Chapter 9: Lennox

Chapter Nine

Lennox

R ush is dangerous. There’s no doubt about it. He’s a charmer. The fact he came to check on me seems to turn my entire day around.

It also doesn’t hurt that he keeps me company while I eat. I’m not even upset when he indicates he has to leave to get back to work.

I wipe my mouth with my napkin and toss it on the tray. He brought me a turkey sandwich with fries, and it was the perfect comfort meal.

He stands, glancing at the makeshift nest I made on the bed.

My cheeks heat as I push my chair back and move to my feet. The pillows are piled up on the sides, and I only kept one under my head, so I could toss the blanket over the pillow walls and feel safe and closed in.

Omegas nest when we’re close to our heat but also when we’re upset or overwhelmed.

My gaze falls to my feet as my toe dances around the carpet. He can clearly tell how much it bothered me to see Thorne.

It’s very tempting to step a few feet away to try to block the nest from his view, but he’s so much taller than me that it wouldn’t help, anyway.

“That looks cozy,” Rush says, making a grab for my hips. The contact is unexpected but not unwanted. His massive hands cradle me from my backside to my hip bones, but it’s the way his thumb brushes over my pelvis that makes me feel strangely melty inside. “Are you struggling without a nest?”

I shake my head as I stare at his T-shirt. That way, I don’t have to see whatever look he’s giving me.

“The bed-and-breakfast is limited.” He moves a hand under my chin. His scratchy fingers brush my jaw as he tilts my face up until our eyes meet. “Not a single room comes equipped with a nest, but if you need a safe place to decompress, the house Bear and I live in has one.”

The little crinkly lines appear at the edges of his eyes as he smiles.

My stomach flutters, and my knees wobble as I breathe in his musky bergamot scent.

Holy crap.

I forgot what true attraction to another human being feels like.

Rush’s knuckle runs down my cheek, and those ridiculous butterflies in my stomach seem to migrate to my chest. Sharing their nest with me feels like kind of an intimate offer.

“You’ve got The Exchange coming up, but I just wanted you to know it wouldn’t bother us a bit if you needed it.” He shrugs a muscular shoulder. “That was a very no-pressure offer.”

I blink up at him under my lashes as I fight the urge to bury my nose in his chest to soak up his scent.

“To nest at your house,” I say to make sure I’m not misunderstanding something.

He smirks. “That is what I said.”

There’s something light about Rush’s energy that seems to soothe my anxious edges.

I smile while he grins back.

I’d say he’s been very dangerous to many women’s self-control.

My shoes clack against the sidewalk as I come to a stop in front of the entrance to Dry Dock. It doesn’t appear to be open yet, which makes sense. I’m sure they’re busiest in the evening and late at night.

Bear’s jacket lies tossed over my arm as I try to build up the courage to go inside.

There’s every possibility that he isn’t here yet. I’m pretty sure I could back track my way to his and Rush’s house, but I thought it more likely that I would find him here.

I’m dressed more appropriately than I was last night, and I’m still freezing.

The biting wind laps at my face, and it gives me the courage to tug open the door.

It’s unlocked, at least.

Some old-school rock plays through the speakers as I follow the hallway down.

It spills into a huge room with the bar straight ahead. Booths and high-top tables line the room, and it looks completely different with all the overhead lights on.

Once I step out of the hallway, the roof gets significantly higher, and it’s only now that I realize this place has a second floor. I’m not sure how I missed that last night. It was way darker when I was here, though. That’s probably why I didn’t see it then.

“You’re a menace to society.” Bear’s growly voice echoes around the spacious room. It takes a few more steps before I spot him. He’s up on a ladder with a string of Christmas lights dangling toward the ground.

Shera is a few feet away, tugging on the plug at the end of the string. Luckily, it’s not plugged in, or she might get zapped.

Bear curses under his breath, climbing down the ladder, but even when his feet are back on the ground, he’s still massive. He might be the tallest man I’ve ever seen in person.

