehow, I manage to smile. “I know.”

I turn away, hearing the door close as I go and breathing out a massive sigh of relief.

This is turning out to be one hell of a day.

I only hope the hard parts are over.