Page 13 of Alpha’s Conquest

Casey was equally distracted, it seemed, because two minutes passed before he noticed he wasn’t alone. He stumbled to a halt when he finally spotted me standing in the kitchen. His sweaty shirt tumbled out of his hands and onto the floor. Hmm... If he was my omega, he would never be allowed to wear clothes while we’re at home. He quickly pulled his pants back up. Given our current situation, it was better for him to be covered. Those boxers weren’t even hiding the fact that his cock was as hard as mine.

Was that because of me?

“Hey,” he said, distracting me from evil thoughts, the ones that begged to yank those pants back off. “Mr. Wilson.”

Mr. Wilson? I should spank his ass raw for that. He gulped, and my hand tightened on the bowl I was using. I almost broke it just to stop myself from crossing the room and punishing him. “Don’t call me that.”

“S-sorry,” he stuttered, a blush forming on his skin. God, it was everywhere, all over his neck and face. So pretty. As pretty as that dusting of hair on his belly. “Is there something else you would prefer me to call you?”

Growling, I slowly shut my eyes, trying to push out the thoughts, trying to remain calm. I knew exactly what I wanted him to call me. But there was no way I could say it, not when he belonged to someone else. “No, there is not.”

He asked me what I should call him, and I responded with a half-assed answer. I could barely think straight now. He riled me up again, just like he had last night when he fondled my foot during dinner.

With wide eyes and a red face, he gathered his clothes and escaped upstairs. He should be afraid. Afraid of what will happen to him when I finally snap and stop playing nice.

He returned fully dressed, with his pants barely containing an obvious erection. I knew the feeling. Every movement of his body made me throb all over. He stared at the pill caddy on the counter, his scent becoming more intense by the second. I could barely breathe with it in my nose. Before I even went to bed last night, I found his inhibitors and placed them on the caddy with the others. If Casey walked around my home with his pheromones unsuppressed, I might truly lose my mind.

“Take two,” I told him before he’d even swallowed the pill in his hand.

“Excuse me?”

I whirled on him, digging my nails into my hand until it hurt. “Are you trying to destroy my control, omega?” He was trying to do something, if that sour expression on his face was anything to go by. I’d put those pills in his mouth myself if I had to.

“Case!” Marshall’s voice in the stairwell made us both jump. Casey fumbled with his pill bottle, almost dropping it before he set it on the counter. My son appeared at the bottom of the stairs. He went straight to Casey, slinging his arm over the omega’s shoulder and planting a kiss on his head.

It stabbed me right in the chest, seeing another Alpha touch what was mine. Casey belonged to my son, but that didn’t erase the feeling I got when I looked at him. Every inch of me knew that little omega was meant to be with me.

Shaking my head, I pushed those thoughts away and carried my bowl over to the stove. The griddle was nice and hot, and I carefully dropped a big spoonful of pancake batter onto the hot metal. It instantly sizzled and bubbled up on the surface. As soon as the top got that waxy sheen, I flipped the pancake over with a spatula. It was perfectly brown from the seasoned cast iron. Few things in life could make me forget about everything else, but cooking had always centered me, no matter what was going on.

I poured a second spoonful and tried not to pay attention when Marshall tugged Casey into the hallway. The sweet succulence of his smell danced around me, teasing me, making it near impossible to ignore. It made me feel hungry, like I was starving and he was a feast waiting just for me.

The pancake almost burned before I flipped it over. I struggled to concentrate on anything else as I watched them vanish down the corridor. What were they doing? It wasn’t my business to pry. Casey could do whatever he wanted. They returned hand in hand, and I spun back to my cooking, hoping they hadn’t noticed me staring.

“I need a shower,” Marshall announced. “Case, could you make us some coffee?”

“I’ve got it,” I told him, but he was already going up the stairs and disappearing on the second floor. A moment later, the shower turned on. Damn it. He’d be gone for at least ten minutes.

I tried to avoid looking at Casey, but I could sense him standing at the other end of the counter. He poured a second pill out before downing them both with a bottle of water from the fridge.

Good boy.

My entire body tightened at the thought of leaning over him, whispering in his ear how proud I was that he obeyed me. I almost snapped the spatula in half trying to stop myself. Focus on the pancakes. Pretend he’s not there. But it was impossible, and I knew it.

Casey started making the coffee, spooning the grounds into the French press, filling the electric kettle and turning it on. The minutes ticked by as the water boiled, and he poured it into the French press to steep. The rich aroma of fresh coffee mingled with the smell of cedar and rain. His pheromones should’ve dimmed by now. His scent was still as strong as it had been before he took the inhibitors. The last pancake sizzled in the pan as he poured himself a cup of coffee. I nearly strained my neck trying to watch him without turning my head.

“Take more,” I said to him, flipping the pancake onto a waiting plate.

“I already took twice my normal dosage. Why should I take more?”

I turned to him, staring down at those wide brown eyes. He was so tiny in my kitchen. The counter only reached his ribs. It would be so easy, so easy, to press him against it, my hips touching his back, leaving his neck exposed. If he belonged to me, I would lick and suck that tender spot on the back of his neck to soothe his pheromones, in a way only an Alpha could do. Wanting to take care of him had nothing to do with my burning need to fuck him, and that made everything worse.

“Because,” I said, my voice a deep growl. “Your scent is driving me mad, omega.”

His eyes narrowed sharply while his lips pressed together in frustration. His defiance was almost as cute as his obedience. “Casey,” he said firmly. “My name is Casey. Stop calling me ‘omega.’”

His mouth protested my nickname for him, but I could smell the burst of pheromones whenever I called him that. Should I tease him about it? Remind him of what he was trying to deny? Would his skin blush all over again if I did? I was already flirting with danger being this close to him, and somehow, I wanted to make it worse.

That doe eyed look on his face as he stared up at me. The bead of moisture on his lower lip that he slowly licked away. The deep blush forming on his cheeks. I couldn’t look away. I didn’t want to look away. If I touched him, would he shy away from me? Or would he welcome my caress, the way I wanted him to? The way I hoped he would?