And she definitely didn't know that I'd been half in love with her since the first time she'd walked through my door six months ago.
Fuck.
I threw off the covers and padded into the kitchen, barefoot on the cool hardwood floor. Maybe some water would help. Or maybe I just needed to do something with my hands.
The moonlight streamed through the window as I filled a glass from the tap. I drank it slowly, trying to calm the riot in my chest.
You're everything.
I'd actually said that to her, out loud. Inwardly, I cringed because Amara probably thought I was the biggest loser on the face of the planet.
What the hell was wrong with me?
But when the words had dropped from my lips, her face hadn't shown any displeasure. If anything, it seemed like she might have enjoyed the compliment. Her eyes had gone wide, those warm brown irises catching the light. She'd looked up at me like I'd given her something precious. Something she didn't think she deserved.
And that right there was the problem.
Amara Brooks didn't see herself the way I saw her.
She didn't see how beautiful she was. How every time she walked into the bakery, the entire space seemed brighter. How her scent, that soft lavender and old paper with something sweeter underneath, made my dragon purr with contentment.
She was so small and barely came up to my chest even when she wore those little heeled boots she sometimes favored. She was easily only four foot nine, maybe. She was petite in a way that made my protective instincts go haywire.
And her curves. Amara had a body like a country back road.
Not that she showed it off to the world because she hid under those oversized cardigans and loose jeans. The soft fabrics that looked comfortable hardly gave anything away.
Except I'd noticed because I'd had a fantasy or two about peeling those same oversized garments from her body.
I noticed everything about her, from the way her hips swayed when she walked to the curve of her waist that I could just make out when the fabric of her cardigan shifted. The fullness of her breasts that she tried to hide but couldn't quite manage.
God, I'd spent way too much time imagining what she'd look like without all those layers.
What her warm brown skin would feel like under my hands. Wondering what sounds she'd make if I...
Stop it.
I drained the rest of the water and set the glass in the sink harder than necessary. This was getting out of hand and I needed to get a grip on reality.
I needed to tell her the truth. Soon. Before the Valentine gala in two weeks where she'd see me standing on stage with my brothers and realize I'd been lying to her this whole time.
Or at least omitting the truth, which was basically the same thing.
My phone buzzed on the counter and I grabbed it, grateful for the distraction.
A text from my mother, and I wasn't even surprised that she was texting me so late. She was a night owl. Her day was just about to start, she believed in being early for nearly everything.
Laurent messaged me earlier today, your tux will be ready for you to pick up shortly. It makes me so happy that all my boys will be at this event.
I sighed, typing back a quick response.Will do and I love you, mom.
She sent back a heart emoji and I couldn't help but smile. My mother was the reason I'd chosen this life. The reason I'd walked away from the family business and opened a bakery instead. She'd been the one to teach me that strength didn't have to roar.
She had told me that it was just as important to nurture people as it was to lead them and had given me her full blessing on starting the Ember and Crumb.
My mother had also taught me that an Alpha's worth wasn't measured in dominance but in how well he cared for those around him.
And right now, the person I wanted to care for more than anything was a four-foot-nine librarian with bright brown eyes and a smile that made my heart stop.
