Heat Haven (Heat Haven Omegaverse, #1)(19)

I know Emily has a female roommate named Kelsey, so I’m going to start with any of the doors that have girly adornments on them. On this level, there are only two, one that has a doormat that says ‘It's not a crack house, it’s a crack home’, the other has a Christmas door wreath with a cat holding a sign that says ‘Meowy Christmas.’’ I take my chances with the door that still has a Christmas wreath up in mid-January. Banging on the door firmly, hoping I choose correctly.

A small beta woman with brown skin and braids that reach her lower back answers the door. “Can I help you?”

“Sorry to bother you. Does Emily live here?”

“Who wants to know?” She raises a pierced eyebrow at me and looks me up and down to suss me out.

“I’m Griffin, I’m supposed to be picking her up and taking her to Heat Haven.”

I look over her shoulder into the apartment and don’t see anyone else inside.

She loses her facade and looks down the hallway. “Shit, I didn’t check on her when I got home from work. Follow me.”

I follow the petite woman down the hallway, where she knocks on Emily’s door. “Emily, are you in there?” We don’t get a response and Kelsey opens the door. Emily isn’t in her room, which happens to be a disorganized mess. She has an unmade queen bed with a mountain of pillows on it and a floral quilt that looks handmade. The nightstand next to the bed has at a minimum six half full water bottles, a stack of romance novels and a small silver jewelry box. Clothes are thrown half haphazardly throughout the room, and there are multiple laundry baskets. She must have a system of what is clean and what isn’t.

Kelsey knocks on the ensuite bathroom door and we still get crickets. I’m usually not one to jump into worst-case scenarios, but about fifty are running through my head right now. I go to open the door and her roommate stops me.

“Hey man, I don’t know you. You can’t just be walking up here opening girl’s bathroom doors and shit.”

I would be lying if I said I didn’t consider using my Alpha voice on this tiny little thing, but I decide against it. Instead, I just don't respond and fling open the bathroom door. Steam plumes out of the door as soon as it's open.

The bathroom is small and feminine and thankfully cleaner than her bedroom. It’s a basic renters bathroom with a single sink in the vanity, a toilet, and a bathroom shower combo. The shower is still running, and the steam is overtaking the small space.

I call out her name, and she doesn’t respond. Walking over to the shower, I move the floral print curtain to the side. Emily is sitting on the tub floor and has her knees to her chest with her head resting on her folded arms. Her hair is sopping wet. Thankfully, the water is still warm, and she isn’t sitting here freezing. I touch her shoulder and she startles. Lifting her head, she looks up at me with wide eyes.

“Oh my gosh, I must have fallen asleep.” She blinks multiple times to shake off her confusion.

I take in a deep breath, just glad that she is still lucid and not fully into her heat.

“You scared the fuck out of us, sweetheart.” I rub my hand down her back as she takes deep breaths.

“I wanted to shower before you took me to Heat Haven. I was having some cramps. We also didn’t get much sleep last night, so I must have just dozed off. I’m sorry Griffin, I didn't mean to worry you.”

I continue rubbing circles up and down her back. Even though I was terrified for all of twenty minutes, my dick is now rock hard being in this confined space. Despite being in the shower, her scent is still potent as fuck.

“As long as you’re okay, that's all that matters. Let’s get you ready to go, yeah?”

She nods her head, and I grab a towel and wrap her up. Her roommate just stares at me while leaning against the door frame. Her eyes are narrowed and filled with suspicion. Emily finally notices her friend watching this all go down.

“Kelsey, this is Griffin. He is going to be taking me to Heat Haven. I’ll text you once my heat is over, okay?” Emily gives Kelsey soft eyes while I finish drying her off with the pink towel.

“Are you sure you can trust this guy, Emily?” A low growl vibrates through my chest, and I immediately regret it. I get it. She is trying to be a good friend, but I’m not the bad guy here. I should be grateful that Emily has someone looking after her and stop being such a possessive caveman.

“Yes, I promise,” Emily says as she walks over and gives Kelsey a hug, which her bestie returns.

Kelsey glares at me while she rests her head on Emily's shoulder. I want to flick this girl off so badly, but that would probably make things worse.

Once her roommate has enough peace of mind that I don’t have intentions to kidnap Emily and chain her in my basement, she retreats into the apartment. Emily starts busying herself around the room, packing an away bag and getting dressed. I still have no clue how she knows what’s clean and what's not. I sit at the edge of her bed and keep my eyes glued to her movements. She definitely seems more jittery than when I dropped her off this morning.

Standing in just her underwear and bra, she starts drying off her hair. She takes a deep breath and shifts her weight on the carpet floor. She keeps letting out intermittent sighs, but has said nothing.

“Emily, is something wrong?” I ask her and she whines at me, she fucking whines.

Walking over to me, she situates herself right between my legs. I grab both of her hips and look into those beautiful honey-colored orbs.