Part of me is relieved he’s staying so close, and the other is even more pent up, because I’ve missed my chance to kiss him, and it might be the only one I'll ever get...
Timber
We settle into another silence. It hums with awareness, and I want him to be as conscious of me as I am of him. Over an hour later, when the credits run, I’m a raging ball of arousal, and I need to move, or I’ll end up hitting on him and make everything ten times worse.
I jolt as pressure lands on my shoulder, and I almost jump off the couch, until I hear Luke’s light breaths.
Turning to ask him what’s wrong, I gape at the sight of Luke sleeping against me.
He mostly cooks all day, but I underestimated how much it takes out of him if he nods off so easily.
When was the last time I was so comfortable that I let someone lean against me like this? Even when Kane teases me, and I want to know how far he’d really go, I wouldn’t let him lie on me.
When I look at Kane, I also see the line of his cheekbones and the arch of his neck, and I want to kiss him the way I do with Luke. But it’s different here. Just the soft rise and fall of Luke’s chest is making me feel possessive.
I don’t want any other alphas to see him like this. What if he’s worn out during that omega’s heat and they get to see him sleeping, or what if they cuddle him, or ask him to join their pack?
What if he bonds with other alphas when I’m away?
Luke’s nose twitches in his sleep, his lips move like he’s whispering something, and I lean in so I can hear him.
And he purrs.
I freeze, and the world shatters as fear and nausea burst inside me.
Luke draws in a breath and purrs again.
My heart free-falls at a million miles an hour as the heat is sucked from my body.
Fury slams me as I sink into the couch and force myself to shut the fuck up so I don’t wake him.
I’m suddenly hurled into a spiral of confusion as Luke twists his head, rubbing his cheek against my shoulder, nuzzling into me. He pushes closer, molding against my arm, running his nose along my collarbone before he sighs, and he purrs again.
I’m going insane. I have to be. This isn’t right. It can’t be fucking right.
Out of everything, out of every single thing that could make my life even more fucked up, why did it have to be this?
Betrayal slashes through me like a dagger, and I bite my tongue to stop myself from snarling at him.
I fucking told him what happened. I told him about the security system; he knows about the omega who broke into my house and took photos of me. I haven’t even told him about my ex-wife. I said straight to his face I needed to escape from a stalker omega, and he barely reacted.
I suddenly choke on my own breath as I begin to shake, and he keeps purring.
I don’t want to admit how good it sounds when pain is ricocheting around my body.
Why the hell did he stick around and act like he actually cares if he knows what happened to me? What the fuck has he been doing behind my back? Did he plan this? Did he even fucking work as a nutritionist, or did he sneak into my house because he’s another crazy fan?
My heart is breaking and soaring as I sit, pinned to the couch.
The worst fucking thing is my alpha side is buzzing. As his hand rounds my forearm, sighing gently as he digs his black painted nails into hard muscle, I can feel he’s fucking mine.
I want to throw him off me and kick him out of the house. I promised myself after everything that happened with my ex-wife that if I ever felt this way about someone else in the future, I’d never go anywhere near them. But I let my feelings for Luke develop because I thought I was safe.
And now this.
It’s not like I’ve passed a stranger on the street and matched with them. Luke is snuggling in, and I’m not pushing him off. All my senses are responding, especially when he pulls hisknees onto the couch, curling up, looking like he’s about to start nesting on my lap.
I knock my head back and try not to groan. It would be so easy. I could wrap my arms around him and pretend to fall asleep and see what he does when he wakes up. That would be the best way to find out his true motives. Not because my alpha side is bristling with pride at how near he is and how comfortable he looks, and I want to pull him even closer.
