Page 20 of Alpha’s Conquest

TWELVE

Adam

Adam

After a long day at work, I just wanted a shower and a hot meal. As soon as I walked into the house, Casey’s scent invaded my senses. God, it was so thick in the air, I could barely think. Just the smell of his pheromones made my cock stiffen, and it throbbed for attention as it strained against my zipper. He could’ve at least sprayed the house before he left.

“Marshall?” I sniffed the air, trying to catch his scent, but Casey’s pheromones were the only smell in the air. Heady rain, and smoky cedar. “David?” No answer. Good. They weren’t home. That meant I had some time to myself before…

I took a few steps into the living room, and Casey’s scent grew stronger. He was here. Alone. I should’ve turned away. Left the house. Anything to keep myself from temptation. But I was already walking towards the pheromones without even thinking about it.

He was in my sunroom with my plants all around him. The combination of his scent, the warmth of the sun, and the greenery created an intoxicating aroma. It had only been a few hours since breakfast, but seeing him again felt like we’d been apart for years. Everything I promised, everything I told myself while I worked. The restraint. Staying calm. Keeping my distance. They all went out the window when I saw the sunlight on Casey’s face. It was all I could do to not cross the room and hold him in my arms.

He spun, his eyes as wide as saucers when he saw me standing in the doorway. Looking like a startled deer, he rushed towards me and stumbled over his own feet, falling face first onto the tile floor.

A knot formed in my stomach, and I darted to him, hauling him off the floor before he could move. Blood dropped from his nose and lip, but I could only see small cuts from hitting the floor. I hoped that’s all it was.

“Damn it, Casey,” I growled under my breath as I cleaned the blood off his mouth. He gazed up at me, that familiar doe-like expression on his face. He had no idea how much I wanted to ravish his body when he looked at me like that.

“I… wasn’t snooping,” he said.

Raising my eyebrow, I held out both hands for him and helped him stand. Snooping, huh? That was cute. Not that I enjoyed my privacy being invaded, but he was curious about me, as I was about him. “Where’s Marshall?”

“He wanted to meet up with some friends.”

Frowning, I almost squeezed his hands before letting them go. “He should’ve taken you with him.”

“It’s fine. I didn’t want to go. He’s allowed to have time to himself, you know.”

“If my mate doesn’t want to go somewhere, I don’t go. And that’s not what I meant. He should’ve taken you with him, because now I’m struggling to find a reason not to kiss you.”

There it was. That timid expression, as if I’d just shocked him out of his shoes. So cute. Pheromones trickled out of him, growing stronger with every second. He moved back, trying to escape the temptation we were both feeling, but he wasn’t going to get away from me so easily. Thrusting my hand out, I grabbed him by the throat, holding him just enough to keep him still, but not enough to constrict his breathing.

And he… let me.

He made no move to stop me. His pulse quickened underneath my fingertips, and his pupils dilated as he stared into my eyes. He swallowed hard, the lump in his throat pulsing down my hand. His skin was so soft and smooth. My fingers brushed the back of his neck, right where his pheromone center pulsed with heat.

I bent over him, tugging him by his neck to meet me, and our lips hovered together in a dance of desire and temptation. The thought of kissing him, of taking him as my own, was so overwhelming I could barely control myself. Was it his scent? His eyes? The way he looked at me, as if he wanted to bolt away and tug me closer all at once?

What made me hunger for him in this way?

What made me forget I had to hold myself back?

He struggled to speak for a few seconds, starting and stopping a few times before he got something out. “Whose scent is that?”

Tilting my head, I caught a new emotion on his face, one hidden beneath his lowered lashes and that hazy glow in his eyes. Was he jealous? “What scent?”

That glow flitted into anger for a few seconds, switching back and forth like a dance. He had a fire inside him, one he wasn’t willing to unleash. “I can smell an omega on you.”

I growled over those kissable lips, breathing in his delicious, tempting scent. As if any omega could hold a candle to Casey. “He’s just a friend.” This close, I could smell Marshall on him. A subtle scent of sex. I hated it. I hated knowing my omega had been touched by someone else. It filled me with a rage I had never known. I was jealous, too. Jealous that my son had what I wanted. I tilted Casey’s head to the side, smelling every inch of his neck, burying myself in his fragrant skin. So hot and soft. No other scent remained on him. Good.

“What are you doing?” he whispered, cutting off with a hoarse squeal when my hand tightened on his throat. He whimpered, waiting so patiently for me to relax my grip. He wasn’t even fighting me. If anything, his scent grew stronger the harder I squeezed.

“Just making sure I can’t smell anyone on you. You’re not the only jealous one.”

“I’m not jealous.”

“Don’t lie to me, or I’ll show you exactly what happens to disobedient little omegas.”