“I might have missed you too,” she adds as she detangles from him. When she turns to Miles, her eyes go wide. “What did you do? Are you okay?”
She stops in front of him, taking in the crutches and his wrapped ankle. “I’m fine,” he assures her gruffly. “Where’s my hug, sunshine?”
When she doesn’t move, he pulls her into him, one of thecrutches falling to the ground as he holds her to his chest. He presses a kiss to the top of her head and inhales like a man starved of oxygen. We may have been away too long because I’m not sure the building urge to rut has gone away. A fleeting thought has me parting my lips to warn Lilah, to tell Thomas. But this selfish need to have her with us for the night snaps it quickly shut.
The show has to have something in place if alphas go into ruts. Some kind of protocol. It has to have happened in all the years they’ve filmed. And it isn’t a sure thing that any of us will have that problem. She could soothe us.
Lilah pulls back slightly from Miles before she ducks under his arm, attempting to be his fallen crutch. “I’ll help you back to the car.”
He puts the majority of his weight on the opposite crutch, but keeps her glued to his side. It makes a slight growl bubble up from my throat, and I cough to cover it up. Pack mates don’t fight over omegas. Even if every atom in my body wants me to tear her away from him and push him down the stairs.Whoa. Insane intrusive thought. Maybe I should tell Thomas about the possible rut, because I’m further gone than I realized.
We make it down to the roundabout driveway without me being a terrible pack mate, and I hold the door open for Miles as Lilah helps him into the front seat. Rafe climbs into the back, a cameraman scurrying into the rear third row for filming. Once Miles is in, Lilah straightens with a bright smile, oblivious to the possessive need swirling inside of me. I shut the door on Miles and help her into the backseat. When all I want to do is kiss her.
Closing her door, I circle the front of the SUV and climb behind the wheel. The engine rumbles to life, and I ease into drive, eager for the evening under the stars.
CHAPTER 38
Lilah
An intense energyflows off of the guys. And I’m not sure what’s causing it. Even the conversation has felt charged. Or maybe it’s all in my head. But as we arrive at their small house on the grounds—we probably could have walked here if Miles wasn’t hurt—the feeling grows.
Their musk’s have a hit of something almost sensual that I can’t place in them. It calls to the omega in me. Urges me to rub against them like a cat looking for attention. I tamp it down, because how would I explain that to them?
Butterflies erupt in my stomach as Rafe takes my hand and leads me through the small house. He slides the glass door open off of the kitchen and tugs me outside. I’m speechless as I catch sight of the nest of blankets and pillows. Soft and silky looking from here. I want to burrow into them. Roll around and mark them with my scent. Candles all around, some lit and dancing in the slight breeze, others apparently put out by the very same breeze. And a huge inflatable screen is set up in front of it.
“That’s for later,” he says. He turns me toward a table setup under some twinkling fairy lights, looking like something out of a romantic movie. “This is for now.”
After he leads me over to it, I sink into a chair as he pulls it out. The butterflies have lodged themselves in my throat, ensuring that my words are stolen completely.
“We are going to cook you dinner,” Elliott says, breaking the silence.
“Oh, I can help,” I say, popping back to my feet.
Miles chuckles. “Or you can keep me company.” He sinks into the chair next to mine, giving me a hopeful look that has me folding back into the seat.
“Only if you tell me how you hurt yourself,” I say.
The other two disappear into the house, and I give Miles my complete attention. His lips raise in a rueful smile. “I was preoccupied thinking about seeing you while out on my run this morning. And I didn’t see the root across my path until I was tripping over it.”
“It’s my fault then?” I joke. I know he isn’t blaming me, and the fact he was thinking of me so much it distracted him makes the butterflies remaining in my stomach completely brain dead as they beat against their confines.
“That depends…if I say it was, will you nurse me back to health?” A laugh pops out of my mouth, and he grins. “Is that a no?”
“I wouldn’t be a very good nurse.”
He shrugs. “As long as you were near the whole time, I’d be better in no time.” I roll my eyes, and he laughs. “Too corny?”
I hold my thumb and forefinger an inch apart. “Just a tiny bit.”
“I missed you,” he admits, his voice gaining a serious edge. “Five days was too long.”
“You had other dates to keep you busy,” I say, and I want to kick myself because I don’t want to remind any of themthat there are other omegas they could currently be with. Such a difference to how I entered this show, not even sure I wanted to stay. Now staying feels as if my life depends on it. Which is terrifying. I’ve done the one thing I promised myself I’d never do again, given an alpha—in this case multiple alphas—the ability to break my heart.
He tilts his head to the side studying me. Probably reading all of my damn emotions as they occur. He pats his uninjured leg. “Come here, sunshine.”
It isn’t a demand or alpha bark, but I move like it is. I want to be in his arms. I need to be close to him. And his words are all the permission I need.
He tugs me fully into his lap. As I settle against him, his chest rumbling with a purr that settles every single nerve in my body and his musk of pure almond, coconut, and chocolate washing over me, I notice two things. One, the possessive way his fingers curl into the junction of my hip and thighs is unlike any way anyone has ever held me before. And two, he is growing hard beneath my ass.
