Chapter 127: Russo And Miller

​The frantic, heavy haze finally cleared half an hour later, leaving the quiet apartment filled with the sound of our ragged breathing. The cool air hit my bare back, and reality slowly pieced itself back together.

​"Honestly..." I wheezed, resting my forehead against the cushions, my limbs feeling like lead. "I think you put a charm on me or something. This is my favorite couch. And you got sperm all over it."

Since we were being careful, he had to cum outside and I had a direct connection to the couch.

​Reid let out a low, breathless laugh behind me. I felt the soft brush of his lips against the side of my neck, right at the edge of the mark. "I’ll clean it up for ya, Cap. It’ll be as good as new."

​I stayed collapsed on the sofa, too drained to move a single muscle, watching blankly through half-lidded eyes as Reid actually gathered some towels and went to work cleaning the cushions.

My mind reeled in the quiet. Things went so incredibly fast. It felt like I couldn’t even keep track of my own boundaries anymore—especially when a crafty guy like him managed me.

He was so sly about the date, so relentless in the theater, and now he took over my own home without a single real protest from me.

Yeah, this must be what it means to love a guy. Giving in to every whim and not even knowing you’re being pulled along by the momentum. I let out an amused chuckle.

"What’s so funny, Cap?" Reid asked as he came over, already done cleaning.

"You," I said and he paused but I didn’t give him time to think hard about it and sighed.

"Let’s get going."

​Once we both got sorted out, we headed out to grab some groceries on the way back to the penthouse, needing to restock the kitchen.

​While navigating the bright, sterile aisles of the supermarket, the plastic wheels of our cart squeaking against the linoleum, we turned a corner near the refrigerated section and bumped straight into two massive, familiar figures.

​It was Russo and Miller.

​Miller had his heavy arm slung carelessly over Russo’s shoulder, a massive, easy grin on his face. The second his eyes landed on us, his face lit up.

​"Hey, Cap!" Miller called out loudly, his voice booming across the dairy aisle as he gave Russo a slight shake. "Look who’s getting the domestic chores done. Didn’t expect to see you guys here."

​I paused, my hand tightening on the handle of our grocery cart. "Miller. Russo."

​Russo did not look up. The usually sharp, enigmatic Alpha stood completely rigid under Miller’s arm. His jaw was locked tight, his arms folded across his chest and his dark eyes fixed entirely on a carton of milk in front of him.

When he finally acknowledged us, it was just a low, deeply irritated vibration in his chest.

​"Cap," Russo grumbled, his voice thick and distinctly sour. He did not even look at Reid, just shifted his weight away from Miller, though he did not actually push the other man’s arm off his shoulder.

He looked completely under the weather, outright sulking in a way I’ve never seen before.

​"What’s got him down?" I started to ask, my brow furrowing as I looked at Russo’s unusually tense posture.

​But before the words fully left my mouth, a sharp, heavy scent hit my nose, cutting right through the cold grocery store air.

​It was Miller’s scent. It did not just appear as a faint trace from sitting next to each other in the locker room—it clung heavily to the fabric of Russo’s jacket, entirely wrapping around the other man’s space like a thick, possessive layer.

​I immediately turned my face away, clearing my throat and forcing my eyes back to our cart.

Yeah, no.

Maybe I should just mind my own business and not read too much meaning into it.

They were both Alphas, and teammates who hung out all the time, so it was not uncommon for their pheromones to rub off on each other after a long day.

Still, the sheer density of the scent made me tuck myself just a fraction closer to Reid’s side as we exchanged a few quick, awkward pleasantries and moved down the aisle.

Those two... Do they have something going on? I shook my head again. No, no, don’t think about it. It’s none of your business.

But then a thought struck me. Do people often wonder the same thing when they get Reid’s scent off me? The guy literally douses me with waves of his pheromomes to mark his territory and while I can pretend I don’t notice because I’m acting as a Beta, other Alphas and Omegas will notice it so they’ll start wondering... are we that close for me to have his scent over my body in such thick waves?

I held my breath and pursed my lips.

This is why I didn’t want to think about it.

We finally made it back to the penthouse. By the time the front door clicked shut, a heavy, bone-deep exhaustion settled over my shoulders.

The two-hour practice drill, the accidental date, the intense session on my living room sofa, and the bizarre grocery store encounter had completely drained my battery.

I dropped my duffel bag by the door and slumped onto the kitchen stool, staring blankly at the bags of groceries on the counter. I didn’t even have the energy to lift a frying pan.

"Ugh, exhausted," I groaned.

​"Go sit down, Cap. I’ll cook for ya," Reid said easily, kicking off his shoes and immediately moving to lift the heavy grocery bags.

​I paused, my head snapping up to look at him. My eyes narrowed in immediate suspicion. "Wait. You can cook?"

​Reid offered a brief, unbothered shrug. "Nope. But VeeTube will help me out with that."

​I twisted my lips, staring at his broad back. A sudden wave of anxiety washed over my exhaustion. Maybe I should just force my sorry ass out of this chair and do the cooking myself.

If I actually let a privileged, wealthy rookie try to navigate a stove based entirely on an internet video channel, we might both end up in the emergency room with food poisoning before Friday’s game.

​"I’ll just do it, Reid," I muttered, starting to push myself up from the stool. "It’s fine."

​"Sit down, Kain," Reid insisted, his large hand gently but firmly pressing against my shoulder to keep me seated. He flashed a quick, stubborn grin. "I want to try cooking something that isn’t bacon and eggs for once." At least he knows how to make bacon and eggs. "Just relax."