Chapter Two
Wyatt
It bugged me sometimes that our modern society was so different now. In the past, alphas had ruled everything. We’d been the only ones in charge, and omegas had been second to us. But now omegas were allowed to advance as quickly as their skills could move them forward. They were even sometimes promoted ahead of alphas.
It was hard for me to accept the new ways when an omega was as cocky as Blade. Yes, he was excellent at his job, but his attitude grated on me. That was why I’d stupidly let him get the best of my temper a few hours ago. I needed to hold my anger in better and let him think he was in control. Maybe then he’d be less of an asshole.
Maybe.
He’d hidden in his room since we’d had words. I was glad I didn’t have to see him, but my stomach growled as dinnertime approached. I felt weird about riffling through his kitchen in search of food, but I also didn’t enjoy the idea of starving. I hated having to rely on Blade for anything. I was usually the one in control, and this situation was ridiculous.
When Blade walked into the room, I schooled my face so that I didn’t show any angry emotions. He wore shorts and a T-shirt, and his casual attire took me by surprise. I’d never seen him in anything but his work clothes, and my gaze roamed his lean tanned legs and his muscled biceps. He had a much nicer body than I’d have suspected. When I realized I was basically checking him out, I looked away, embarrassed by my overly curious scrutiny of his body.
His voice was stiff as he spoke. “Since this is your first night here, I’m going to cook us dinner. I think it’s safer than ordering in or going out.”
“Agreed.” Ordering takeout could sometimes give things away. If you normally placed small deliveries and all of a sudden you were ordering a lot more food, anyone watching could catch on you had company. Neither of us had really had time to figure this situation out yet, and we needed a night to get a game plan in place.
He stood in front of me, his hands on his narrow hips. “Any food allergies I should know about?”
“No.”
“Anything you hate?” His gaze flickered. “Besides me.”
“Nope. Just you.”
He clenched his jaw and moved into the kitchen, muttering under his breath.
“Did you say something?” I needled.
He didn’t respond. He opened cupboards and banged pots and pans as he moved around the small kitchen. I found a perverse pleasure in annoying him, and so I stood and followed him. I leaned against the counter near the stove and watched him searching for utensils.
“Have you ever done this before?” I asked with a smirk.
“Yes.” He scowled at me and continued riffling through his storage.
“You don’t have to cook. We can just eat cereal.”
He shot me an impatient glance. “I’m cooking dinner so shut the fuck up.”
“Calm down. I’m just trying to be a considerate guest.”
He snorted. “Yeah. Right.”
When he bent down and his shirt rode up, my gut clenched at the sight of his bare flesh, and that same intense desire to see his body came over me. Something seemed to stir deep inside at the sight of his smooth skin, and I looked away, feeling startled. The sensations that gripped me were similar to lust. My body buzzed with excitement, and my cock warmed. I’d never felt anything remotely like that toward another man before, and I was shocked to the core.
My pulse was elevated, and the wolf inside me seemed aroused, as if I was hunting something. I felt weird and light-headed as I struggled with the bizarre impulses rolling through me. I moved away from him and went into the bathroom to splash water on my face. I leaned on the counter and stared at my wet features. My eyes seemed unusually bright, and my face was flushed.
I thought about our fight earlier in the day. Maybe that little spat had awoken my wolf. Sometimes an argument, the scent of blood, or a physical altercation could stir up instinctual feelings that were hovering in the subconscious. I sucked in a long, calming breath and tried to push down the uncomfortable feelings. I absolutely wasn’t into guys, and even if I had been, if there was anyone in this world I had no interest in fucking, it was Blade Carr. I couldn’t stand him.
I knew hiding in the bathroom all night wasn’t an option, so I went to sit on the couch. As time passed, I began to feel a little calmer and my pulse returned to normal. I was still vaguely disconcerted by what I’d experienced. I checked my phone, noticing it was a full moon. Perhaps that was the explanation for my odd feelings.
I jumped when Blade appeared in front of me. He held a chilled beer out to me. “Thirsty?”
“Thanks.” I took the beer, feeling self-conscious.
He sat across from me, sipping a bottled water. He set the water on the coffee table and studied me with a serious expression. “We need to find a way to get along.” His voice was soft but guarded.
From the way his pulse beat swiftly at the base of his throat, I could see he was as uncomfortable with me as I was him. “What do you suggest?”
He lifted one shoulder. “Maybe we can talk our differences out.”
I chuffed. “You mean like therapy?”
His cheeks tinged pink. “I mean communication.”
“I didn’t have a shitty childhood, so I’m not sure what you’re hoping to discover about me.”
His mouth hardened. “I’m not trying to find out about you. I’m trying to figure out how we can spend two weeks stuck together where neither of us kills the other.”
I took a long swig off my beer, and I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. “It’s not really a mystery. We don’t like each other.”
“Yeah. But why?”
“Because you’re a dick?” I arched one brow.
He narrowed his eyes. “And you’re a colossal asshole.”
Irritation nipped at me. “Sometimes people just don’t like each other.”
He shifted his position, and because of the way his shorts folded, I got a view of his briefs. It was just a glimpse of white cotton, but something washed through me at the thought of his cock nestled behind that thin layer of material. A wave of lusty hunger hit me, and my cock pressed my zipper as I pulled my gaze away.
