Page 56 of Omega's Secret Guardian
“Oh.” Storm scrubbed his face with his hands. “Mind if I come along?”
“If you want. You could sleep in instead.”
Storm shook his head resolutely. “No. I’m coming with you.”
He eased the rest of himself out from under the bed. Linus only noticed then that Storm’s T-shirt had a science pun on it, and he was wearing boxers. Nothing else.
For all that Storm had talked about Linus’ protection, the fact remained that he had actually settled in to sleep. In that cramped storage space under Linus’ bed.
Linus felt kind of bad.
He took a quick shower and got dressed. Then he puttered around the kitchen, making two cups of coffee. Storm shut himself into the bathroom.
“Alright, I’m ready,” Storm said when he strode out in his leather jacket and pants.
“I made you coffee.” Linus slid the mug over and pulled out a plate from the microwave. “And leftovers.”
Storm beamed, his gaze so warm and affectionate that Linus’ heart tripped. “Thanks, Professor.”
“I’m not really your professor anymore, you know.”
“You’re still a professor, though. A very amazing one.”
Linus blushed.
They ate their breakfast hurriedly. Storm fished out his boots from the umbrella stand, and plucked his helmet from a corner that Linus hadn’t looked too closely at.
He seemed so... practiced... at blending into Linus’ apartment. Just how long had he been doing this protection thing from the shadows?
And why did it feel as though hebelongedhere?
14
A SPECIAL DELIVERY
Together,they made their way to the parking lot. Storm had parked his motorcycle on the other side of the building; Linus lowered his car window, listening as the bike roared faintly to life.
Storm rode over and pulled up just ahead. Linus flashed his headlights once. Then they headed onto the streets and took the empty highway out of Meadowfall.
It was nice, having Storm’s motorcycle flank him on the drive.
The sun was just starting to rise. A faint glow spread out from the horizon, reaching over the trees as shades of pink and gold painted the clouds.
Storm pulled ahead of Linus, suddenly. His turn signal came on, and he gradually slowed to a stop on the road shoulder.
With a frown, Linus pulled up behind him.What’s wrong? Why are we stopping here?
Storm dropped the kickstand on his bike and walked over, flipping up his reflective visor. Linus rolled down his window.
“Hi,” the alpha said. He rested his forearm on Linus’ window sill. “It just occurred to me to ask: Do you wanna chat on the way there? I have a Bluetooth headset installed in my helmet, so I can take calls while riding. If you wanted to call me for anything, or if you wanted a friendly voice for the duration of the drive, I can do that.”
Linus blinked. He’d never had anyone accompany him on these deliveries before. “I... I could put my phone on speaker.”
Storm beamed. “Then I’ll get a call set up, make sure we’re connected before we get back on the road.”
He left and returned with his phone; Linus’ phone began to ring. So he answered the call and placed it on speaker.
“Hi,” Storm said, his voice echoing a moment later from Linus’ phone. “Looks like we’re set. Are you ready to get back on the road?”
