Chapter 14 Tonight, we’re showing off our girl

“Damn, button! Look at you,” Jude says just before his hand slides over my stomach, pulling me tight against him. He drops his mouth to my shoulder and gives it a long sucking kiss before nipping my ear. “You look so fucking good.”

I can’t help the flush of pleasure at the compliment. This outfit, one that Ren helped me pick out earlier, is all me. My choices from head to toe. What I would pick for myself if given the chance.

Tight dark jeans, a silky cream colored cami with lace along the neckline, a soft brown leather jacket and maroon sky high heels.

“Jesus, fuck. Those shoes make your legs look a mile long.”

I laugh and turn in his arms, smiling up at him.

“That’s an exaggeration.” Even in the heels, I just barely reach his chin.

He slides both his hands down to grab my ass and tug me tighter against him. “Not an exaggeration that you look so good, I want to say, ‘fuck it’ and keep you here all night.”

“No,” comes Tic’s voice from the stairs, drawing our attention as he joins us in the foyer. “Not tonight. Tonight we’re celebrating our girl.”

Jude huffs. “We can celebrate her just fine here. In fact, I think we could do a better job of it. What if instead of dinner and dancing, we laid you out on the table, spread your legs wide and-”

“No, Jude,” Hale growls from the living room. “We talked about this. Tonight, we’re showing off our girl.”

Another huff from the alpha pressed up against me, making me laugh and pat his chest. “I like your idea, too. Maybe next year, hmm?”

There’s a flicker of some emotion over his face, there and then quickly buried behind the brilliant smile he gives me. “Why wait? We can do it next time you’re here.”

I hum and lean up to kiss him. “Definitely.”

He growls and swoops down to kiss me again, harder and filthier.

He groans and rolls his forehead against mine. “Damn, button. I wanna bend you over and fuck you right here.”

My cheeks flush and my breathing picks up.

We’ve done a lot of things in the last few days, a lot of touching and heavy petting, but we haven’t gone all the way. I want to, but I also don’t. It feels too rushed, like maybe if we take that step, it means something none of us are ready for.

My vagina disagrees, though. The hussy .

It’s been years since my one and only penetrative sexual encounter, and I have a feeling anything with them is going to be a million times better than that was. And I’m dying to find out.

Jude’s eyes widen as he’s yanked back. I reach for him, a surprised sound coming from my mouth. “Not now,” Creed growls at him, hand clasped tight around the other alpha’s neck. “She deserves a celebration.”

Jude shrugs him off and glares, which is really very weird on his normally jovial face. “I keep saying a celebration here would be just as good.”

Sensing they’re about to throw down for some reason I can’t fathom, I step forward and place a hand gently on both of their stomachs. Creed flinches, stepping back quickly, while Jude slides his hand over mine, pressing me tighter against him.

There couldn’t be two more different reactions.

Creed stares at my hand still hanging in the air between us, and I let it drop, pretending like I don’t care that he can’t stand for me to touch him, even something as small as that. I look up at Jude. “I told you next year. This year, Ren is waiting for us, and I really want to see her. I haven’t spent a birthday without her since- well, since we met. It’s tradition.”

Jude’s fingers tighten around mine, and then he joins them together. Dropping them between us. “Well, since it’s tradition, I guess I’ll give it up. But when we get home, all bets are off.”

I grin up at him, loving that he called it home. I know it is his home, but it feels like he included me in that as well.

“Promises, promises,” I breathe, and he growls at me again, tugging me forward.

A warm hand at the base of my spine and a scent like bergamot oakmoss and cedar urges me toward the door. “Come on, we need to go or we’ll be late for our reservation.”

“And Tic hates being late,” Jude quips, but he still tugs me toward the door.

Somehow, Creed ends up sitting next to me at the restaurant. Hale is on my other side and Ren is across from me, wedged between Tic and Jude.

The restaurant is nice, but not too nice. Not the kind of place my father’s associates would go to, so I don’t feel that concerned that someone might see us, report us to my father or the media.

Still, I kept my head ducked toward my chest as the host guided us to our table, and once again the Calloways positioned me with my back to the windows, so anyone passing by wouldn’t get a good look at me.

“Do you want to split a milkshake with me?” I ask Ren. “They have ones with alcohol in them.”

My best friend is nodding before I even finished asking the question. “Yes, of course I do, but we should also just get straight alcohol, cause it’s a motherfucking celebration!”

“Not too much,” Creed cautions without looking up from the menu. “Neither of you needs to get inebriated.”

