It wasn’t a soft gaze, by any means, more calculating and predatory. But I’d missed it.
Kellan, on the other hand, had been the best addition to my night. He’d shown up after practice and the media call, hair still wet, casually dressed in jeans and a black fitted shirt that showcased every single one of his nicely honed hockey-boy muscles.
His distraction was similar but alsovastlydifferent to Slade’s.
Kellan was comforting in a way that felt like home. Or how I’d always dreamed home would feel. Albeit a home I wanted to strip naked and explore for hours. Kellan was an alpha who made my resolve to run from this pack harder than I’d ever imagined.
During my shift I’d kept drifting by his table, needing to check in. Unlike Slade, he was closely surrounded by other shifters—everyone wanted to be Kellan’s friend. He was popular and charming, and he wasn’t even buying the drinks to make it so. That had been Christian, another hockey wolf, who was viciously hilarious as he ribbed his best friend all night.
Those two gave each other so much shit, and by the time my shift ended, I felt like part of their friendship group. It had takena concerted effort to work all my section and not just drop my tray on their table to chat the night away.
Not that the club manager would have said a word, with Kellan being one of the owners, but I also hated for any of them to think I was lazy or unprepared to carry my share of work.
If anything, I’d worked that much harder than usual to doall the things,which probably explained why I’d passed out in the car on the way home.
Once I was dressed in jeans and a loose hoodie that smelled a lot like Kellan, I pulled on some socks and padded out of the wardrobe.
“You can come in now,” I called as I checked my phone, which had been plugged in to charge bysomebodyas well.
There were no new messages, but I was delighted to find almost four hundred bucks in tips stashed under the device. Kellan and his friends were excellent tippers, and while I felt a little guilty taking their cash, most of it would be going to pay the pack back anyway.
The door crashed open as Kellan bounded in and leapt onto my unmade bed, his massive body spread out to make the queen look positively tiny. “How’d you sleep?” he asked as I tucked my phone into my back pocket and held the money out to him.
“I slept great. And here’s some cash to start paying back what I owe.”
Kellan narrowed his eyes on my hand as if it were diseased and shook his head. “None of us will ever take your money, Shortcake. Let’s just start from scratch now, but please don’t stop me from buying you stuff on occasion.”
I felt stupid standing there with money hovering between us, so I quickly stuffed it into the drawer. “Thank you,” I said softly, determined not to make this a thing. Though there was one part I had to address: “Speaking of letting you buy me stuff… youwouldn’t happen to know where all my new clothes and toiletries came from?”
Kellan’s smile was breathtakingly effortless and full of joy. I couldn’t remember a time I’d ever smiled that freely before. “It was definitely Florence. I thought I recognized one of my hoodies.” Sitting up, he reached out and grabbed a handful of the sweater and rubbed it gently between his fingers.
I was sure my expression was a mask of disbelief. “Are you trying to tell me that not only is Florence buying me items without permission, but she also stole your clothes and put them in my room?”
He laughed hard, and I was thrown off balance when he yanked on the hoodie, pulling me on top of him. “Would you believe me if I said yes?”
I pushed against his chest and he hit me with his puppy eyes, their deep blue color leaning toward that violet hue he got when he was happy.Or turned on.
“Not a chance,” I huffed, trying not to react to our bodies all tangled together on the bed.Holy goddess, this was bad, but it also felt so good. “Please stop buying me things. I really don’t need any extras, and I’m never going to be able to pay you back.”
Pushing against his chest again, I barely moved an inch in his hold, and then he started to run his hands up and down my spine in soft, gentle touches. “It makes me happy to leave you little gifts.” His voice lowered, and I found myself wanting to stay under his soothing touch.
The tension eased from me as I collapsed against him, deciding that I wouldn’t take away his joy when it didn’t cost me anything to be here with him.
Except for maybe small slivers of my soul, but hey, I could probably live without them.
“Okay, Golden. You can give me small gifts, but I want you to know that youneverhave to buy my love or affection. You willnever buy anyone’s, you hear me. If they can’t appreciate you for all your non-monetary charms, then they don’t deserve you.”
His hands paused against my skin where he’d slipped them under the hoodie, and I felt tension ripple through him. “Will you freely give it to me?”
Not if I can help it.Though it was starting to feel like it might all be out of my control.
“Just keep being you. It’s more than enough.”
His shudder this time was stronger, and that soft touch turned firmer as he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me so tightly into his chest that I couldn’t breathe.
I didn’t want to breathe.
Like the last time he’d hugged me, the sensation tore at my essence and destroyed flimsy repairs to old wounds. I barely managed not to sob.
