And the old Kenny. Lost, and broken, and scared. Her spirit shattered by too many disappointments, in too short a time.
Maybe it’s not even conscious.
Scarlet eyes widen as I tilt her head up, my finger slipping beneath her chin. My lips press to her forehead. “You come out when you’re ready. We’ll be here, waiting. But that doesn’t mean I’m not gonna try and bring you back.”
Maybe Theo was right. We need to push her a little harder. Push her out of her own head. My hand moves through her hair again, soothing. Until my fingers catch in a knot, snagging it.
She bares her teeth at me as I frown. “We need to brush those out.”
Seems like a good place to start.
I wait until she decides she’s finished laying on me, watching as she rolls off and onto her feet before I follow. Kenny hovers as I wander across the room and reach into my bag, digging around before yanking out a hairbrush.
Her head jerks, her feet padding back.
“Kenny.” I hold it up. “We’re gonna brush your hair, okay?”
She snaps her teeth at it instead.
This should be fun.
“You love having your hair played with.” I take a seat on the bed, shuffling back and patting the space in front of me. “Come here.”
She doesn’t move. A silent battle of wills between a feral omega and an alpha takes place in the space of a few seconds, and I’m not entirely sure I’m going to win. Slowly, I lean forward, keeping eye contact. “Kenny. Come. Here.”
She shuffles forward a step, reluctance clear in every tense limb.
“Nearly there,” I coax, holding out my hand. “You’ll feel better.”
She eyes me warily in a way that makes me wonder exactly how much she understands. We’re never completely sure, since she responds better to body language.
I curl my fingers in, beckoning. “Come on.”
I don’t expect her to slip her fingers into mine, but my smile grows. “Okay.”
She doesn’t fight when I pull her onto my lap, turning her legs until they’re hanging over mine. Running my hand down her hair, I lift the brush and start at the ends.
“I’m not the best at this,” I murmur to her. “But we’ll see how we go.”
The sharp line of her back softens as I work, trying not to pull. I feel claws pricking at my jeans, and I glance down. She’s curling her fingers over the denim, running the pads of her fingers over it in little circles.
I…likethis. Like taking care of her. She moves from my jeans to my sweatshirt, twisting to examine it, pulling the toggles through her fingers as I try to hide my smile. “Ken. Baby. Kind of hard to brush when you’re facing me.”
She hides her face in my chest, and something… melts. I run my hands through her hair, checking it. “Okay. All done.”
When my hands slip away, a clear complaint mumbles against my chest.
I slide my hands back to where they were. Stroking. Sliding around to her neck, my fingers gently gripping the skin there and massaging. “You like this?”
Movement. And I pause. “Did you just—,”
Shenodded.
Kenny peeks up at me, and I’m pretty sure my own eyes are wide as saucers. “You know exactly what’s going on.”
You’re just making us work for it.
My smile grows. “I have the feeling you’re going to be a demanding mate, Kenny Traylor.”
