14. Erin

Chapter fourteen

Erin

My aunt's voice echoes in my head, teasing me like she would do if she were here. “Walk of shame?” she’d ask me and smirk knowingly around her coffee cup.

I tiptoe into the cabin and reach for the light. My hand hits warm flesh, and I jerk away. The light comes on, and I find Finn standing there topless, scowling at me. A huge yellow lab opens its mouth in a happy smile, somehow stealing all Finn’s power.

“Where have you been? We were worried.”

We? I look around and spot a half-naked Locke leaning against the bedroom door. His jeans are undone, and he’s sporting some interesting bruises.

I walk in and wiggle my fingers at him. He laughs and walks into the kitchen, high-fiving me as I flip on the kettle.

“Good night?”

I nod and turn so I’m leaning against the counter. “Yup. You?”

“Great night.”

“Excuse me, I exist. I am a person.”

“A very hot person with a very talented tongue,” Locke purrs down at me. “You need to do a test drive of this one.”

I tilt my head, looking over Finn with interest.

“Where’s our bad boy?”

“Went home.”

I don’t let it show how much I dislike that answer. I make three coffees and hand them out. Finn checks the time and yawns.

There is something adorable about his disheveled appearance. He’s relaxed, I think with a soft pang in my chest. He has his shirt on, but it’s open, and he only has boxers on. I like this look for him.

“Have you decided to ask me age appropriate questions?” I purr over my coffee cup.

Finn grumbles. “We were worried. Were you okay?”

I wait three seconds, drawing it out. “You were worried, and I was fine. I was with Shane.”

Finn, who was halfway across the room, stumbles. “Shane? Shane as in my Shane, Shane?”

My humour fades as I study him. “Why is that so hard to believe?”

Finn doesn’t even think to lie, he just blurts out what’s on his mind. “He hates everyone.”

“He doesn’t hate everyone. He’s just an introvert. There are millions of those living everywhere.”

Locke pulls himself up on the cabinet beside me. “Was it good?”

I smile up at him. “So good.”

“I’m jealous.”

I snort a laugh. “Says the omega who fucked the town’s golden boy.”

“Oh, yeah, I did that.” Locke leans in and inhales deeply. “You do smell extra good now. Mocha in the forest.”

Finn finally gets to his coffee and takes a mouthful. “I have to go. I’m supervising the kids’ games today.”

I peer at him. “You work all day doing town stuff, run the bar at night. When do you take a day off for you?”

He blinks at me. “I can’t. There is always work and things. They need me. Come on, Karma.”

I throw a hand up between us. “You have an unhealthy relationship with this town. Your codependency will send you to an early grave.”

Locke growls. I shoot him a considering look. He just smiles apologetically.

“It’s not codependency…its-”

“Codependency. Unhealthy. But by all means, go supervise the children.”

“You had it with your work,” Finn accuses and pats his dog's ears.

“I did. I do. To be fair, I depend on my job to keep me sane, to give me things I can’t get out of life,” I say with a saucy wink in Finn’s direction. Jeez, he looks good when he blushes.

“Like what?” Locke asks.

“Well, like challenges. Achievements. Milestones. Satisfaction. Gratification. All of that.”

“Ah. So, what normal people might get from relationships and family?” Locke says with a smirk.

I lift my coffee cup in salute. “Exactly.”

It only occurs to me half an hour later when we’re in the car to wonder why Locke seemed to understand what I was talking about with Finn.

Why had his eyes darkened? Why had his voice dropped? And why had his scent changed so quickly?

The children are loud. I have never had much to do with kids. They aren’t present in my life anywhere. I’ve never really thought about having them. It’s just been understood that I won’t. Career was far more important to me. Do I actively dislike them? No. I just feel neither for them nor against them. I just don’t see myself as a parent.

But I’m learning lots of things about myself this week.

I watch Locke and Finn run the race with the children, and it seems like a possibility. Could I put down roots in a town like this? Live out here in their insanity and be happy?

I can see it.

Bray’s leaning beside me on this fence rail, his hand on my ass, saying something dirty that makes me laugh, while Shane looms, his presence so strong and sturdy. Locke and Finn aren’t chasing children, they’re chasing our children.

It’s a different life. One I’ve never imagined.

But what would I do out here? I am a lawyer, a woman with the thrum of the city in my blood. What would I even do? Can I slow down? Could I find happiness in the humdrum of small town life?

I push it all aside. It’s a fantasy. In two weeks, when my holiday ends, I’ll go home, back to the corporate world and my shark-infested streets, and I’ll forget all about this place like a dream that fades as I open my eyes.

Besides, there is no Bray whispering dirty things in my ears, and Shane is far away, only the ache between my legs to remind me of how sturdy and strong his attention really is.

But Locke.

I watch him now, holding a football in his hands, racing away from the kids. Laughing. He’s something else.

My scent match.

We only get one, and only if we’re lucky. It would be hard to walk away from him, but he’s prepared to walk away from us.

He’s running,” I say to myself. From what?

I lean on the rail as the wind whips my dress around my ankles. It’s a cool day, with thick white clouds.

We’re up the other end of the small town today. There’s a huge park with tall trees and a stone stuck halfway out of the ground with a plaque on it. A man had saved the town from fire three times and then helped to train everyone in fire safety and the town defense. It’s apparently something that continues to this day.

There’s a weekend barbecue and another festival.

On the other side of this plaque is a huge oval where visiting football teams come to play. That’s where this event is being held. The grass is green and lush, and my heels keep sinking too deep, so I’ve stayed on the sidelines.