Ren flutters her lashes at him. “But isn’t that what we have four big strapping alphas for? To make sure we stay out of trouble?”

Jude drapes an arm over her shoulder in a side hug. There’s a momentary twist of jealousy that he’s touching her as easily as he touches me, but I push it to the side. Jude is a puppy. He needs physical affection and Ren would never in a million years go for someone I like. She isn’t wired that way. “That is absolutely why you have four alphas with you, Renny.”

“Well, that and to make sure every other motherfucker in the place knows you’re taken,” Hale mutters, leaning into my side.

My cheeks flush bright red and my stomach gets filled with butterflies at his claiming statement, while Ren laughs. “But not me, right? If I find my perfect pack tonight like Haven has found hers, I don’t want you interfering.”

“We’ll interfere,” Tic says casually, making my best friend gasp in outrage. “You’re important to Haven, which means you’re important to us. We won’t let you go off with unknown alphas, only to have you chopped up into tiny pieces.”

Ren blinks at him in shock while I feel another swell of affection for these men. “You did not just say that! No one is going to chop me up into little pieces, Atticus Calloway!”

“That’s right, they won’t, because we’ll keep you safe,” Jude says, snuggling her a little closer. When he catches me looking though he drops his arm and his cheeks flush. “Sorry, button. She feels like a little sister, so I want to hug her.”

I wave a hand and shake my head. “It’s fine.”

“It’s not,” Creed grouses from next to me.

I open my mouth to argue. Hugging Ren is one of my favorite things to do, and she’s very good at it. Makes you feel warm and protected and loved. I wouldn’t begrudge anyone feeling that. But our server comes up and the next few minutes are filled with ordering food and drinks.

By the time she wanders away to get started on our drinks, the moment has passed. So I let it drop. I don’t need to convince Creed it doesn’t matter to me. It only matters that Jude and Ren know I trust them.

As soon as the waiter retreats, Hale reaches into the pocket of his jacket, pulls out a square black velvet box and slides it onto the table in front of me. “Let’s do presents.”

My stomach lurches. “Oh, you guys didn’t need to get me anything.”

“Pfft,” Jude scoffs. “In what world would we not get our omega gifts on her birthday? Really?”

Ren slaps a hand over her mouth to muffle her squeal and I’m feeling the urge to do the same thing. But I just barely refrain.

The prime pokes the box closer to me, and I reach for it with trembling hands. It’s undoubtedly jewelry. Probably a necklace, based on the shape of the box.

They’re all staring at me as I flip open the box and then stare down at the contents.

I try to hide the disappointment at Hale’s gift, and I think I do an alright job of it. But this isn’t me. At all. Well, I guess maybe it’s the me that Frederick Bell molded, but it isn’t the me that I actually am. It’s too gaudy, too diamondy. I’m not a fan of diamonds. But how would he know that?

It’s not like we’ve talked about my jewelry preferences. It’s generally accepted that girls love diamonds. Still, he might have noticed that I don’t wear a lot of jewelry. The items I do wear are small, simple white gold pieces with a single gem, if any.

This feels like something a businessman would have his assistant buy for the girl he’s fucking. A way to prove he’s rich, while also spoiling his current side piece.

Which I guess maybe it is.

I look up and catch Ren’s eye, her cocked eyebrow. A subtle shake of my head and then I smile at Hale. “It’s beautiful. Thank you.” I don’t say I’ll never wear it. Where would I wear it? I can’t put it on before a gala or an event with my father. He’d wonder where I got it.

On my other side, Creed grunts, and Hale glares at him. Neither of them actually say anything.

Jude whistles and slides his gift across the table to me. “Here, open mine. You’ll like it a thousand times better.”

I try not to let it show, but I like it a thousand times better than Hale’s. It’s a journal, with a foiled cover and gilded edges, with a set of pens that match. “I noticed you’re always scribbling in that notebook of yours. I thought you might like something a little fancier.”

I have spent a lot of time writing in my journal, wanting to capture every moment of this week so I don’t forget it. So I can open the pages to this time of my life and read about it in my darkest moments.

But more importantly, he watched my habits this week, learned about them, about me and bought a gift based on that. “Thank you, Jude. I love it.”

“My turn,” Tic hands over a thin envelope. “It’s maybe not as exciting as a diamond choker and a journal.” Is it my imagination or does he sound nervous? Tic never sounds nervous.

