Chapter Six

Claire smelled of Joshua. When Bryce walked into the shop after receiving Joshua’s text message, he found Claire and Joshua mid-kiss.

She looked unnerved but tempted.

No jealousy sparked, no desire to tear the other male away. Not with Joshua, not with Kaidan. Instead, contentment swamped him as he watched the pair, as happiness showed on Joshua’s face.

The man deserved happiness.

Bryce was the boss between the three of them, his position at their job leading him to take charge. It left him with an even stronger desire to take care of both of his friends.

They’d suffered and lost too much, and they deserved happiness. They deserved someone in their lives who could soothe old wounds and make them realize they had futures.

While Bryce hadn’t wanted a female, while it didn’t appear on his agenda, even he couldn’t deny the temptation Claire posed for them all.

The flush on her cheeks was downright adorable.

At least, it was until that fear swam back into her eyes. They’d researched to find anything about her past, but nothing came forward. She used a fake name, one she’d lived under for a while, but not the one she’d had at birth. All his searching hadn’t revealed her past, hadn’t told them who had hurt her or why she feared them so. The reasoning seemed clear enough.

Someone had fucked the poor girl over. The person had frightened her enough that she carried the scars with her still and whatever had happened, it had to have been over eight years before, when she’d set up her current name. That was a long time for the fear to still seem so fresh.

Joshua stepped away from Claire, then turned toward Bryce. “She’s eaten, but she needs some sleep.”

“She can speak for herself,” Claire snapped from behind them. At least she didn’t flinch after the spark of rebellion.

Bryce nodded at Joshua, ignoring the omega’s little barb. “Thanks. I won’t be in until late tomorrow, and Kaidan will be here, so you’ll be on your own in the morning.”

“At least it’ll be a quiet morning.” They exchanged quick goodbyes before Joshua left, the click of the door as it swung closed loud in the silence.

Bryce turned to face Claire, the need to see and study her overwhelming. No matter how the day had passed, the time since she’d left, he’d not stopped thinking about her. He’d caught himself picking a cushion from the couch to draw her scent into his lungs, to calm the part of him that needed her.

Could he be bonding? He wasn’t the sort, never had been. Still, the way his chest tightened as he looked at her, the way his fingers itched to run across her cheeks, to thumb over her bottom lip, to test the fullness again.

Maybe.

He took a step forward, body moving before his mind caught up. He woke up when she jerked backward, fleeing in a quick jump.

Don’t frighten her.

He raised his hands, palms out. “Still skittish? And you seemed so comfortable with Joshua.”

Her chest rose when she took a deep breath, then her back straightened. “Maybe I like him more than I like you.”

Her snark had his cheek twitching, fighting a smirk. “You must. I can smell him on you from here.”

“Doesn’t that make you jealous?”

“Jealous? No, not particularly.”

“You always share your omegas like cattle?”

He shrugged, crossing his arms to keep from reaching for her. His damned body seemed to have a mind of its own, and he found he didn’t care for his lack of control. “Cattle? Is that how you see yourself?”

She huffed, a flush on her cheeks that had more to do with frustration than arousal, he’d guess. “I guess what’s there to be jealous over. One of us is the same as any other, right?”

Bryce shook his head at her assumptions, at the way she thought he saw her. Was there even a way to get through that many layers of armor? “You aren’t quite like anyone else we’ve dealt with, Claire. It’s put us in an unexpected position. We’re all in uncharted waters here.”

Her laugh came out hard, as though she’d never heard dumber words. “Right. Poor you, the alphas who won’t leave me the hell alone. I feel really sorry for how your life is being turned upside down.”

“You should. Trust me, I hadn’t planned on being here, on having my friends distracted by some omega who smells as good as you do. This”—he waved between them—“was not what I’d planned, and I am a man who plans everything.” He nearly said more, nearly explained how he prided himself on control and she stole his from him. That would only serve to further frighten her, though, so he ended the conversation. “Come along. You’re dragging your feet and it’s late.”

Did she always work so late? It didn’t seem the shop had enough customers to warrant the hours. He was hardly a stranger to long hours himself, having spent many nights on the couch in his office. Not that he could anymore, not with how it smelled of Claire. He couldn’t get a wink on that couch again. He’d only end up hard and desperate for her.

But why did she do it?

Claire nodded, then stilled. Ah, there was that rebellion. He’d seen it in omegas before, the way the desire to obey an alpha warred with their own temper.

