“We’re at around three thousand feet.”
“That’s high for some people!”
He laughs, and the sound rolls through me like I’m too close to a campfire I didn’t mean to step into. “All right,” he says. “Beta it is.”
He lets go of my waist, but he doesn’t give me the space back. He stays right there, close enough that his scent floods me and feels unfair coming from a man who knows exactly what he’s doing.
“But just so we’re clear, doll,” he adds, voice dipping like we’re sharing a secret. “I don’t do favorites. I appreciate the whole damn menu.”
“How inclusive of you.”
“I’m a man of the people.” He closes one eye in a slow, shameless little gesture that should not work as well as it does. “You sure you’re steady? You went real quiet on me.”
“I didn’t.”
“You did.” His grin turns sharp at the edges. “Like your brain hit a fence post.”
“My brain is fine.”
“Doll, your words are saying ‘Fine,’ but your face is saying ‘Oh, no.’?” He tilts his head, studying me like I’m a new toy he’s already decided to keep. “And I’ve gotta tell you, watching a pretty girl lose her composure over me? That’s the kind of thing that makes a man sleep well at night.”
“I did not lose my composure.”
“You sure?” His eyes flick to my mouth, then back up like he’s testing how easy it is to rattle me. “Because you looked like you forgot what your own name was for a second.”
“In your dreams.”
“Mm.” That grin deepens. “Whatever. I’m still counting it.”
“I wasn’t swooning.”
“You were.”
“I was tripping. There’s a difference.”
“Sure there is.” He leans in a fraction, like he can’t help it, like he’s testing what I’ll let him get away with. “Whatever story you need to tell yourself so you can look me in the eye again.”
I open my mouth to fire back something clever…
“June! Get over here! We’re about to start!”
Kai’s eyebrows rise. “June, huh? Gorgeous name.”
“Don’t wear it out.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it.” He picks up the saddle he dropped earlier and hoists it back onto his shoulder like it weighs nothing. “Looks like it’s our turn to shine. See you in there, June.”
He saunters toward the corral, and I watch him go, trying to remember how breathing works.
What thehellwas that?
My body is still buzzing, and my hands are shaking. His scent is lingering in my nose like it’s been permanently imprinted there, and I’m suddenly craving pineapple.
Check your pills when you get home,I tell myself.Something’s wrong. Something’s off. This isn’t normal.
Last night with Seth was weird too. The way my body reacted to his scent. And now Kai.
“You’re an Omega, right?”