What the fuck is wrong with me?
“We’re both intelligent men. We should be able to work through our differences.” He spoke earnestly, completely unaware of the internal struggle I was having.
I finished off my beer and kept my eyes pinned over his head on a little cat clock over the sink in the kitchen. I was confused and freaked-out by what was happening to my body. I’d never had any interest in men, and now I couldn’t look at my least favorite person without getting a hard-on. Was it something I’d eaten? Was I having a nervous breakdown?
“Did you hear me?” he asked, sounding irritated.
“Yes.”
He exhaled. “You’d rather just hate each other forever?”
“I don’t think talking will work.”
“Well, of course you know best,” he grumbled.
I licked my lips and took a chance on glancing at him. His eyes were glittery and his face flushed. My gaze fell to his full lips, and that startling hunger nipped at me again. What would he taste like? I was consumed with the desire to know how soft his lips were and if he would use tongue when he kissed.
In a desperate attempt to get my mind off his mouth, I blurted, “I’m put off by your arrogance. You think you know more than us alphas.”
“Maybe if you guys showed us a little more respect we wouldn’t feel the need to prove ourselves constantly.”
The husky sound of his voice sent tingles through my body. Something was horribly wrong with me. My wolf was trying to push to the surface. The need to hunt and take what I wanted was overpowering. I was breathless with desire, and shockingly, Blade was the object of my desire. Sweat prickled my brow as I struggled to fight back the wolf inside. I grunted and clutched the arm of the couch, closing my eyes and clamping down on the aching instincts inside of me. When I opened my eyes, he stared at me with a puzzled expression.
“Are you okay?” He wrinkled his brow.
I bit the inside of my cheek and tasted blood, but at least it distracted me enough that I could get control of my bizarre urges. “I have a headache.” I actually did have a pounding headache.
“Oh.” He stood and went into his bathroom. When he returned, he held out two pills. “Ibuprofen.”
“Sure it’s not poison?”
He rolled his eyes and dropped the caplets into my palm. “These take pain away. If I was going to murder you I’d do the opposite.”
I glanced at my empty beer bottle.
He grabbed his water and offered it to me. “I don’t have any diseases.”
“Oh, did they find a cure for asshole-itis?” I took the water and washed down my pills.
His mouth hardened. “Careful you don’t choke now.” He turned and headed back into the kitchen.
I stayed where I was, wanting to keep my distance from him until I could figure out what was causing these weird lusty urges toward him. Male-on-male sex wasn’t unusual in our society, and it was almost always alphas and omegas who hooked up. But I’d never personally been drawn to another male wolf.
I watched him as he moved around the kitchen trying to fix dinner. He looked completely lost, as if he’d never been in his own kitchen before. I didn’t know much about his personal life. He’d dated a few alpha females in the business, but as far as I knew he’d never been married or anything serious.
I’d been engaged once about two years ago, but it hadn’t worked out. My fiancée, Sheena, had been a schoolteacher, and she’d wanted a more normal life with babies and dinners at five. I hadn’t been able to give her those things. This business wasn’t conducive to healthy relationships. We worked long hours and sometimes traveled with our clients for weeks at a time. Eventually Sheena and I realized we had completely different ideas of what our future should be, and we’d split.
I felt better thinking about Sheena. We’d had a healthy sex life and that comforted me, especially after the weird feelings I’d had toward Blade earlier. Many wolves my age were already married. Perhaps being around Blade and arguing about old wolves versus young wolves had stirred an instinctual need in me to find a mate. Maybe it wasn’t actually that it was Blade who attracted me, so much as he was the only wolf here and I was feeling pressure to mate.
My mother had been nagging me a lot lately to produce an heir. I didn’t have any other siblings and our line’s survival was in my hands. But I was only forty, and I’d heard of wolves well beyond their sixties still pumping out babies. If I didn’t find the right woman in the next decade, I’d think about allowing my mother to set up an arranged marriage. But for now, I wasn’t going to worry about it. You couldn’t force these things.
I was more relaxed now that I’d thought things through. I studied Blade as he measured things and frowned at what looked like a recipe book. I was surprised he was bothering to fix some complicated meal when he could easily have just whipped up some eggs and been done with it.
My lips twitched as I watched him wipe his brow, smearing flour across his forehead. He glanced up and his blue gaze sparked with annoyance when he saw my little smile.
“Are you laughing at me?” he demanded.
I scowled at his surly tone. “It’s hard not to. You look about as competent as a blind man playing darts.”
He narrowed his gaze. “See? No respect.” He pressed his lips tight and kept his gaze on the stove.
I felt a twinge of guilt. I thought about how he’d tried to talk to me earlier to work out our differences. I had to admit that had been a very mature thing to attempt. But to be honest, I’d disliked him for so long, I couldn’t imagine us ever being anything but enemies.
He dipped his finger into one of the steaming pots and sucked the sauce off. That annoying arousal from earlier washed through me and my cock twitched with interest. Shit. I needed to figure out what the hell was wrong with me and quick. I couldn’t take two weeks of lusting after a man I couldn’t stand.
Being around Blade at all was aggravating enough. But lusting after him, well, that was unacceptable. I decided after dinner I was going to visit Tumblr and immerse myself in sexy Playmate porn.