Because fuck knew omegas had tempers. Anyone who thought differently hadn’t spent any real time around them, hadn’t seen what they were capable of. People liked to think alphas were dangerous, but omegas?

Oh, they were a handful all their own.

She opened her mouth to argue, but a yawn escaped instead.

“Sheath your claws, omega. You can fight with me tomorrow. You’ll put up a better fight after a good night’s sleep.”

It took fifteen minutes of arguing before Bryce managed the stubborn omega into the cab of his SUV. She’d complained, claiming she always took a bus home, that she didn’t need a ride, that she could manage on her own.

Bryce had refused to hear a word of it, and he suspected her exhaustion won out.

The loss had left her in the leather seat of his SUV, inhaling through her mouth as if that would lesson how his scent affected her. Still, no matter how she tried to pretend it was otherwise, the way she would lock her eyes on him, a spark of interest there, said the same thing.

She wanted him. She just wasn’t willing to give in yet.

She’d gone silent in the car, her gaze locked on some point beyond her side window. Lines appeared on her forehead, those eyebrows of her shifting toward one another.

“You’re sure thinking hard.” Bryce’s voice cut through the darkness, and she jumped at it.

Did she forget I’m here?

“Why are you so jumpy around me?”

“Why shouldn’t I be? I don’t know you.”

He used the turning signal, guiding the SUV onto a side street. He’d gotten her address from his search, which meant he didn’t need to ask her where she lived. When she didn’t comment on it, he figured they were both playing stupid. “Well, it seems to me, I’ve done nothing but help you. I helped you through your heat when I could have let you suffer. I didn’t turn you over to the cops or the registry when no one would have blamed for it. I’m still looking out for you even though it’s pretty damn clear you’re keeping secrets. You’ve got no reason to be jumpy. I haven’t hurt you.”

“Yet.”

“Hmm?” He lifted his eyebrow at her rebuttal.

Claire swallowed, a loud gulp full of nerves before repeating herself. “Yet. You haven’t hurt me yet, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that alphas do what they damn well please. Alphas are like cocked guns. Get shot enough times and you stop trusting them.”

The suggestion was less than complimentary. Does she really see all alphas like that? Just things that will eventually tear her life apart?

“Yet you seemed fine with Joshua.”

“He’s charming.”

Bryce lowered his eyebrows, casting a glare through the windshield as if that would help the sting. Everyone liked Joshua. How could anyone not, with his good looks and his easy smile? Still, to have Claire compare them and find him lacking left his temper frayed. “Charm is overrated.”

“I’m not ever going to like you.”

“And why not?”

“You’re an alpha.” She tapped a finger, then pushed forward. “You are everything I’ve learned to avoid. Dominant, arrogant, dangerous. I knew an alpha a long time ago, and you remind me of him.”

“He’s the one who put that fear in your eyes?”

Bryce asked it, knowing the question was stupid. The fastest way to get her to shut up would be to ask her about her past. The girl had put a lot of work into making sure people couldn’t follow it, into keeping it secret, which meant she didn’t want to go discussing it. He couldn’t not ask, though. Not when those shadows peered from behind her eyes, when the horrors he knew nothing about seemed to have their claws still dug into her flesh.

She didn’t hesitate before she answered. “He didn’t put it there. Living put it there, recognizing what life was really like put it there. The thing is, you? You’re just like he was. Joshua, Kaidan, they like to cover up their natures with other things. With charm, with caring. You? You don’t even try to pretend to be anything other than what you are. It doesn’t matter what you do, whatever happens—I will never be able to look at you and see anything other than—”

“—than him?”

She nodded.

He set his hand on hers and offered a tight squeeze, his best shitty attempt as reassurance. “I’m not him, Claire. You’ll see.”

“No, Bryce, I won’t.”

The words cut, but he let silence overtake them. Arguing with someone who spoke from fear would do neither of them any good. He couldn’t prove to her he was trustworthy, couldn’t force her to believe he’d never hurt her. As much as he wanted it, he’d have to wait.

The last bit of the drive passed with her gaze pinned outside, with her body leaned away from him, with her doing everything she could to ignore him.

Hard-headed omega.

He pulled onto her street and frowned. Her house was larger than he’d have expected for a single person, but it hid behind a large tree in the front yard, tucked away on a small side street.

Security wise, he found it dreadful. No cameras, no clear line of sight to the road, insufficient lighting. Bryce had started planning upgrades the moment the car had turned on her road.

Perhaps it was too early to think such things, but he couldn’t help it. Every moment that passed, his belief that they had something between them grew. He’d trusted his instinct for a long time, trusted himself.

