Odelias

“Were you born with all your organs intact?” he responds.
I can’t see his face, so I have no way of knowing where he’s going with this question.
“Yes …” I say cautiously.
“Good,” he responds, “then I expect you to use the one beneath your skull.”
Damn. That insult burned a little.”
― Laura Thalassa, Pestilence

“She glanced to him and patted the seat beside her. “I only bite on Tuesdays. You’re safe.”
― Katherine McIntyre, Forged Futures

“While his patience frayed, in the end, it was Meena who snapped first.
Whether it was the fact a woman touched him, hanging on to his arm, gushing at how beautiful the wedding was, or the fact that Meena couldn’t handle the frustration of the last few days, it didn’t matter.
With a snarled, “Get your hands off my husband!” Meena sliced through the crowd, skirts hiked. She leaped the last few feet and soared through the air to tackle the lioness at his side, who, as it turned out, was Loni’s cousin.
But at the time, all he knew was his new wife was in full-on jealous mode and determined to scalp a wedding guest.
As omega, Leo should have jumped in to calm the hot tempers— and stop the hair pulling. At the very least, he should have definitely pried Meena off the lioness before she got blood on her white dress.
But…
Well…
He kind of liked it.
While Leo had dated his fair share of women, he’d never had one show such a possessive side before.
Definitely never had one go after a girl for daring to flirt with him.
He didn’t know what it said about him, the fact that he enjoyed her jealous outburst.
Feeling kind of smug about it, he took a moment to bask.
Hers. Yes, he was hers, and she was his, at least on paper.
Perhaps it was time to complete the bond and truly mate so that everyone would know they belonged to each other. Time to claim each other.
First, though, he needed to pry her off the other woman before she literally spilled blood.
Winding an arm around her middle, he lifted Meena, even as she continued to snarl at the woman on the ground. “Touch my man again and I will rip that hand from you and slap you with it!”
Ah, the romantic words of a woman in lust.
Tossing Meena over his shoulder, he ignored the amused glances of the crowd as he carted her away from the party.
“I wasn’t done, Pookie,” she grumbled.
“I’ve got better plans for that energy,” was his reply.
And yes, she announced to all that, “Leo’s finally going to debauch me.” She wasn’t the only one fist pumping.
The other ladies in the pride were cheering too while Leo fought not to blush, and poor Peter, he made a beeline for the bar.
However, embarrassment wasn’t enough to stop him.”
― Eve Langlais, When an Omega Snaps

“Muriah approached him with a new pair of khakis and a couple of T-shirts. “I guessed at the size so you might want to go try these on first.”

He took the clothes and slid his arm around her waist, maneuvering her toward the fitting room.

“Hey, I didn’t sign on to be your dresser.” She grumbled, but didn’t struggle.

He pulled the door closed and turned to meet her eyes. “It’s light in here and full of people. Apep will not be able to surprise us, and his serpents cannot spy. We need to talk.”
***

He stripped off the wet shirt, exposing his chiseled torso. She did her best not to choke on her tongue. His tanned skin and taut muscles tempted her, luring her to touch him. Turning around to give him privacy seemed like the right thing to do, but there wasn’t a hint of modesty in this Mayan god, and if he could handle getting this personal, then she could, too.

When he unzipped the wet pants, she held her breath. Would an ancient guy wear underwear? She was about to find out. He bent over to lower the wet slacks. When he straightened up, she realized he’d been talking, but she didn’t have a clue what he had said. Instead, all her attention was focused on a fine trail of dark hair leading from just below his navel and disappearing under the low-slung elastic band of his boxer briefs.

“Muriah?”

Her gaze snapped up to meet his. Thank the universe he couldn’t read her thoughts. “Yeah?”

“Did you hear my question?”

He stood two feet from her in only his underwear, and he thought she was listening? He was either completely unaware of his sex appeal, or he was way too accustomed to being obeyed.

Probably both.

She cleared her throat. “I must’ve missed it.”

A spark lit his eyes that told her he might have more than a clue to his sex appeal.

He picked up the T-shirt and pulled it on. “I asked if you knew of another hotel closer to the airport so we can get out of New York as soon as the sun sets tomorrow.”

“I’m sure I can find one.” She pulled out her phone, grateful to have something to pretend to focus on besides him tucking his package into the new khakis she pulled off the rack for him.

“I probably should’ve grabbed some dry underwear, too.”

“They are nearly dry now. I will be fine.” He popped the tags off, and she glanced up from her hotel search. “They’re not going to like you taking the tags off before you pay.”

The corner of his mouth curved up. “They will be honored to take my money.”

She groaned and rolled her eyes. “Do you ever not get your way?”

He stepped closer to her, his chest an inch from hers until her back pressed against the modular wall of the fitting room. “Rarely.” His dark gaze held hers, and the deep rumble of his voice sent heat through her body. “But some things are worth the extra effort.”
― Lisa Kessler, Night Child