“I get you.” He smiled. “Well, I promise you won’t get any from me. I’m just glad to get to you know better in the first place.”
The surge of affection I felt for him was overwhelming. I threw myself at him in a big hug, and he hugged me back.
“Thanks,” I said. When I pulled away, I added, “By the way, where did you go?”
“Huh?”
“You weren’t here when I woke up,” I said nervously. “Did you… not want to sleep together with me?”
Maybe it was too soon. That would make sense, since we’d only spent a single night with each other. I understood if Ramsay wouldn’t want to be so intimate yet, even after the flirting we did last night.
Ramsay’s laugh broke me out of my anxious thoughts.
“No, it definitely wasn’t that,” he said. “Hell, I would’ve loved to sleep with you.”
I blushed. “Then why were you down there on the couch?”
He quirked an eyebrow. “Matheson, you were out cold the second I put you down on the bed. You were half-passed out even at the dinner table.”
“So?”
“So you were in no state of mind to answer my question.”
“What question?”
He chuckled. “You’re dense. I was gonna ask if youwantedme in the bed with you. It’s not gentlemanly to just hop right in with the guest. So I took the safer option and slept down there.” He smiled. “But now that I know youdowant me to sleep with you, we can arrange that.”
Heat flooded my cheeks. “Well, good. I was cold without your big body warming me up.”
“Yes, sir. Reporting for duty later tonight as the professional omega-warmer.”
“Shut up.” I playfully shoved him, then got out of bed and stretched. The last remnants of the nightmare disappeared from my mind. Ramsay had put me back in a good mood. “So, what’s the plan today?”
“Whatever you want, boss. All this is for you, remember?”
“Yeah, but I wanna do something we both enjoy.”
“I can think of a few activities that fit the bill.” He winked. “Actually, I have an idea. But first, let me make you some pancakes.”
My stomach growled at the mention of pancakes. “Wow. You really know how to treat an omega. Sure you’ve never done this before?”
Ramsay chuckled. “Positive.” He leaned in and pressed a kiss to my forehead. “You’re the first and only omega I’ll ever care about.”
My face turned beet red, but thankfully Ramsay didn’t see it, because he’d already leapt off the loft landing and started to concoct pancakes in the kitchen.
* * *
I learnedmy lesson last night and decided not to over-stuff myself on food, which ended up being a good thing because Ramsay and I did a lot of walking as we trekked down through the territory in our wolf forms.
It was nice just tobewith him. His presence was like the sun, bright and warm and full of life. In the silences between conversations, there was no awkwardness. Once in a while I pressed close to his side, our fur touching and making my skin tingle with pleasant jolts.
Ramsay’s wolf was bigger than mine, but not too wide or burly. He moved over the land with quickness and agility. His coat was a beautiful red-brown color, like coppery mountain clay.
He loped ahead and stopped at a ridge. “Keep up, omega!” he teased, his voice ringing out through my mind.
“Slow down! You have longer legs than me.”
I joined him on the ridge and gasped in awe. It overlooked the lake, which shone pale blue beneath the sun.