When I open the folded paper and pull out what’s inside, tears fill my eyes. Happy tears. The kind I very rarely get to cry these days. “Tic.”

He shakes his head and rubs the back of his neck. “It’s silly.”

“No,” I lunge forward and grip his hand in mine across the table. “No, it’s not silly. It’s really thoughtful.”

“What is it?” Ren asks, eying the envelope like she might rip it out of my hands.

I laugh. “It’s a coupon for six cooking lessons with Atticus Calloway.”

Hale frowns. “That’s not a real present.”

I smack him on the chest with the back of my hand. “Stop it. It is a real present.”

“It’s not! He could just give those to you anytime.”

“Yes, and he’s giving them to me now for my birthday.” Hale seems agitated by this, but I don’t understand why. Still, I want him to feel better, so I say. “I asked him to teach me. This is him giving me what I want.”

Hale’s still frowning, but his face softens when he glances at me. “Really?”

I nod. “Yes, really. I don’t have the faintest idea how to do anything more than boil water in an electric kettle. All my meals are prepared for me by a nutritionist. But it’s something I’ve always wanted to learn. Tic has the skills and the patience to teach me.”

“I was thinking we could do one lesson a week for the next six weeks,” Tic says, bracing his elbows on the table. “We’ll start with something simple and move up in complexity.”

I nod, but disappointment gnaws at my stomach. I won’t be able to adhere to that schedule. Or to any schedule, for that matter. My ability to sneak out depends entirely on when my father goes to one of his late running dinners. Something tells me Tic isn’t going to be okay with me calling him up at seven pm and telling him I have the evening free for a lesson. He’d need more time to prepare than that.

“Haven?” Creed sounds like he’s seen something in my expression he doesn’t like, but I don’t know what to tell him.

“I’ll have to check my schedule with my father and see what nights I have free.” Is what I finally say. “If that’s okay?”

Tic looks as disappointed as I feel, but he nods, squeezing my fingers. “Of course.”

Sensing I need a subject change, Ren blows out a breath and takes a sip of her drink. “Now that we’ve got that settled. You already got your presents from me, so that just leaves…” She slides her gaze toward Creed, who is clenching his fist tight around his glass, his knuckles going white. Concerned he might shatter the glass and hurt himself, I brush my fingers over the back of his hand.

He flinches, pushes to his feet and swallows what’s left of his drink in one gulp. “I’m going for a smoke,” he mutters before striding out of the restaurant.

“You should go after him,” Hale says, leaning into my side so his lips brush the shell of my ear with every word.

I frown in the direction Creed stalked away in. “I think he probably wants to be alone.”

He chuckles, low and dirty. “No, little mouse. He wants you to follow him. He wants you to corner him. And he wants you to make him break. Trust me.”

I shake my head. “If he wanted me, he would say it, Hale.”

“He has said it. Every time he looks at you, I can feel it, Haven. He wants you so bad I can’t see straight.”

I shake my head again. Even though I can’t deny Hale’s experience through their bond. How can I? I’m not him. “Why won’t he just say it then?”

He brushes a kiss over my temple, down my neck. “Because he’s a stubborn motherfucker, and he wants to be sure he’s doing right by you.”

That makes my heart throb. He is doing right by me. All of them are.

“You want him, don’t you?”

“So bad,” I breathe. “It’s an ache.”

Hale nudges me out of the booth gently, uses his hands on my hips to point me toward Creed. “Then go get him,” He swats my ass, making me squeal as I walk away.

“Asshole,” I hiss, rubbing the spot, but he only laughs and points toward the door.

While I’m not a fan of being treated like a puppy being ordered to go outside, I do want to see Creed. I want him, full stop. I need to have a conversation with him to suss out what he’s feeling. If he really doesn’t want to be with me, it’s better for me to know now than further down the line.

I find Creed in the alley behind the restaurant. I hesitate at the mouth of the narrow lane, not sure if he actually wants space or not.

He’s leaning against the brick wall, head tilted back. Smoke curls around his body from the cigarette between his fingers. My mouth goes dry as he lifts it to his lips and takes a long inhale. The movement of his lips intrigues me, makes me wish I was that cigarette. Weird, I know, but there’s no logic in an omega’s instincts.

I want Creed’s mouth on me, plain and simple.

I can’t understand why he won’t give me what we both want.

“Go back inside, baby girl,” he murmurs without looking at me. He looks so freaking handsome in his suit, the faint glow from the streetlight shining in his hair.

