Rafferty is in the middle of them both and does a big long inhale with his eyes closed. When shivers rack his body, I know he’s not acting. Both his Alphas are absolutely fucking tasty. I understand his reaction completely. His eyes pop open, and they’re extra flirty. He mouths off a silentsorry, as he goes back and sits down again.
Leaving Tynan standing behind me.
He was there the whole time, ready to jump in but waiting to see what happened. And I guess that’s why I ended up closest to him, because it feels once again that he’s giving me all the power.
When I twist around, he’s right there. His blue eyes are full of the same intensity as the others, but he’s got a quiet resilience that appeals on so many levels.
“Hey,” I say softly.
Again, because it’s Tynan, I don’t have to talk over him or fight to be heard. It’s not that I like one behavior over the other—this whole pack is full of contradictions, which is really, really appealing—but today I need his quietness.
And he knows it.
“You guys go. We can go to dinner another time,” Tynan says, his tone firm without setting anyone off again.
“We were going to go to dinner?”
“Aye.”
As opposed to trying to work out why there in my house when I’m not, I take in what they’re wearing. Or perhaps it is not what they’re wearing but the effort they’ve gone too. They look fine, indeed. “Damn.”
Ronin’s got his momentum back and approaches with a swagger that has me questioning what my name is. And judging by his smirk and the flare of heat in his eyes, he knows exactly his effect. His hand curls around the back of my neck, and he leans down, his lips on mine, and I seriously forget how to breathe.
He stops kissing me and pulls back slightly, because I do actually forget to breathe. My head is spinning, but I like being dizzy and feeling like I’m about to faint. It’s how a kiss should be.
“Sorry I lost myself when you walked in, Tally. I actually do that a lot, and even though I should be worried, it doesn’t bother me at all. Have a nice, relaxing night, and I’ll see you in the morning.”
He kisses me again, his eyes wide open, a wicked smile on his lips. I’m woman enough to admit I feel myself falling after every time he touches me until I remember the pretty solid reasons I need it not to happen.
The process of saying goodbye to Keegan and Rafferty is equally different, to match who they are as individuals, and sweetly poignant. Unknowingly, they take a small part of mewith them. This is getting harder and harder to do; every day, hour, and minute I spend with this pack, my foundations crack that little bit more. Before rejoining Tynan, I have to take a couple of seconds sorting through fact from fiction and what is a means to an end and an end to me.
Working undercover is always a precarious balancing act that involves becoming someone else, but there's still a part of you in the persona you adopt. This job is going to push me to all the limits they talk about at the Police Academy. Justice is my motivation, but the costs are mounting.
Chapter Thirty-Four
TYNAN
Leaving Tally to sort herself out in the mudroom, I sit down on the sofa, working from my phone, filling in time until she’s back.
“I’m going to have a shower real quick,” she says as she disappears up the stairs.
I’m tempted to follow her. She’s someone I want to spend a lot of time with. The way she sees me is different to how the others do, though if I had to explain how, I’d be hard-pressed to.
The idea of us all hanging out in her space for no reason at all other than it’s her space, then taking Tally out for a late dinner once she got back from work was a good plan. Getting to spend the whole afternoon with just her sounds better, it sounds like fate. Pulling the sofa apart and setting up the modular pieces differently, I make a giant bed and flick the television on, leaving the movie channel on the screen. Grabbing sheets, pillows, and blankets, I set up a pseudo nest using my experience of having an Omega as my twin. By the time she comes back downstairs inthe cutest, longest cloud sweater I’ve seen, I have everything we could need, at least for a while.
Without hesitation, she bounds across the room and takes a running leap straight into the pile of blankets, her gleeful laughter despite the shadows under her eyes, confirming I read the room right.
I don’t join her. Not because I don’t want to, or I don’t feel confident enough to—it’s her zone. If she asks me to join her, I’ll be there in a heartbeat.
“What do you feel like watching?” I ask as I start flicking through the latest releases.
“Tynan, are you going to get changed?”
I twist around, and she’s sitting in the middle but holding up a blanket. Her intention is obvious.
“I didn’t bring anything.”
Tally bounds out of her hidey-hole and grabs the remote for the heater. After a small beep sounds, she climbs back onto the sofa bed.
