Page 56 of Alpha’s Conquest

With everything laid out for us, we knelt in the dirt and began to work. We placed all the plants in the right spots. Adam showed me how to dig a proper hole for them and watched me do one on my own. Seeing his proud smile made my heart race.

“Good job, Casey.” Praising me for my obedience during sex was one thing. Hearing him praise me for digging a hole made me flutter all over.

Once the holes were dug, we took a quick break, sitting side by side in the dirt. I pointed to the large, blank wall of the insurance building. “That would make a nice mural. Maybe a flower scene, or some animals. Butterflies, maybe. I don’t know how the Bandles feel about that kind of thing, but it would enhance your landscaping more than a blank wall, especially if the colors complimented your flowers. Could work in something insurance related if they don’t want flowers.”

He was watching me when I glanced back at him. His dirty hand brushed my cheek, and his smile softened. Had he ever looked at me that way before? There was so much love behind his eyes, in his smile, and in the tender way he touched my face. The sun behind his head bathed him in yellow light. He was breathtaking, and I found myself mesmerized, drawn in by his rugged freckles and those beautiful green eyes.

My breath caught in my throat as he leaned closer, his kiss the softest, most passionate I'd ever experienced. I deepened our kiss, savoring his intoxicating taste as our tongues met in a fervent dance. We had kissed many times before. None of them felt like this.

“Someone might see,” I whispered, hissing against his lips.

“I’m losing my ability to care,” he said, tugging me closer. I pulled up on my toes, dangerously close to climbing into his lap. I didn’t care either, even if we were seen kissing under the hot sun with our hands still covered in soil.

What started as an untamable feral attraction had become something more. When I lay in bed night after sleepless night, it wasn’t just the sex I missed. I missed Adam. I missed his touch. His smile. That filthy glint in his eye when I misbehaved. I missed his company. The talks we had late at night when our bodies were spent. He always checked on me and made sure I was okay after we had sex. He cleaned my body with a reverence I almost couldn’t watch. And he held me close when I fell asleep.

All these years, I believed I didn’t deserve more, that I would never have more. I settled for any scrap of fondness and thought the words ‘I love you’ would be enough. Marshall loved me. He cared for me in his own way, but I kept him at arm's length, never letting him get too close. Adam never gave me that kind of space. He pushed me to accept how attentive he was, and gradually broke down the barriers around my heart, the ones that had convinced me my future held nothing more than fragments of affection.

The baths we took together, when we talked until the water went cold. The blankets he covered me with when I fell asleep on his lap. He texted me all day long, just to see how I was doing and make sure I was okay, even if we couldn’t see each other. All those tiny moments between us proved he wasn’t a man in lust. Adam wanted me. Me. This wasn’t about sex at all. He cherished me.

It wasn’t enough to be loved. I wanted to be cherished. I wanted devotion. Reverence. All the things Adam gave me.

I wish I had met Adam first.

That's why I was so upset yesterday. I hated that every second with him was a risk. I wished I could love him out in the open. If I had met Adam first, I wouldn’t be this afraid of ruining our lives. I could simply exist in every moment I had with him.

I’m telling Marshall tonight.

A horn honked nearby, and I instinctively tried to move away, but Adam's firm hand around my waist held me fast. He glanced at the road beside us, his eyes widening with recognition at whoever had just pulled up. I turned to see a car idling by the curb, and a man with white and grey peppered hair sitting in the front seat.

“Morning,” the man said in greeting. He wore a clerical collar beneath his blue jean jacket.

Adam released me, quickly pretending he was cleaning some dirt off ‌my face. “Hey, Oscar.” Oscar’s scent drifted to where we stood, and I bristled slightly when I realized he was an omega. Not just an omega, this was the same scent I caught on Adam when we first met. They looked to be about the same age, too.

“You must be Casey,” Oscar said, his smile directed at me. If he knew my name, he probably knew my connection to Marshall as well. I quickly looked away, but I still caught a knowing glance pass between the two men. They were close enough to communicate without words.

I waited until Oscar had left before meeting Adam’s eyes. “He’s your friend, huh?” I hadn’t intended to sound jealous, but I was. I hated the thought of my Alpha with someone else.

Adam pulled me back for a firm kiss, claiming my lips until I was breathless. “You’re mine, Casey. No one else will do.”

THIRTY

Casey

Casey

Adam let me loose after his lunch break, so I explored Oakridge. I had a good idea of where everything was downtown after my tour during my last visit. There were a few cafes, plenty of restaurants, and some of those shops that you could only find in a small town. Used books. Antiques. A junk store with the owner sitting in a rickety rocking chair while you shopped. Everyone knew everyone else, which sounded bad in theory, but they treated each other like family.

The coffee shop was calm and relaxing, and it was right next door to a little bakery. I’d been craving sweets like crazy for the past week, and their giant cinnamon rolls really hit the spot. With one of those in hand, and a cup of hot coffee in the other, I stepped outside to sit at one of the outdoor tables. As I took a big bite of pastry, I couldn’t help staring at the patchy grass and overgrown trees outside the shop. Adam would’ve made this beautiful. He did such gorgeous work. Gorgeous work for a gorgeous man.

My resolve hadn’t faltered since this morning. I was going to tell Marshall. I had to write out what I would say first, just to make me less nervous. This wasn’t going to be easy no matter what I said. I pulled up a notes app on my phone and my hands hovered over the screen. What was I supposed to say? Sorry, bro, I fucked your Dad, and I really liked it. Ugh.

After ten minutes, I only had a few sentences, and they sucked ass. I couldn’t fuck this up. I deleted everything and tried again.

“I’m telling you, I think Gemma and Preston would love it here.”

Mid-typing, I looked up to see three people walking towards the coffee shop, carrying two babies between them. The taller woman was clearly an Alpha, and the smaller one was an omega. The man looked like he could’ve been either one, but his round belly was a clear giveaway to being an omega.

“As if your husband would ever live in a place where you have to grocery shop at the Piggly Wiggly,” the tall woman retorted, rolling her eyes with a smirk.