Maybe now isn’t the time to have this conversation. Maybe I should wait until we’re back at the pack house, or hell… maybe it should just never happen. But a part of me needs answers. Needs to know what he’s thinking, what he’s actually feeling.

In the park, he said he wanted me, but he needed me to be sure. Really sure before he took the next step with me.

So it’s time to tell him I’m really sure and see what he does with that information.

My heels click against the asphalt as I move closer to him, and he cracks open one eye at the sound. “Haven, please, go back inside.”

At his pleading tone, I pause, four feet of distance between us. “If that’s what you really want, Creed, I’ll do it. I’ll go inside, finish my dinner, eat a slice of cake-”

“I do really want that.”

“And when we get back to the house, I’ll pack my bags and go home.” Home. I say the word, but it doesn’t feel right anymore. Frederick Bell’s house isn’t my home. It hasn’t been for a long time. The Calloway pack house feels more like the place I’m supposed to be. But I will not force it if I’m not wanted.

“Like hell you will,” he growls out, chin dropping so he can pin me with an angry look.

I lace my fingers together in front of me to hide their trembling. I’m so fucking nervous about this, about what he’s going to say.

“I won’t stay if I’m not wanted, Creed. I don’t want to get more attached to you, to your pack, if it’s not going to… If this isn’t going anywhere.”

He stares at me hard, jaw clenched tight like he’s keeping words in. It’s clear he’s not going to say anything, so I keep talking. “It’s already going to hurt so much, leaving now. I can’t imagine what it’ll be like next week, a month, a year.” I meet his gaze steadily. “So, if you already know that you don’t want me, Creed. I need you to tell me now.”

“They want you,” he says hoarsely. “They want you to stay.”

I nod. “I know. But I will not be the reason your pack breaks up. I will not stay with them only to have you leave in the end.”

Creed barks out a sharp, short laugh. “Oh, baby girl. You’re already the reason our pack is breaking.”

I blink at that, at the bitter way he says it. I’d suspected that there were fractures in their bonds, but to have it confirmed is… well, it’s heartbreaking for more reasons than one.

My chest goes tight and I dip my chin down, dropping his gaze. “Okay. I’m sorry. I’ll go.” The words come out choked with tears and my trembling is even worse. Walking away from them is going to be the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but I meant what I said. I won’t be the reason their pack breaks.

“Fuck, Haven,” Creed growls, flicking his cigarette away. Then he closes the distance between us and wraps me up in his arms. His cheek rubs over the top of my head, bathing me in his rich petrichor scent. “Don’t cry, okay? Please don’t cry. I can’t stand it.”

My hands curl into his suit jacket and I do my best to sniff away the tears, but it doesn’t help. “I didn’t mean it,” he murmurs. “It’s not your fault. Nothing is your fucking fault. We weren’t in a great place to begin with.”

“But I make it worse, don’t I?”

He doesn’t answer, which is answer enough. “I’ll go,” I say, nodding against his chest.

His arms tighten around me. “No, you’re not going anywhere. It’s not you, baby girl. I promise. It’s not you. It’s that…” he pauses, gathering his thoughts, choosing his words carefully. “Hale and I, we have different opinions on the situation. He wants to just dive right in and damn the consequences, and I want to be sure. I want you to be sure.”

“You said that before. But, Creed, I am sure. I promise you I am.”

His big hand strokes up and down my spine. “You were about to walk away from us.”

It’s a struggle not to stomp my foot in frustration. This man is so confusing. “Because I don’t want to hurt you! Any of you! And if removing myself from the situation helps with that, then I’ll do it.”

“I believe you,” he says. “You’d tear your own heart apart to keep us from hurting.”

“I would.”

He’s quiet for a moment. There’s only the sound of our breathing and the soft rasp of his palm sliding over the fabric of my top. “I’m sure about you too, Haven,” he whispers. “So sure. But there are things you don’t know-”

I pull back to peer up at him. “I don’t care.”

“You should. You will .”

“There are things you don’t know about me, Creed. We’ve known each other for a handful of weeks. Of course, we don’t know everything about each other. But if you feel for me what I feel for you, then don’t we owe it to ourselves to try… really try?”

His eyes drift closed, and he presses his forehead to mine. “We do.”

Those two words light me up like a sparkler on the Fourth of July. A giddy bubble builds in my chest at his confession. “So you want me to stay?”

“I do. So bad.” He sounds fucking tortured by the fact. I don’t want him to feel that way. I want him as giddy as I am.

