I can’t have her leave. Not yet.
Even if it meant stealing her duffel bag just to have a few more minutes of her time.
I’d rather she be angry with me than not here at all.
I can feel her watching me as I pull the ingredients out of the fridge and lay them out on the counter.
“They really told you to stay away from me?” she asks in a soft voice.
I don’t look at her while I retrieve the toaster from the cupboard. “Yeah. They did.”
After the bagels are in the toaster, I turn to her. She bites her lip and stares hard at the marble island, shaking her head.
“It makes sense,” I say carefully. “After what happened at the rescue with Ryland. And Travis said you weren’t really talking to him anymore after you met him.” I shrug.
She nods. “Like I said before,” she replies, “I don’tneedprotection. No one speaks for me but me.”
There’s an undercurrent of spice to her violet scent, and her anger is more mouthwatering than I thought it could be.
She remains silent until I hand her an open-faced bagel, complete with smoked salmon, avocado, dill, and capers.
“Okay, this looks delicious,” she mutters. “It’s hard to stay angry with something like this in front of me.”
I chuckle and take the stool next to her as she takes her first bite. Her eyes close, and I watch as the tension visibly leaves her body.
Success.
I fucking did that for her.
The moan that leaves her mouth is absolutely sinful, and my Alpha roars with pride.
My cock stirs in my pants at the delighted noise she makes.
I provided for her.
I kept her fed.
My brain is in full caveman mode, and I wonder how crazy it would be if I knocked our plates to the ground and took her on the kitchen island.
That would probably be too much.
But I move my stool closer to her, not bothering to be sly about it.
I’m bitter, jealous, and greedy. Travis has known her for so damn long, and she slept in Ryland’s clothes last night, not mine.
I want to make up for lost time with her.
I want?—
“Mew.”
A kitten leaps onto the island, startling me. Before I can stop her, she runs to my plate, snatches a piece of salmon like it’s a cat toy, and runs away,thuddingonto the tile floor.
“They can jump that high?” I sputter, then turn to Blair, who has her mouth buried in the crook of her elbow, her eyes crinkling. Her body shakes with delighted laughter.
“Yeah,” she squeaks, “they can.”
Her smile is breathtaking, and her joy is radiant. It makes me laugh at the absurdity of the situation.
