Page 57
“You’re late,” says a voice that invades my dreams and haunts my fantasies.
The door parts wider to reveal Tyler fucking Park, apparently. His black hair is shiny, tidied into a natural part, a little longer on top, and he’s dressed casually in a long-sleeve tee with the research department’s logo on it. He’s totally different from the lab professor I’d expected, or the surfer I tried to rescue.
“That was my fault, Boss,” Reese says. “I got a little excited, and now we have brunch plans.”
Tyler’s dark eyes pin me in place. There’s a bite mark scar on his neck. The floor spins. My vision blurs and my knees buckle. I teeter back on my heels.
His scent surrounds me as he lunges forward and catches me. “Why do we keep meeting like this?”
“I’m not in—”
“Wait, you two know each other?” Reese asks.
“Yes,” Tyler says at the same time as I say, “No.”
Tyler lowers me onto a small couch with his scent on it. Maybe he naps here on long workdays?
“Reese, can you get him something cold to drink from the kitchen?”
“On it.”
“Are you okay?” Tyler asks.
“Yeah. You just surprised me.”
He frowns. “You weren’t expecting me?”
“Dr. Park doesn’t really have a social media presence. You’re a very mysterious scientist.”
“He’s not mysterious. He just hates taking pictures,” Reese says, returning with a bottle of water and a can of… Grackle Juice?
Am I dead? Is this hell? Grackle Juice comes in cans too?
“Thanks, Reese.” Tyler takes the water bottle, unscrews the cap, and passes it to me. “Drink.”
My hands shake as I lift the bottle to my lips.
He frowns again and swoops in to take the bottle after I take a sip. “Good omega.”
Reese silently mouths Good omega? “Should I… Shall I… I should go, right?” He says. “I mean, if that’s okay with you, Elliott? I can stay and chaperone, if not.”
“He doesn’t need a chaperone,” Tyler says.
“Thanks, Reese, but I’m good.”
Reese nods, relief donning his features. He pauses at the door, hand on the handle. “Door open or closed? Cracked?” He models each option for us.
“Closed, please,” I say.
“We’ll talk later,” he says, then leaves. I wonder if he’s the kind of omega that will run to the water cooler or take this secret to the grave.
Tyler passes me the bottle again. “Take another sip. Have you eaten?”
I hide behind the bottle of water and drink. I’m not telling him that all I’ve had was a nourishing breakfast of coffee and generic Adderall.
“Are you sick?”
I shake my head slowly, then stop. I feel seasick on land.
