Page 15 of Alpha Brock
I’ve gotta get this girl out of my fucking house before I do something stupid.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Astrid
“Good morning, Alpha!” I greet cheerfully as I spot Brock descending the stairs.
He looks up at me as he hits the bottom step, grunting something muffled and barely audible in his typical response. It’s only my third morning at the Riverton packhouse, but one of these days I’m going to get a solid ‘good morning’ in response, damnit.
I feel like I’ve already fallen into a routine here- instead of my morning coffee with Cole and Sam, it’s morning coffee with Jared and Brent every day before catching a ride with Brock up to the squad complex. Then it’s training with the six-pack’s security squad in the morning followed by afternoons with IT. That routine changes today, though, because the first evacuees from Denver are set to arrive and I’ll be welcoming them.
“Coffee?” Jared asks as Brock enters the kitchen.
“Please,” he growls, running his hands through his hair. The man’s hair is gorgeous- it’s chocolate brown, though the sun has lightened some of the strands to more of a coppery color. It falls a few inches below his shoulders in loose waves and looks like it would be silky soft to the touch. As Brock reaches up to secure his hair back in a quick man bun, his t-shirt rides up and I get a glimpse of his lower abs and the tantalizing V shape of his Adonis belt. This guy’s body is unreal- I haven’t stopped thinking about it since I saw him in the kitchen the other night wearing nothing but his boxer briefs. His body is all three T’s: tanned, toned, and tattooed.Totallydrool worthy. Brock’s whole look gives me major Jason Momoa vibes and I’m 100% here for it.
Then there are the other vibes that I keep picking up from him; the feelings that I can’t quite put my finger on. My ‘gift’ is still trying to tell me something about Brock and it’s driving me a little crazy that I can’t figure out what it is. It’s different than the typical good vibes feeling I get about people- I know that one well, it comes across like a warmth that starts in my chest and spreads to my limbs. There’s a little bit of that sensation with Brock, but it’s paired with something else; somethingintense. Full-body tingles that break out like tiny fireworks exploding over my skin.
While I don’t know what it means, exactly, I do know one thing for sure- that some part of this feeling is telling me that Brock and I are supposed to be something important to each other. What that is, I still have no idea, and don’t ask me how I know; I can’t explain how this intuition thing works. I wish I could and that I was able to control it somehow. I’ve tried for years, but I’ve never been able to get a handle on it.
It’s times like these that I wish my grandmother was still alive. She was like me, only more- she had full blown visions of the past and future. She learned how to focus her energy and control her intuitions and visions. I wish I knew how she did it- by the time my gift began to manifest, she was gone. But that’s a story for another day.
Brock settles onto a stool at the kitchen island as Jared slides him a cup of coffee, leaving an empty stool between us. It seems like he’s always purposefully leaving space between us, keeping me at arm’s length both physically and emotionally. The guy is a tough nut to crack.
“You about ready to get going?” Brock asks me once he’s had a couple sips of his coffee.
I finish my own, setting my mug onto the granite surface of the kitchen island. “Actually, I don’t need a ride to the complex today.”
That catches him off guard. He’s bringing his coffee to his lips when he stops, the cup suspended in midair, and he actually turns to look at me.
Thoseeyes. They pull me in like a vortex every time he looks my way.
“Huh?” Brock furrows his brow.
“The first wave of evacuees from Denver are arriving this morning,” I explain. “That’s why I’m here, remember? To greet them when they arrive, help get them settled in. Today’s group is going to Stillwater.”
Brock nods slowly, his green eyes leaving mine as he takes another sip of his coffee and swallows it down. “So you want me to take you to Stillwater, then,” he grumbles, more as a statement than a question.
“Actually, no.”
I hop down from my barstool as Brock’s eyes come back to mine, narrowing.
“The alpha from there said he’d give me a lift,” I continue, sweeping my unruly hair out of my face with a hand. “Gosh, why can’t I remember his name?”
“It’s Reid,” Brent supplies. He’s sitting on the countertop across from the kitchen island, and I look over at him with an appreciative smile.
“That’s it,” I say, snapping my fingers. “Thanks.”
Brent grins back at me and I make my way around the island to the kitchen sink.
“He’s the other unmated alpha, right?” I ask casually as I set my empty coffee mug in the sink.
“He is,” Jared nods. He’s leaning idly against the counter beside the coffee pot, his eyes going to Brock seated at the island across from him.
I follow his gaze to see Brock frowning, looking down at his phone. Guess he’s no longer interested in this conversation.
I turn back to Jared and Brent, flashing a bright smile. “I’m just gonna get changed quick. Would one of you mind hollering when Reid gets here?”
Brent opens his mouth to speak, but I hear Brock’s voice instead.