“What made you okay with being low-ranked?”she asked.
“I don’t know,” he said.“Less responsibility, I guess.I liked turning a wrench more than anything, so I didn’t really care what rank I was.Then Solan and Brick started rank fighting, and I can be a little competitive with them, so I decided it was time to kick it into gear.”
“Psychic houses aren’t ranked.My folks are the leaders, and everyone just works together.”
“I think wolves are too aggressive to not have a ranking system.The females aren’t ranked, though.”
The evening air smelled like pine now mixed with the smoke from the grill as he set the steaks on the grate.It was a comforting sort of smell that made him feel at home, especially with her by his side.He joined her at the edge of the concrete, her face tilted toward the setting sun.“It’s quiet here,” she said.
“That’s what I like about the town.”
“I always wanted to stay in one place, you know?It was just not what the house wanted.”
“Do you remember that battle with the wolf pack when you were little?”
“Not really.I was too young to remember it, but I do have small flashes of things.Mom being scared, people screaming, howling.”She shivered, and he put his arm around her, drawing her close.
He was thankful she’d been spared.
They talked quietly while the steaks grilled, and then they ate at a tiny café table on the patio.
She put her fork down and settled back in the metal chair with a sigh.“That was amazing.You’re really great with the grill.”
“Happy to grill for you anytime.”
“I might take you up on that.”She leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table.“Can I tell you something?”
“You can tell me anything.”
She rested her chin on her hand.“I used to know exactly who I was.Now I’m not so sure.”
“You just learned some devastating truths about yourself.Plus, you met me.All that mixed together is enough to make anyone’s head swim.You don’t have to figure everything out in one day.”
“I appreciate it.My folks were pushing me to just move on, like I hadn’t been devastated to learn I was adopted and my biological family was gone.The others were, too.They like harmony in the house.Disharmony and upset emotions can mess with psychic abilities.”
“You’re definitely allowed to feel however you want for however long you want.”
She reached for his hand and they linked fingers, resting their joined hands on the metal table.“Yesterday was the worst day of my life.But today has just been the best.”
They moved inside and cleaned up the kitchen, and after she yawned a half dozen times, Leo offered her his bed.
“I’ll sleep on the couch,” he said.
“You could,” she said.“But I’d like you to sleep with me.If you want?Just…sleep.”
“I’d love that.”
He offered her one of his shirts to sleep in and showed her the attached bathroom so she could clean up.By the time he finished in the spare bathroom, she was in bed, wearing his shirt and looking like a dream.
She patted the space next to her with a soft smile, and he climbed in wearing only boxer briefs.He turned to face her, and she smiled at him after she yawned.
There was a long, tense moment as they settled next to each other.He could hear her heart pounding, scent the sweetness of her arousal.His body was strung tight, and he could tell by the subtle way she was trembling that she was no less affected.
It was a crazy torture to be so close to his truemate and not slip his hands all over her soft skin to find out what she sounded like when she fell apart.
He wanted to drive her wild.
And he was driving himself wild in the process of thinking about it.