“Drop it,” he grunts, bending down to try to steal the cord from the playful dog. “I swear, one of these days, I’m going to get tired of your shit and rehome you to Lenny down the street. You know, the guy who loves cabbage so much that it’s all he smells like. He also swears all dogs and cats are meant to be vegetarians.” He laughs, standing with the released string of lights. “That’s what I thought, you spoiled mutt.” He loops the light string over his forearm and bends down, scratching Shera’s head.

She spots me and lopes around him and toward me.

It’s hard because I’m not afraid of her. She’s good natured and not aggressive, but it still makes me anxious.

I take several large steps backward, and my head cracks against the brick wall.

“Shera,” Bear growls. “Enough!” He strides toward me as I raise a hand, rubbing at the back of my head. “Are you afraid of dogs? Why didn’t you say something last night?”

“I’m not,” I fib. “Not if they’re friendly, and I know she is.”

He towers over me as he comes to a stop. His massive hand flies to cradle the back of my skull, and I tug my hand away to check for blood.

There’s not any.

“Do you always lie to appease others?” he asks, tenderly palpating the back of my head.

Sometimes. Especially if it feels like they won’t like me if I’m truthful.

“Little one.” Bear has the deepest, growliest voice I’ve ever heard. He sounds angry, but I think that just comes from the deep timbre of his tone.

It still makes me feel bad that he yelled at Shera. It’s not her fault I’m cautious around big dogs.

“I’m not afraid of her. She was heavy breathing on my neck when I woke up. We bonded.” My knees bend a bit until I can pet her giant head.

“Yeah, she’s spoiled as hell. She likes to lie with her head on a pillow, so I often wake up with her face in mine.” He pulls his fingers free of my hair and examines them the same way I did my own. “No blood, but you might have a goose egg. It’s hard to tell with all that hair.”

“I’m fine.” I give Shera a last pat and stand up. My face heats as I realize I just embarrassed myself in front of this gorgeous hunk of alpha for a second time. “I brought your coat back, but I wasn’t able to wash the socks, so?—”

“Come on, let’s get you some ice.” He doesn’t give me the chance to object. His massive hand wraps around my wrist, and he tugs me along.

I don’t know why I find it so endearing, but my instincts are obsessed with his caregiver vibes.

Bear grabs ice from a big machine in the back before tossing it into a plastic zipper bag and wrapping it in a dishrag.

I’m sure this area is for employees only. It seems like a storeroom, of sorts, for all the alcohol necessary to run the bar.

We pass back through the kitchen and walk down the hallway.

Bear tosses open his office door and guides us inside. He nods to the couch as Shera runs in and curls up on the dog bed in the corner.

I’m sure we were in here last night. It’s strange to have vague memories but not be able to hold on to any specifics.

He takes his coat from over my arm and tosses it onto a hook by the door before coming back and taking a seat on the dark brown leather sofa.

It’s full size, with two other seats. Although, he does take up most of the middle cushion with his expansive shoulders.

His long, blondish-brown waves fall around his face as he looks up at me.

Bear isn’t classically handsome like Rush or even Thorne. His jaw is too rugged for that. He has strong features that would overpower any other face, but it all works for him in a way that makes my brain melty.

It’s not just the outside, either. He took care of me last night. The trash can by the bed, the notes laid out, even the jacket and socks. It shows so much of who he is as a human being.

He even checked my head again in the kitchen, where the lights were brighter. The brick didn’t break the skin, so the ice might be overkill, but I’m not going to fight him taking care of me.

“Do you plan to stand there all day?” he asks, stretching back against the couch cushions.

The T-shirt he’s wearing pulls tight over his muscular chest as his knees spread even farther.

He’s definitely manspreading, but I could take the free cushion on the far end…

I just really don’t want to.

My stomach flutters, and I hype myself up to climb directly into his lap.

I’m still in the process of battling with my extremities to actually move when he stretches forward, grabs my hips, and pulls me to stand between his spread thighs.

That’s an invitation if I’ve ever seen one.

I climb right into his lap without an ounce of shame.

I’m an omega, dammit.

The prospect of cuddling a mountain of an alpha is too appealing to turn down.