Miles
Side-stepping Blair,her hand falls from my arm as I attempt to follow Lilah. I’ve been thinking of how to say what I need to say since yesterday. Rafe’s insistent that we don’t say a thing. But I’m not an actor. I can’t pretend like him.
And I need her like the air I breathe or the food I eat to survive.
She ismine.
My match.
This show’s pointless with that knowledge. Every instinct inside of me wants to claim her in every possible way. While knowing that if I do, she may not be ready for it. And the show had us sign an ironclad contract that would not only punish us but her as well if I did.
She disappears up the steps, and I don’t hesitate to follow. Damn, she has gotten under my skin.
I catch sight of her slipping into a room near the front of the house, and my feet close the distance of their own accord. Only stopping once I have the door shut quietly behind me. She’s curled up on a chair, watching something out the window. The light from the falling sun paints herface in soft reds and oranges, and emotions play over her features.
I pause, drinking her in for a moment before clearing my throat. She startles again, letting out another adorable squeak.
“Jumpy?” I tease.
“What are you doing here?” Her eyes fly to the shut door behind me before traveling back to my face.
I can’t help the smile that pulls at my lips as I move closer. “We were talking.” I shrug, attempting to hide my nerves.
“You’re not supposed to be up here,” she says.
“I feel like we just had this part of the conversation,” I say with a laugh. Scratching my cheek, I glance out the window to see what caused the expressions to flow across her face a moment ago. My pack mates with Chad. Dismissing the sight for what it is, a simple conversation, I turn back to her. “That first morning, when I ran into you coming out of the bathroom?—”
She presses her lips together and watches me. Waiting for my next words.
“You asked what my musk smelled like. Do you still want to know?”
Lilah inhales before nodding mutely.
A smile wavers on my lips as a surge of adrenaline rushes through my body. I wet my lips. “Coconut, with almond and cocoa.” I shift on my feet. “It’s a sweet musk. And I’m painfully aware that it isn’t a scent that everyone likes.”
“Like an Almond Joy?” she asks, and I can’t get a read on if that’s a good thing or not.
I sink into the chair across from her and pick up a book from the side table for something to do with my hands that doesn’t involve pulling her into my arms.The Art of Courting. Fitting. Dragging my gaze back up to hers, I nod. “Yeah, like a candy bar.”
As the smile on her face grows, it feels as if a weight islifted off my shoulders, yet a knot still tightens in my stomach, twisting with anticipation. “So you were musking that morning,” she says. It isn’t much of a question, but I nod anyway. “I thought it was my imagination.”
I huff out another laugh. “Definitely not. Even then I had the urge to mark you with my scent. Do you know how hard it is to not follow my instincts?”
She hugs her legs to her chest and hides a growing smile. “I’m pretty sure you were there when I dove straight into the deep end of that.”
“Yeah,” I sigh. “And the only downfall to it is the fact I need to smell your perfume now.” I glance back out at the guys, still chatting with Chad. He’s safe for all of us because none of us have even the slightest of feelings for the guy. And he’s made it clear that although he’s a flirt, he doesn’t like us that way either. “You know, I shouldn’t tell you this, but I’m pretty sure Rafe or Elliott stole your clothes from the bathroom after you left. They both say production came for them, but I don’t believe them.”
Her eyes fly back to the alphas in question, and she watches them for a minute before replying. “I’m sure production picked them up.”
“Lilah—” I say, pulling her attention back to me. “I need you to know something.”
Her legs drop to the floor, and I wonder if she’s getting ready to run, rather than listen to my confession. The problem with that is I would give chase. And the cameras may pick up more than they expect.
I swallow drily. “Shit. Don’t run,” I mutter. My voice is nothing but gravel with the words, and she stills. My pulse throbs in my throat, and my fingers curl around the armchairs' soft arms. “I think you’re it for me. The one. My match.”
Her mouth snaps shut, and she freezes, not even moving a single muscle. “What?”
The words are already free, so they run out of me like water, flowing over each other. “Your pheromones and perfume, they made something click inside of me. This possessive urge to throw you over my shoulder and run away with you. To hide you away until I’m sure you are mine in every way. It’s why I had to go on a run the other day. Shit. Even now, my head’s screaming,Mine, drowning out almost all other thoughts. It’s this primal instinct. I want to care for you and possess you. In every single way.”
