novelraw Chapter 160: Jealousy
Chapter 160: Jealousy
Chapter 159
Jack
My ear is ringing. My cheek is stinging.
I stand and look at Ciel, wondering what the fuck I did to deserve this.
"...sunshine?" I ask cautiously.
My sunshine is currently a hot, scorching sun. The kind that causes wildfires.
He looks angry.
"...w...what did I do?" I ask in a small voice.
"WhAt dID I dO?" he mocks me, his voice pitched high and mocking.
Oh.
I’ve never seen him so pissed off. It’s on par with Nolan’s anger. I can see the resemblance right now. Unfortunately, he can’t save me, he’s still at work. I’m on my own.
I just gulp, my stinging face throbbing.
"Are you or are you not my fuckingalpha?" he asks.
"I am—"
"Oh, are you?" He tilts his head, eyes blazing.
I look at him, completely lost.
He walks close and jabs my chest with his finger. Hard.
"Then tell me why the fuck my alpha smells like another omega’s pheromones?"
I blink.
Oh.
Oh no.
"Sunshine—"
"Don’t sunshine me."
"I can explain," I say.
Can I explain? No. I didn’t even notice the so-called pheromones. I walked through the palace, through the corridors, past guards and servants, and not one person thought to mention that I smelled like another omega.
"How dare you, Jack?" His eyes are blurry. Blinking fast, the way he does when he’s trying not to cry.
Okay. Immediate damage control.
"I’m sorry, sunshine. I didn’t mean to. I love you, you know that. You’re the only one for me. I’m sorry. This will never happen again. Sunshine, please. I’m sorry. Sunshine."
I take a step closer.
He takes a step back.
Right.
Other omega’s pheromones. Now that I’m actively paying attention, I can smell them. Something sweet. Something floral. Something that I remember from Charlie—the way he used to smell after a long shift, tired and soft.
Fuck.
I really should have paid more attention.
I really should have paid more attention.
"Okay," I say, holding up my hands. "Let me just change and take a shower. I’ll—"
I don’t wait for his response. I rush to the bedroom, practically tearing my shirt off over my head. The fabric smells like Charlie. Now that I know what I’m looking for, it’s everywhere—on my collar, on my wrists, on the skin where Charlie stood too close.
I turn the shower on. Hot. As hot as I can stand it.
I step under the water and scrub. Soap. Shampoo. Anything. Everything. I scrub until my skin is red and my nose can’t smell anything but expensive soap and steam.
I step out and dress up.
"Better?" I ask Ciel, who I find on the floor with Lanny.
He nods.
"I’m sorry," I say again, quietly, and sit on the ground next to them.
"Dada," Lanny says and crawls toward me.
I catch him, and he climbs onto my chest.
"Yes, my dear son," I say.
He crawls toward my face and smacks my face hard. Right where Ciel did.
I blink. The sting blooms across my cheek—familiar, fresh, and somehow worse because the hands are so much smaller.
"Well," I say, staring at my son’s proud, gap-toothed grin. "I guess you are his son."
A giggle.
I look at Ciel. He’s moved closer to us, close enough that our knees are touching. His cheeks are pink. His eyes are soft again, the fire gone.
"I’m sorry for hitting you," he says, tucking a couple of strands of hair behind his ear. "I just smelled them and reacted instinctively."
"It’s okay, sunshine." I reach my hand toward his, interlocking our fingers. His palm is warm, familiar.
"If you smelled like another alpha, I think I would feel pretty murderous."
He laughs. Small, but real. "Murderous?"
"Extremely."
Lanny pats my face again, gentler this time, like he’s checking if I’m still there.
"I’m okay, little man," I tell him.
He pats my cheek again, then loses interest and crawls toward Ciel, demanding attention.
Ciel scoops him up, settles him on his lap, and looks at me over Lanny’s red curls.
They look at me with similar features—the identical hair, the same golden eyes, the same delicate shape of their faces. I can’t help my smile.
They are so similar.
Pretty sure Lanny is the result of asexual reproduction. There’s nothing of anyone else in him. Just Ciel. Golden and bright and impossibly beautiful.
"It’s okay, sunshine. Besides, this way I’ll now be more aware of my surroundings. Learned the hard way." I say.
"I’m sorry," he says.
I sit up and kiss his nose.
"It’s okay, sunshine. You’ve got strong hands. This way I’ll be scared to cross you. You’re officially the head of the household," I say.
He cracks a smile. It’s small, hesitant, but it reaches his eyes.
"You’re so stupid."
"Kiss," Lanny says.
My attention immediately goes to him.
"Kiss?" I say, taking him away from Ciel.
"Whose son is this smart?" I say, bouncing him on my hip. "You want a kiss?"
He squeals. I place a loud, dramatic smooch on his cheek, and he shrieks in delight, little hands pushing at my face.
"Again!" he demands.
I blink. Look at Ciel. "Did he just—"
"Again, Dada!"
Ciel’s mouth drops open. Then he laughs, bright and surprised.
I kiss Lanny’s other cheek. He giggles, squirms, and reaches for Ciel.
"Mama kiss!"
Ciel makes a strangled sound. "I’m not Mama."
"Papa," I correct gently. "Say Papa."
"Papa kiss!"
Some male omegas don’t mind being called Mama. Others do. It’s a personal preference, really. I notice Ciel doesn’t like it. The way his shoulders tense, just slightly. The way his smile flickers.
Ciel melts anyway. He leans in, presses a kiss to Lanny’s forehead, and Lanny pats his face with both hands, completely satisfied with himself.
I take him and lift him into the air, playing airplane.
"Up!" Lanny shrieks, arms and legs flailing.
I zoom him around, making engine sounds that are probably not aerodynamic in the slightest. He giggles so hard he snorts.
"Higher, Dada!"
"You want to go higher?"
"Higher!"
I sneak a look at Ciel.
Yeah. I’m not tossing him up in the air with the man who gave birth to him in the room.