She nodded. “I’m here, playing this stupid game with you, and she’s going through fuck only knows what. I can’t let her die,” she said against his neck.
“Who?”
“Anne.”
That made him still. Why hadn’t he put it all together sooner? Her chasing the slavers, risking herself? He’d thought it was because they were a danger to the omegas she protected, but that wasn’t it. “One of the omegas who was taken by slavers is your friend, right?” No wonder she’d put herself through this hell.
Alison nodded but didn’t pull away. That felt like a small miracle, how she only curled tighter against his chest, as though he were her only real comfort.
He looked over her shoulder to meet Kyle’s gaze.
Clearly, tomorrow, once she’d come back to her senses, they’d need to have one hell of a conversation.
He was growing tired of her secrets.
Chapter Thirteen
Why was it that every damn time Alison let those alphas get the upper hand, she paid dearly for it?
She groaned softly as she woke, wishing she’d at least gotten those thirty seconds or so to lie there in bed and not realize exactly what had happened. Some ignorance would be amazing right about then.
Instead, she’d remembered it all, every filthy detail, every spilled secret.
Why the hell did I do that?
“Come here,” Kyle grumbled and tugged her against his chest. He rubbed his chin on the top of her head as he trapped her against him. “It’s too early.”
“You’re the one who likes to get up early,” she pointed out.
“Sure, when I don’t have a warm, temping omega in the bed. Turns out that changes everything.” His arm was heavy yet reassuring in a way she wasn’t comfortable with—especiallyafter last night.
She squirmed, unable to relax again.
He let out a long-suffering sigh, as though they’d had this fight a million times and he was used to losing. “All right, let’s get up.”
Alison slid from the bed, nearly regretting the choice when the blanket stopped keeping the chill away. The bedwaswarm, and Kyle’s masculine scent wasn’t the worst thing to spend another hour or two cuddled up to.
She winced, memories of the night before coming back.Nope. Not a chance.
Kyle, despite agreeing, didn’t actually get out of bed. He shifted to sit up, the blanket pulling off him.
Which left him naked. How had she not noticed that before? It wasn’t like ignoring his hard cock was all that easy, and it had been pressed against her all morning.
“So, are you over your mood yet? Because if not, I wouldn’t mind trying to treat it again.”
Alison crossed her arms, ignoring the way it teased her nipples. “You’re just looking for another reason to tie me up.”
“I don’t need a reason.”
Thatgot her going, especially when he set his hands behind his head. It stretched him out, reminded her that the man had very little fat on his body. He really was stunning, especially as his nose healed. In fact, he distracted her so well that she forgot all about their bickering, or about the fact she probably didn’t want to let him know how much he affected her.
He had to suspect—he could smell her, after all—but letting him know it or have any proof was too far.
Yet…she struggled to draw her focus away. He didn’t have the dark hair on his chest that Daniel did, at least not so thick. His was lighter, but it still had that mesmerizing trail down to his groin.
He brought his hand to his cock. “Come on, sugar. Only us up so far. No reason to rush out of bed just yet, is there?”
Alison pressed her lips together, the temptation strong. She’d never reallywantedto do something like that before, and yet suddenly she could think of nothing else. Before she even realized it, she’d started to move toward the bed. Her knee pressed into the mattress, beside his foot, and, as she crawled up his body, she felt primal in a strange way.