Claire was his. She was the part of his life, the part of Kaidan’s and Joshua’s lives they’d been missing, and they protected what was theirs.

She’d said nothing after admitting he reminded her of whoever had harmed her. The admission had stung, that she’d think of him the same as some abusive asshole. He wanted to grab her arm, to pull her over to the files of all the omegas they’d helped, those they’d saved.

It wouldn’t do any good, though. Fear rarely grew from the truth. It was rooted in experience, and in hers, he posed a real danger.

So, it would take a while for her to grow comfortable, for her to let down those guards, but he never gave up.

“What exactly do you do?” she asked as the SUV came to a stop in front of her house.

“You broke into our office. I’m sure you know.”

“Not exactly. I know you all carry guns and look around like you’re expecting an attack.”

He put the car in park. “Does that frighten you?”

“It doesn’t make me feel safe.”

“It should. We run a security firm, so we handle setting up alarm systems for businesses, private homes, and meetings. Occasionally, we’ll offer bodyguard services as well. We are the good guys, Claire.”

Her huff said she didn’t believe him.

He pressed the issue. “What were you looking for in our office? You didn’t break in at random. You went through our files looking for something. Tell me what.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She left the car, the motion so fast it made him want to chase.

He followed her until he stepped into the light on the porch just behind her. “You’re in trouble, Claire. At first, we thought you were an enemy. We thought someone had hired you looking for a way through the security of one of our clients.”

“And now?”

“And now that we’ve spent a bit of time around you, now that we’ve looked into you? You were looking for information, and the only reason a person like you would do that, would risk that, would be if you were in serious trouble.” He stepped forward, crowding her until her back pressed against the wall and her wide eyes stared up at him. “What trouble are you in, omega? Let me help.”

She shook her head, fear dancing in the corners of her eyes, battling with the lust that had colored her cheeks beneath the porch light.

Bryce ran his fingers through her hair, tightening that hand into a fist. Ah, there it was. Her pupils dilated, her breathing speeding beneath the rough touch. She might not want to enjoy his attention, but she still did.

She might think she preferred Joshua’s charm or Kaidan’s sweetness, but she craved a part of him, too.

He spoke low, adding command to his voice. “Let me help you. Tell me what has you frightened and I’ll take care of it.” He not only demanded an answer, but he made a vow with it—nothing will hurt her.

She opened her mouth to answer as if his voice compelled her. Only the words died on her lips and that same spark of fear ignited.

It happened so fast he jerked back. All the simmering lust had combusted into terror. She shoved his chest, her breathing quickening and turning shallow.

“Claire.” He reached for her, wanting to tell her to breathe.

She held a hand out flat and flinched away. “Stay back,” she whispered, words shoved through a tight throat. Her hands trembled as she dug into her pockets until she retrieved a set of keys. She tried to line them up, but the shaking meant she couldn’t manage it.

When they clattered to the floor, Bryce crouched to gather them. Despite how she cowered, he slid the key into the lock and twisted, then opened the door for her.

“I can’t do this,” she told him, her back to him, refusing to look at him.

“We’re not doing anything.”

“Whatever you want, I can’t be. I won’t be that, not ever again.”

Bryce set a hand on the door frame, just above hers, close enough their fingers brushed. “You have no idea what I want.”

“Yeah, I do. Go away, Bryce.”

“It’s not safe. You’re not safe here, not as long as you have these secrets and you refuse to share them. I can’t leave.”

Claire twisted, stepping into the house as though the threshold offered some magic barrier he couldn’t pass. “I don’t want you here, not in my house.”

He frowned at the tone in her voice. She was honest. Not just afraid, not just nervous, but this? This was a line for her.

He was not welcome in her home.

He imagined her creating a nest in her bedroom, surrounded by the soft blankets she’d want when her heat happened. He pictured how he’d stand back as she built it, as she crawled into it and waited for him.

But she didn’t want that, didn’t want him.

And no matter what he wanted, he’d never force her. He pressed his lips together and stood straighter. “It’s not safe for you. You can’t be alone.”

“Then send someone else.”

She prefers Joshua or Kaidan?

He’d never been a jealous man, not with the other men who were more than brothers to him, yet a tightness in his chest forced a growl from his lips.

She paled at the sound, so he cut it off, silenced it.

“Fine,” he snarled and turned his back on her, on the house.

He’d never expected to have something of his own, so why did it hurt so fucking much when he turned out to be right?