My fingers trail over his stomach to his belt. He pulls his head back in surprise. “What are you doing?”

“Celebrating?” I drop to my knees as I pull his zipper down. He watches me for a moment, then flicks his gaze around the alley.

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea, baby girl.” But the way his cock jumps when I brush my fingers over it tells me he actually thinks it’s a great idea.

I curl my fingers in the elastic of his boxer briefs, toying with it. “If you really want me to stop, I will.” Because I’m not a monster who’s going to force him into a situation he’s not comfortable with. “I just thought since your pack mates have all marked me with their cum, you might want to as well.”

Creed’s mouth parts, and he swallows thickly before looking around again. “Fuck it. Take my cock out, baby girl. Leave your lipstick smeared all over my dick. Mark me up like I’m gonna mark you.”

I happily comply, leaning up to get closer to him and my hands pull him out of his tight boxer briefs. And then I curse quietly. Because… well, he’s huge. I should have known from the size of his body that he’d have a cock to match, but, good god, I’m not sure I’ll be able to get him in my vagina, never mind my mouth.

Creed chuckles. “Don’t worry, little omega, I’ll fit wherever you want me to. We’ll make sure of it.”

I look up at him and curl my hand around his girth. “I want to believe you, Creed, really I do, but look at you!” There’s conservatively an inch and a half of space between my thumb and the tips of my fingers.

Another of those dirty chuckles. “You’ve just got little hands.” He curls one of his much larger hands around mine and his fist wraps around his whole cock, engulfing my fingers right along with it. Using our combined grip, he taps against my lips with the tip of his cock. “Come on, be my good girl and open up. Swallow me as deep as you can.”

It’s almost like a dare, like he thinks I’m going to back down from this, or like he thinks I’ll be lucky to get my mouth around even the red, glossy tip. But I’m determined and I don’t have a gag reflex so he’s in for a surprise.

I start slow, timid, my tongue flicking out to taste his pre-cum—a strange, but delicious combination of cool rain and salt. He groans at the first touch, his freehand moving to cup the top of my head gently, carefully.

There’s tension running through him and I can tell he’s holding himself back.

At the moment, I appreciate it. I wasn’t joking about him having a monster cock. He does. And while I’m pretty confident, I’ll be able to take most, if not all, of him, I want to work up to him fucking my throat with abandon.

But we’re going to get there. Quick .

With that in mind, I bob my head forward, testing how that feels, if I can go farther. Another groan from him has me feeling bolder. “Fuck, baby girl,” he hisses as I swallow him down until he bumps the back of my throat. “Fuck, just like that.”

I pull back and lick from root to tip, sucking on the end like a lollypop before swallowing him again.

His thumb brushes the corner of my mouth. “You look so pretty on your knees, swallowing my cock, baby girl. Hold it right there. Yeah, just like that. Now swallow. Fuck yes .”

Something told me he wouldn’t let me be in control for long, and that’s okay. I don’t need to be. I just want him to feel good, to know I’m the one doing that to him. His head tips back, slams against the brick wall. “Fuck, Haven. I’m gonna have to fuck your throat. I’m sorry about that, but you just… You feel too fucking good. I need you to choke on my cock.” He drops his head down and looks at me. “Can you do that for me, baby? Be a good girl and let me fuck your face hard and fast?”

I hum my agreement and nod as best as I can. He doesn’t wait for more than that from me, sliding both of his hands to the back of my head. “Relax for me, baby.”

Impossible, but I understand what he means. I drop my mouth open wider and relax the muscles of my throat as he moves, fucking into me hard and fast, just like he said. I slide my hands onto his thighs and dig my fingers in for balance, and he grunts.

“So good, baby girl. So fucking good. I can smell your slick. You wet for me? You wet from me fucking your throat? Is your little clit throbbing?” I mewl around his cock and he pauses in his motion just long enough to pull out. “What was that, baby girl?”

I don’t answer fast enough and he growls, slapping my cheek with his hard length. “When I ask a question, you answer me, understand?”

“Yes, alpha,” I agree immediately, clenching my thighs together. “I’m so wet. All for you.”

He grunts and prods at my mouth with the tip of his cock. “Open.” I do, and he slides in again. “Touch your little wet pussy for me, baby. I want you to come while I choke you with my dick.”

He doesn’t have to tell me twice. I flick the button of my jeans and slide my hand under the waistband of my panties. I can’t get that good of an angle with my pants still on, but I don’t think it’s going to matter. Not when I feel so wound up already. Not when I’m pretty sure I could have come with no stimulation at all.