I sigh heavily. This has all happened so fast. A scent match. A pack. If anyone was ill-suited to a pack, it’s me. I like my space. All evidence is that I like to be alone. I’m abrasive and confrontational. Or so I’ve been told. Hell, the only person who came close to sticking around more than a day broke and started crying, calling me a cold, callous bitch.

I turn, though I’m not sure where I’m going. I just know I need to get out of here. There’s something feral and frantic inside, clawing at my insides, that same feeling that has hounded me all my life. Like I want to scream, but I know no one would hear me. I’m done. I just need…

Bray is standing there, staring at me with concern. He’s exactly what I need, and as soon as I lay eyes on him, everything inside me, that maelstrom of unhappiness, goes still. He spreads his hands helplessly. I don’t care; I drink him in. The singlet he’s wearing is white and shows off the huge muscles of his shoulders. He doesn’t have all the tattoos I’d imagined. Just one of a dragon on his left shoulder. He pulls me towards him with just a look.

“You disappeared.”

I nod. “I needed to speak to Shane.”

He glances away. “Everything okay?”

I almost smile, but I don’t dare. I move towards him, and when I get close enough, I reach out and touch his forearm. Two fingertips on tanned skin that covers hard muscle. I can smell mint and grease from his shop.

“Everything is fine. We just needed to clear the water.”

Bray scowls, but it clears the longer he stares at me. “You smell divine.”

I grin as he leans in, breaking his frozen state. He puts his nose to my neck and inhales.

I swear I feel the tip of his tongue flick out against my skin, but he pulls back, and I’m not sure.

“Do you want to go to dinner with me?”

I cock my head to the side. “Me?”

“And Locke.”

I glance back at Locke, who is still running around with Finn. “I’d like that, and I can let Locke know. Though I’m not sure what his plans are.”

“Tell Finn and,” he clears his throat, “Shane.”

I reach up, putting my fingers lightly on his chest, and when he ducks down, I kiss his cheek.

“That’s all I get?” He whines and pouts prettily.

“If you want something, use your words!” I say lightly and yank on his singlet.

He stumbles towards me, stopping an inch from my lips. “Kiss me like you’ve been dying to kiss me.”

I melt. “That will not be hard. I have been dying to kiss you,” I say honestly.

I wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him like he asked me to. I kiss him and let him taste Shane on me. With a desperation that is unlike me, I show him the feel of my desire for Finn and Locke. But more than that, I put all the desire for him into my kiss before I sink back down to my heels and lick my lips.

He inhales slowly and deeply, and only then does he open his eyes. He grabs me by the back of my neck and pulls me back into his arms.

“Where did you come from?” he asks, and it seems to be an honestly baffled question.

“Chesterfield.”

“I don’t have money, Erin, and I’m a joke in this town. I have nothing to give you. Or him. Or Shane. I am a one night fun fuck.”

I tilt my head back so I can see him properly. “I have money. Also, I own my own house. I have all the things. Cars. All that. What I don’t have is friends. Or people I trust to be naked with. People I could have fun with and walk away from an experience with a feeling of satisfaction instead of needing to go and finish myself off.”

I take a breath.

“In two weeks, I’ll be heading home. I want to have some fun. Trust me, I don’t care what everyone says about you. I don’t care what you don’t have. Bray, I trust you, I trust my instincts, and you have what I need. Further, you have what I want. And, really, who gives a flying fuck what anyone else wants?”

I stun myself at my tirade. I trust my instincts again. Wow, that is a big step for me.

Bray strokes my cheek. “I care about what Shane and Finn think.”

I leave that comment well enough alone.

“Do I look like a woman who allows a man to gatekeep who fucks me or not? Let alone a town of people whose opinions mean squat to me?”

He shakes his head, a slight smile on his lips. “No.”

“Precisely. You are my choice. Well, one of them. And you will all get along nicely for my omega or I’ll make you pay.”

Bray’s smile returns fully, lighting up his face for the first time since I’ve seen him. “Oh, yeah, how?”

I smirk. “There are so many ways. I’m not going to ruin it for you, but suffice it to say I have ways to make you suffer that you couldn’t even prepare for.”

“Maybe I enjoy suffering.”

“Maybe you do,” I whisper back. “But maybe you like fucking even more. Maybe you’d prefer to be buried balls deep inside me, fisting my hair and making me scream.”

Bray’s nostrils flare. “Yeah, that sounds good.”

“Mmm, so how about we all behave ourselves for a couple of weeks and have some fun?”

Bray closes the distance, pulling me tight up against his body with one arm, holding me tight, his lips mash against mine.

The kiss is wild, and I can feel us both growing out of control. I grab his hair and yank on it, gasping when he slaps my ass.

“Well!”

We draw apart, and I turn my head, finding a woman walking past us, trying hard to keep her eyes off us and failing miserably. A young couple walk hand in hand and keep their heads down like they are embarrassed. They look vaguely familiar.

“Another strike against you, Brayson Langley,” I purr and touch my lips lightly to his.

“This crime, I’ll gladly cop to, fuck, I want to do it again.”

“We could-”

“Erin!”

“Why does everyone interrupt us when we get together?” I whisper.

“The universe is a cruel mistress,” Bray whispers back.

“Tonight, you and me, we need to explore this situation between us in privacy with a more detailed exploration.”

Brays’ eyes twinkle as he pulls back. “Tonight. I’ll meet you at your cabin.”

“Sold!” I kiss him again and then yelp when someone tackles us both.

“Ah-ha. Look what I caught, Finnoghal.”

I frown at Locke’s new nickname for Finn, but then Locke has wormed his way in-between us, and I’m floored by the sudden possessive feeling that rises inside me.

This. My omega with my alphas. This is what right is.

Why is that terrifying?