Alpha Theo by C.J. Primer

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Brooke

Denver’s IT setup is amazing. I was like a kid in a candy store all afternoon, taking everything in as Rico, the head of their security team, gave us a tour of the hive and walked us through their security processes. Denver’s system makes the six-pack look like we live in the dark ages- while we have squad members running patrols each night, they’ve got cameras everywhere, giving them twice the coverage with half the manpower.

I got to meet with their IT specialists, too, to tell them all about the tracing program I’ve been working on. If executed correctly, we’ll be able to track all known shadow pack affiliates by their cell phones, transactions, and even their online activity. The Denver IT specialists were all really impressed and excited about the program, which made me feel like a frickin’ superhero.

We agreed to share all of our intel going forward, link our systems up. I told them I’d deliver my program to them once we had it up and running so they could utilize it and merge their data- which only expands our reach and the probability that we’ll be able to anticipate an impending attack and shore up our defenses. All in all, the trip here was really productive. I wish we were staying longer- I could spend a whole week in the hive playing with their tech.

You’d think such a full day would tire me out, but I’m wide awake, positively wired. Even though it’s getting late, I couldn’t sleep right now if I wanted to. So, I’m doing what I do best- sitting in bed with my legs crossed underneath me, blankets pooled around my waist, laptop resting on my lap- coding.

My phone vibrates on the bed beside me twice before I look over at it, the screen lit up with new messages beckoning. I finish the line of code I’m working on before I reach for it to see who they’re from.

Theo: hey kid.

Theo: you up?

I heave a sigh, unlocking my phone and opening up my messaging app to respond.

Brooke: What’s up?

I watch the little bubble pop up that indicates he’s typing. I gotta admit, I’m a little surprised that he’s texting me. With the way he’s been checking out every female we’ve come across today, I figured he’d be off chasing tail.

Theo: just sitting here. can’t sleep. what are you doing?

I roll my eyes, firing off a reply.

Brooke: Coding.

Theo: again? you’ve got an addiction.

I smile at the screen.

Brooke: My name is Brooke and I’m a code-a-holic.

He doesn’t respond right away, which gives me time to stew about how cheesy my message was. God, he must think I’m such a dork.

My phone vibrates in my hands as I receive another message.

Theo: wanna hang?

I stare at the words, considering. Overthinking. It’s probably a bad idea to invite him into my room, right? He already admitted this morning that he was trying to work me as a ‘challenge’. Then again, I’m kinda starting to like his company, and I don’t really have anything better to do right now.

I blow out a breath, typing my reply.

Brooke: Sure. Come on over.

I toss my phone onto the bed and I swear his knock at the door comes in two seconds flat. I set my laptop beside me, shove the blankets off of my lap, and slip out of bed, padding over to the door.

“Jeez, that was fast,” I say as I pull it open. Theo’s got a big arm up leaning against the doorframe on the other side. He’s wearing athletic shorts and a cut-off t-shirt, the fabric on the sides cut so far down that I can see the black ink of a tattoo on his ribcage.

I take a few steps backwards to allow him entry. “Were you texting me from the hallway or something?”

Theo rakes his eyes up and down my body as he walks inside, pressing the door closed behind him and leaning back against it. I shift uncomfortably as his eyes continue roaming my form.

“What are you wearing?” he grumbles.

“Huh?” I ask, looking down at my threadbare t-shirt and cotton sleep shorts. “Uh… pajamas?”

Theo scrubs a hand over his face. “That shirt’s fucking see-through,” he groans.

My cheeks heat and I cross my arms over my chest protectively. Crap! I didn’t even think about putting on a bra before I invited him over.

“You’d better cover up if you don’t want me to try to bone you.” His voice is tight, like it pains him to say it.

I scowl at his vulgarity, rolling my eyes. “You’re ridiculous.”

I cross the room to where my duffel’s sitting on a chair, reaching down to rifle through it. I pull out a soft grey sweatshirt, shaking it out and glancing back up at Theo.

He’s studying me from across the room, those hazel eyes staring so intently. Even though my first instinct is to cover my chest again, I don’t- something about the way he’s looking at me makes me feel confident- attractive, even. I’m not sure anyone’s ever looked at me like Theo is right now. Hungry. Predatory.

There’s something exhilarating about being the object of his desire, even if I won’t act on it. I straighten, arching my back as I take my time fumbling for the hem of the sweatshirt.

His eyes linger on my chest, then slowly travel up to meet my own. Even from across the room, I can see coppery shimmers in his irises- his wolf.

I feel my own wily wolf start pushing to the surface and I look away quickly, shoving her back down and pulling the sweatshirt on overhead.

“Happy?” I ask, throwing my hands on my hips.

His eyes wander down my body again. “I mean, those shorts are pretty short…”

“Oh my gosh!” I throw my arms up. “Are you kidding me?!”

Theo cracks a smile, pushing off of the door.

He saunters over to the bed and picks up my laptop, holding it up in front of him and squinting at the screen. “Whatcha workin’ on?”

“Careful with that!” I rush over to him and snatch the laptop away. I quickly save my progress and close it, carrying it over to my backpack and bending to slip it inside.

“Jesus, kid,” Theo growls. I glance over my shoulder at him as I straighten, realizing that his eyes are glued to my butt.

This guy’s got one thing on the brain.

I spin around, tugging my shorts down so they sit lower on my hips, cover more of my thighs. “Would you quit it?” I sigh. I feel my cheeks heat in a flush.

