“I like it too.” My heart races in my chest. God, I hope she can’t hear it. “We could do this more, if you want.”
“I’d like that. This is what Ash did to make sure I didn’t freeze to death.”
I tamp down the wave of jealousy, shoving it back down into the deep recesses of my mind.
He got to cuddle with Mirabelle. While she was naked.
Fuck, now I’m thinking about her naked.
“Now I know what you mean when you tell me you can practically feel me thinking,” she says, lifting her head to glance at me, a small smile on her lips. “What’re you thinking about?”
“Nothing,” I say, quickly. Too quickly.
A melodic giggle leaves her lips. God, I could listen to that noise on repeat for hours.
“Okay,” she says. “I won’t push.”
She’s an angel. Too pure for this world.
A knock sounds at the door and the two of us freeze.
“That’s probably the doctor,” I say.
“I’ll get the door so you don’t have to get up!” She says, pushing herself up to her feet.
Damn, those shorts really do look ridiculous on her, especially with how tight she had to pull the drawstring.
I’m not necessarily a big guy, especially compared to the alphas around here, but Mirabelle is just tiny. Whatever they were feeding her at that facility she was fucking held captive in obviously wasn’t enough.
“Thanks, Sugar,” I say, my lips quirking up into a smile that only serves to make me wince when it tugs at my split lip.
“Of course!”
The hinges whine as she opens the door to reveal an older alpha man with worn jeans, a polo shirt, and a briefcase.
“Oh, hello there!” He says, his eyes widening in surprise as he stares down at Mirabelle. His expression twists and she glances down at herself, as if she’s concerned his expression has something to do with her.
It probably does, but not because there’s something wrong with her.
That always seems to be Mirabelle’s first line of thought.
“In here, Doc,” I call out to him.
Mirabelle steps aside to let the doctor in, her normal, bright smile shining.
“Hi! I’m Mirabelle,” she says.
“Nice to meet you, Mirabelle. I’m Dr. Stetson. Are you injured at all?”
Dr. Stetson is a good guy. Makes sense he’d ask if she’s alright, especially since he’s worked for this family for a very long time.
“No,” she says, shaking her head.
His gaze jerks down to her forearms and my eyes follow.
Fuck, how did I not notice them before?
The faint hint of purple bruising, hand-shaped bruising, is forming on her pale skin.