“I want two fingers in your little pussy,” Creed orders, and I move to obey, thrusting them inside me with as much fervor as I can.

“Fuck, baby girl, just like that. You gonna come for me?”

I mewl again, hips thrusting in time with his. I’m not really able to fuck my fingers. But it doesn’t matter.

“ The fuck ?” Creed growls. One of his hands leaves my head for a moment, before its back, maybe a little gentler than he had been. “I’m sorry, baby girl,” he mutters, and I don’t understand the apology. “I can’t stop. I can’t fucking stop. Gotta come. You need to swallow it down for me, every drop of my cum, just for you.” I moan and he curses. “Fuck. Fuck. Yeah. Come for me, Haven. Come for your alpha.”

I cry out, the sound muffled by his cock. Pleasure flows through my body, making my back arch and stars explode behind my eyes. Creed’s grip on my hair tightens, his hips pound into my face once, twice more, and then he stalls out with my lips pressed against his knot, the tip of my nose almost brushing his pelvis.

Saliva drips from my mouth, making a mess on my chin and splattering on the knees of my jeans. “Haven,” he groans out, just before he comes. I try to swallow down every drop like he wanted me to, but it’s so much. Sticky white substance joins my saliva on my chin and my jeans.

Creed’s breathing heavy, chest heaving as I pull my fingers from inside me and use my other hand to stroke a soothing path up and down his thighs. His fingers in my hair tighten and release rhythmically, his cock softens in my mouth.

I stay where I am, ignoring the ache in my knees, sensing he needs a moment to gather himself. His hands loosen their grip, stroking through my hair gently, before he pulls his cock from my mouth and tucks it away.

When he looks back at me, he doesn’t meet my eyes, focusing instead on the cum on my chin.

He whips it with his thumb and slides the sticky mess between my lips, onto my tongue. “Swallow that down.”

I do.

Still not meeting my eyes, he helps me to my feet, rights my clothing, buttoning my jeans and smoothing my shirt. The longer he goes without really looking at me, the more uncomfortable I get. “Creed?”

I stumble back when he flinches. Shit. He didn’t actually want this. He was humoring me. Trying to give me what I wanted, to give his pack what they want. But he clearly is regretting it now.

“I’m sorry,” I choke out, backing up a step again. Hardly registering when his eyes shoot up to mine. I shake my head. “I shouldn’t have… I’m sorry.”

Quick as a flash, he’s on me, wrapping me in his arms, rocking me gently. “No, baby girl. No. You have nothing to be sorry for. Other than sucking my damn soul out of me through my cock. You did so good. So fucking good. You hear me?”

I tentatively coil my arms around his waist. “You regret it.”

He sighs into the top of my head. “I regret that we did that here, in an alley where anyone could see. You deserve better than to kneel on cement and have my fuck your face like that.”

“But I liked it.”

He chuckles. “I could tell.” He keeps one arm wrapped around me but uses the other to lift my hand to his face. The one I not so long ago had inside me. Holding my fingers under his nose, he takes a deep inhale. “Mmm, smells like mine.”

“It is yours. All for you.”

His dark gray eyes blaze with lust and his cock hardens between us, poking into my belly, and he sucks my fingers into his mouth, slowly. His tongue laves at my skin, at the tender join at their base, flicking with the tip. He pulls my fingers from his mouth, just as slowly, before groaning. “You taste like a goddamn dream, baby girl.”

“Really?” I ask breathlessly. “I always thought I would taste like I smell.”

He rolls his forehead against mine. “You do.”

I try to jerk away but he doesn’t let me, keeping me pressed against him. “And you liked it? Most alphas at the academy told me it was too spicy, too smoky. Not enough sweet.”

He growls and kisses me again. “You’re sweet enough, Haven. Don’t let anyone tell you different.” He pulls back, looking down at me. “I made a mess of your hair.”

I shrug and beam up at him. “That’s not a big deal. I can just put it in a pony-”

I cut off when he spins me around and starts gathering my hair in his fist again, using his fingers to scrape it up and back. Into a ponytail, I realize, like I was going to do.

“Holder?”

I dig into my pocket and produce an elastic band. Creed drops a kiss to my shoulder when he’s finished, right over my birthmark, lingering for a moment, before he sighs. “I suppose it’s time to face the music.”

My brow wrinkles as I let him lead me back into the restaurant, not understanding what he means by that or the trepidation in his tone.