“Sorry… I’m only a man,” he chuckles.

Theo rakes a hand through his hair, then brings it down to adjust himself in his athletic shorts.

Oh my gosh- is he hard?! Inviting him in here was a horrible idea.

I stare at him sternly, folding my arms across my chest again. “If you’re just going to harass me you can leave.”

“Aw, c’mon. I’ll be on my best behavior.” Theo plops down on the bed, turning to stretch his legs out in front of him and settling back against the headboard. “Promise.”

I heave a sigh, shaking my head- though I can’t help but crack a smile. I sink down on the foot of the bed on the opposite side, facing Theo but leaving as much distance between us as possible. I’ve still got my guard up around him.

“So what’s up?” I breathe, pulling my legs in to cross them beneath me.

Theo smirks, eyes flickering down to his crotch- I’m expecting him to make a crass joke, but he surprises me when he pivots and starts talking about the Denver hive, instead.

“I was thinking about how high tech the security is here,” he says, bringing his arms up behind his head and reclining back on them. The hem of his shirt rides up and my eyes involuntarily fly to his abs.

“Yeah?” I force myself to look back up at his face, hoping he didn’t catch me stealing an appreciative glance at his body after I chastised him for objectifying mine.

He totally did, though. An amused smile tugs at his lips.

“What about it?” I ask, silently cursing myself for inflating his already oversized ego.

Of course I’m physically attracted to Theo- I mean, who wouldn’t be? The guy’s all hard muscle. Those hazel eyes and that perfect smile are swoon worthy. He’s frickin’ gorgeous. But I’m not the type of girl to give in to her baser urges. Would I like to touch his body, see what the firm curves of his abs feel like underneath my fingertips? Duh. But am I willing to risk it all- my dignity, my integrity, my virginity- for one night with a guy like him? Absolutely not.

Theo crosses his ankles, relaxing back against the headboard. “Well, I was thinking maybe we could try to apply some of that to our own security, bulk it up a little bit.”

“Yeah, that’s a great idea,” I smile brightly. “Which aspects are you thinking of implementing?”

He tilts his head, looks up at the ceiling as he thinks. “The border cameras, for one. We could run a lot less patrols, space them out to once a week. Patrol really fucks with your sleep schedule.”

I nod, watching him curiously. This wasn’t the conversation I expected, but I’m pleasantly surprised that he’s taking this kind of initiative. Maybe there’s hope for Theo after all.

“We could juice it up, too. Set booby traps or something.”

Annnnnd he’s back.

I roll my eyes. “Booby traps? What are you, the kid from Home Alone?”

He laughs, and I can’t help but laugh with him. It feels good, comfortable. Almost like we’re friends.

“I’m not talking swinging paint cans and tarantulas. I mean some sort of automated defense. An electric fence or something. It’d have to be undetectable, though.” He brings a hand to his chin, thinking.

“So like a forcefield,” I tease. “Sure, we’ll just whip one of those up in the IT hub.”

Theo rolls his eyes, that charming smile on his lips. “I’m serious. There’s gotta be something. Like land mines, but not something that’ll blow someone up. Just incapacitate them somehow.”

I shrug. “Maybe. It’s worth looking into, at least.”

He blows out a breath, eyes trained on the ceiling again. “I’ll bring it up to the guys at our meeting next week, see if we can come up with something.”

I nod, a silence settling between us. I pick a piece of lint off of my sweatshirt, fidget. My wolf keeps trying to push forward, crazed to be in Theo’s proximity. She likes him. Jury’s still out on whether I do.

I still can’t figure him out. I feel like I keep getting little glimpses of who he really is behind his prickly exterior. I’m not sure if there’s a good guy lurking somewhere in there underneath his bad boy persona or whether I should take him at face value. Either way, I’m keeping my walls up for now, remaining cautious about letting him in.

“When do you wanna get on the road tomorrow?” Theo asks, pulling his phone out of his pocket. He’s got the cord of his headphones wrapped around it, still plugged in.

“Doesn’t matter to me.” I look to the phone in his hand. “What have you been listening to?”

He grins, flicking his head to beckon me and patting the spot beside him on the bed.

I hesitate, watching him unwind the cord from around his phone.

His eyes meet mine again and he sighs, shaking his head like I’m being unreasonable. “Oh c’mon, kid. I’ll keep my hands to myself.”

I take a deep breath, leaning forward onto my palms to crawl up beside him. Then I flip around and stretch my legs out, leaving a couple feet of distance between our bodies and leaning back onto the headboard to mirror his position. It shouldn’t feel as awkward as it does, but I’ve never been in this position before- laying next to a guy in bed. My body feels stiff, uncomfortable.

Theo slides one of the earpieces of the headphones into his ear, leaning his head toward me and handing me the other. I take it, leaning in a little so it can reach my ear, too. He swipes a few times on his phone, hits play, and I hear the first few bars of ‘Hey Jude’ by the Beatles.

My eyebrows shoot up and I peer over at him. “The Beatles?” Definitely not what I expected.

He throws a thumb in my direction. “Your shirt today.”

The guy’s certainly observant.

I smile, turning away from him and resting my head back against the headboard again, pressing my eyes closed.

As the familiar song plays, my body begins to relax. I hum along to the chorus. The music takes the edge off, and before long, I slowly start to lose myself in it.