“The old lady I was taking care of has found a cheaper carer. I’ll need to go job hunting.”
“Online,” I growl.
“Online, or ask at the gym, at the tattoo parlor, at the?—”
“I’ll find you a job.”
She gapes at me. “What? No, you don’t have to...”
“I said I will.” This time, I manage to get up, though my legs and lower back are cramping, muscles stiff from the odd position I spent the night in. Mission set, I can finally move away from this magnetic girl. “I’ll be in touch.”
“You...? Okay. Sure.” She also gets up, slowly, her dress riding up her legs, giving me tantalizing glimpses of the shadow between them. “Don’t you want, I don’t know, a coffee? A tea? Some water?”
“I’m good. I’m...”
I’m losing my train of thought, that’s what I’m doing. Losing my mind. This small omega is curvy in all the right places. Nice, heavy tits, nice round ass, shapely legs, thighs I can hold onto while I fuck her, and that sweet face, the key to unlocking the secret door to...
My heart?
What the fuck. I almost laugh out loud. Get real, Ace.
And get out now.
10
COCO
I watch him leave, fighting a new surge of panic.
Stop it, I tell myself. Enough. You’re fine. Nothing happened.
You don’t need a knight in white armor to keep saving you. A silver fox in a tailored suit, either. You can’t let this little incident terrify you. Take this weekend and regroup. Buy a pepper spray. And get back into the saddle.
That’s the way to do it.
So the moment the door closes on Atticus’ powerful back, I make myself get up and brew some coffee.
Then I scrounge up some chocolate cake and cream.
And then... I break down and call June.
Not proud of myself for this. It’s just for now, I repeat to myself, just for today. I’m still kind of shaky, and I don’t want to be alone.
She picks up after a few rings. “Coco. Are you all right?”
Of course that’s the first thing she’d ask, and relief floods me. “Yes... no. I don’t know. Could you...?” I swallow hard. “Could you come down for a bit?”
She says nothing for long seconds. They feel like minutes. Hours.
“June?” Anxiety closes my throat. “Please?”
“So now you want me with you?”
“What? June...” I sigh. “Of course I do.”
“Or should I call Atticus?”
“Come on, June. What are you saying?”
