“Hey,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows. Alfie returned the silly face with a shy smile, his little hands twitching as they grippedthe harness across his chest. “What do you think we’re going to see at the aquarium?” He asked, trying to ignore Patrick’s inane snorts of amusement.
“Fish,” Alfie replied, which actually made Oliver smile because he supposed it was a stupid question. “And pirates.”
“I told him there’s a pirate ship ride at the aquarium,” Patrick said, finally containing himself. “The kid has no idea what a pirate is, but he liked the sound of the skull and crossbones.” Something about the way he said ‘the kid’ irritated Oliver for no explicable reason. Though he supposed there wasnothingthe alpha could say that wouldn’t annoy him.
As the lights turned green, Oliver put the car in gear and slipped back into disassociated contentment. That was until he felt a gentle tugging at his throat. His top lip peeled back when he realised Patrick had reached across and slipped a finger into the neckline of his shirt. Wrenching his head away, his eyes slid across to the alpha, realising he was staring at him with a self-satisfied grin.
“Just checking,” Patrick said, pressing the tip of his tongue between his teeth.
“Checking for wha—” Oliver’s eyes widened as he cut himself off.The bite. Patrick was ‘checking’ whether Oliver had the bite. A bolt of anger shot through him, and it took all his self-restraint not to elbow the social worker in the face. Calmly, he pulled the car into a layby and switched off the engine. Turning to Alfie, he said, “Patrick and I just need to check something, okay, buddy? We’ll be back in two seconds.”
Alfie stared at him before giving a little nod and turning back to the video. The corner of Oliver’s eye twitched as he glared up at Patrick. “Get out,” he said, the words so quiet they were almost inaudible.
“What?” Patrick said, gaze turning cold.
“Get out of the car. Now.”
“No.”
Oliver didn’t give him time to protest as he unbuckled both his and Patrick’s belts and got out. Marching around to the passenger side, he yanked open the door and hauled Patrick out by his collar. Which was no mean feat, given that Oliver was a good half-head shorter than the alpha. Dragging him round to the rear of the car, he shoved the social worker against the filthy window so Alfie couldn’t see.
“Let me make one thing absolutely clear,” Oliver hissed, pressing his knee to the side of Patrick’s groin. “If youevertouch me again, I will not only break your fingers, I will rip them from their fucking sockets.”
If he’d expected the man to cower in fear, he’d been wrong. Instead, the same smug smile curled his lips. “There he is,” Patrick said, expression growing heated. “There’s the fiery little sigma I knew all those years ago. Nice fangs, by the way.”
“You do not know me, Mr Coletta. You have never known me.”
Patrick smiled, bearing his own sharp teeth. “I know you whine like a bitch in heat when you’re on your knees. I know you have a little freckle on the inside of your left thigh. And I know how your arse looks when I’m balls deep inside it.”
Oliver dropped his chin. “Degradation doesn’t work on me, Mr Coletta. Not anymore.”
Patrick sniffed and shifted uncomfortably under Oliver’s knee. “Pity,” he said, jaw tightening as Oliver pressed harder. “You could be so beautifully submissive back then.”
Oliver snarled, which was a mistake because the hostility only widened the alpha’s smile. Matteus’ words echoed in his head—He’ll do something, or say something to get your back up. Don’t jeopardise your job for that fucking tool.So, relaxing his jaw, he removed his knee from the alpha’s crotch, brushedoff his coat and got back into the car. Alfie’s eyes were on him immediately, so Oliver gave him a reassuring smile.
The rest of the journey was agonising as he struggled to tune out Patrick’s incessant humming, and he was almost relieved when the big blue sign for The National Aquarium rolled into view. “Look, Alfie, we’re here!” Oliver said, drawing forth all the enthusiasm he could muster. The boy looked up, eyebrows disappearing behind his messy blonde hair.
“Are we going to see the fish now?” He said, voice barely above a whisper.
“I certainly hope so.” Oliver replied, pulling into a parking bay and turning off the car. “What do you think we’re going to see first?” He turned to peer at the boy between the front seats, but Alfie just shrugged in return.
“I hope we see a big shark,” Patrick said, snapping his teeth and making Oliver flinch. Alfie looked between the two of them, frowning.
“We should probably take our badges off,” Patrick said, sliding the lanyard from around his neck. “We don’t want to draw any unnecessary attention.”
“Right,” Oliver replied, pulling off his own badge. Because he couldn’t really argue with that.
He held Alfie’s hand as they walked across the car park, it was so tiny and cold that Oliver couldn’t help but squeeze it a little. To his surprise, Alfie squeezed back.
“You have warm hands,” Alfie said, his massive brown eyes making Oliver’s heart ache.
“And yours are freezing, sweetheart. Like two ice cubes!” Alfie giggled and wrapped both hands around Oliver’s fingers. “Brrr,” Oliver replied, pretending the touch had sent a shiver up his spine. Alfie’s bobble hat bounced as they walked along.
“I feel left out,” Patrick said, sidling up to Alfie. “Hold my hand too?” And he did, which made Oliver feel physically sick atthe thought of people thinking they were a happy little family. Thankfully, the aquarium was quiet that day, with only a handful of people milling around.
The woman behind the desk beamed at them as they pushed through the huge double doors. Turning her attention to Alfie, she said, “Hello cutie. What’s your name?”
Alfie flinched and let go of Patrick’s hand. He gripped Oliver’s arm, shuffling behind his legs and peering at the woman from behind his hand.Still doesn’t trust women.
