An Alpha's Instinct

Chapter 6: Sweat and Sun

Erin reaches toward his left, grabbing his phone off the bedside table. He squints in response to the bright light as he dismisses the alarm. 6 a.m. – a time when the sun's not even over the horizon yet.

Groaning, he lies down in bed on his back, phone in hand. He pulls down his notification bar – fifty messages from his group chat 'The Three Stooges', six missed calls from LayLay, and one message from Axe.

Erin opens the single message from Alex first: 'Call us when you wake from your slumber, Princess.' He should've known better than to send a message saying he ran into Victor again and was threatened by his aunt right before falling asleep.

Erin drops his arms to the side, phone flopping down onto the mattress as he stares at the ceiling. It's a Tuesday morning, so Alex will be up getting ready for swim practice, and he knows Layla doesn't ever have her phone on silent or 'Do Not Disturb'. His phone will just keep going off all day if he doesn't respond to them now. Better just get it over with.

Erin leans forward in his bed, arms stretching wide above his head. He feels a satisfying click and pop as his joints warm up after a long night of tossing and turning. There weren't many dreams last night, none that Erin remembers anyways, but he still had trouble sleeping. All night he kept feeling like there was something he needed to do, somewhere he needed to go. It kept him in that limbo state of awake and asleep.

Erin walks over to his walk-in closet to get changed, leaning his phone against some shelving as he starts a group video call with Alex and Layla. Alex answers almost straight away, one hand brushing his teeth while the other holds the phone. He nods his head in greeting before Layla joins the call. She's still in bed with an eye mask on her forehead and hair spread out behind her on the pillow like a golden halo.

“So, tell us everything!" Layla singsongs.

“There's not much to tell," Erin walks back into frame, the Storm Landscaping long-sleeved jumpsuit hugging his body.

Alex spits into the sink, “You could start with your new boy toy coming with a built-in family alarm system."

Erin rolls his eyes, walking over to his bathroom, which is connected to his closet. “First off, not my boy toy. And second, her name's Stella. She's Victor's aunt, the one who hired us, and I don't know I guess their family is pretty important back up in New York. Victor wasn't subtle about us knowing each other, so it's only natural for her to think some country boy might be aiming for precious family jewels."

“Was Victor the only one not subtle?" Alex teases, a cheeky look dancing across his face as he walks out of his bathroom. Erin raises his middle finger to the camera.

“Ok, give me two hours and I'll have a new plan started for you, Erin." Layla is sitting at her desk now with a pen in her hand. She has that crazy, determined shine in her eyes she always gets around finals. “I'm not letting anyone ruin your summer of no thoughts."

Erin laughs, “All right then. I'll leave it up to you."

--------------------

It's not even 8 a.m. before Erin's phone is buzzing. It's an email from Layla with an attachment to her new plan. Erin smiles softly, slipping his phone back into his jumpsuit pocket.

Vic, Erin's black cat, who had been lounging in the truck, jumps out and slinks over to sit in the shade of a massive rock. Erin doesn't blame him, even though the sun has only just risen, the heat is already sweltering. As soon as they got to the ranch, they started setting up a momentary shed in the field to the left of the main house to keep all their equipment in. The shed itself is nothing fancy, simply a few red metal panels held together with nuts and bolts. John's been using it since he first created Storm Landscaping. It's great during winter, but dreadful during summer with the metal keeping all the heat inside.

“We really should make tanks and shorts with the logo on it, don'tcha think, Mom?" Erin slides up next to Natalie, unzipping his jumpsuit and tying the sleeves around his waist as he goes. He can feel sweat slinking down underneath his black tank top.

“Well, if we did that my boy, then the sun would attack us all day long." Natalie pats Erin on the cheek, a smug look on her face.

Erin puts on his best pout, leaning over the side of the truck. “That's why scientists made sunscreen."

Natalie sighs, putting her hands on her hips. She looks toward John who shakes his head and continues carrying flowerpots to the shed, determination in his steps to not get involved. She gives in. “Fine, I'll look into it." Erin beams, jumping over and giving his mom a big hug.

Natalie hugs him back. “Help take measurements around the ranch while your father starts on the lawn."

“Kay," Erin agrees. He hurries over to the front fence line, the house behind him. Suddenly, his eyes drift over his shoulder toward the window from yesterday, the one with green curtains and plants in funny pots. Erin's not surprised to find Victor standing there, leaning against the balcony with his arms resting against the railing. He is surprised to see him wearing pajama shorts and no t-shirt. Victor's face is as expressionless as stone as he stares at Erin. Erin can't help but stare back – and not just at Victor's face – feeling heat course throughout his body.

This time, Victor is letting Erin look.

The first thing Erin notes is the lack of marks; no tattoos, no scars, no bruises. He sees nothing but sandy beige skin marked only by defined muscles. Victor has a sharp jaw and a straight nose along with deep-set pale blue eyes and thin pink lips. Even though he's not standing straight, Erin can tell Victor must never slouch as his wide shoulders look relaxed and loose with no hump protruding from between them. He has a small waist too, which Erin knows widens out again to powerful thighs. With the sun shining toward Victor, Erin feels like he's looking at some kind of God.

Then there's the ring – the same one Victor was wearing at the party. He must never take it off, or he simply puts it on as soon as he wakes up. With the sunlight, Erin can see how rich and antique the blue jewel is. It sits above the silver band around Victor's finger like how a crown sits atop a king's head.

Erin lifts his head and turns away, walking back over to the shed. He meets Natalie halfway, grabbing her by the arm and turning her in the opposite direction. “Let's start at the back."

“What, why? Your face is red, are you feeling sick? Or sunburnt? You never get sunburnt." Concerned, Natalie pushes the pen she was holding into her pocket so she can touch Erin's forehead.

“Well, there's a first time for everything" Erin chuckles nervously. “I was facing the sun for too long. It's really hot out here, ya know?" Erin explains. It isn't a lie because he was facing the sun. That has to be the reason why his skin feels like it's on fire and why he feels like his heart is beating too fast. Erin's brows pinch together. 'That's it, classic heatstroke.' he finalizes, forcing his thoughts to stop playing hopscotch in his brain.

Erin doesn't look back, continuing to walk arm in arm with Natalie to the back of the house. “What time do we finish again today?"