I paid the woman in tickets, slipping in an extra $20, and we left the tent.
“How’re you feeling?” I asked, cupping her face.
“Good. Relieved. I’ve been kind of scared of the cards since… well, since I took the pills.” Her voice was low, and I froze. Westin hadn’t talked about what she’d done when I was gone, and I’d been too nervous to ask her about it.
“Why were you scared?” I asked.
“I felt embarrassed about what I did, and I felt like the universe would judge me for it. I should have been stronger.”
“Darling,” I breathed, tipping her chin up so she met my gaze. “Suffering doesn’t make you weak.”
She blinked quickly and hid her face in my chest, running her nose along my neck. I wished my scent was as strong as an alpha’s, but Westin seemed to like it and that was ultimately all that mattered.
“Everything okay?” Liam asked, coming up behind Westin and running his hand down her back.
She pulled away from me, a smile on her face. “Yeah, we’re good.”
Liam looked at her carefully before nodding. “Well, I was wondering if I could tempt you to a ride on the Ferris wheel.”
“I’d love to,” she said, standing on her tiptoes to give him a kiss. “Henry, do you want to come?”
“No, thank you.” I knew Liam wanted some time alone with her, and I was in no hurry to get back on the Ferris wheel ever again.
75
LIAM
Westin glowed with happiness as we stood in line for the Ferris wheel, and I regretted my earlier hesitancy to come to the fair. I wanted to keep her surrounded with bubble wrap until she was better, but that wasn’t her.
While I wasn’t up for the bigger rides—I’d leave those to Bear—I thought the Ferris wheel would be the perfect excuse to hold her close. When we got to the front of the line, they stopped the ride for us to get in the seat.
The fuckingtinypurple metal seat.
I eyed it with skepticism, but Westin just grinned.
“You get in first,” she said, pushing me towards the chair.
I sat down and she somehow managed to squeeze in next to me, her body pressed so close to mine she was practically on my lap. The attendant looked unbothered as he shoved the lap bar over us and we were on the move. I didn’t know if his cavalier attitude was a good or bad sign in terms of our safety.
“Oh, this is so fun.” Westin leaned over the bar as we moved through the air.
I grunted and wrapped my arms around her tight to keep her from falling. She just smiled, like she knew exactly what I was doing.
“I’ve never been on a Ferris wheel before,” she mused.
“No? New River has a fair every year, don’t they?”
“Yeah, but I never got to go,” she said with a shrug.
My chest tightened at the reminder of how unhappy so much of her childhood had been, at least after the death of her parents. I gently gripped her chin with my thumb and forefinger.
“Well then, I’m honored to have your first Ferris wheel ride.”
I leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss to her lips. She moved to deepen the kiss, licking into my mouth until I parted my lips. Her tongue slipped in against mine, and the taste of her made me groan.
The ride lurched, and I tightened my hold on her, convinced we were about to plummet to our deaths.
Westin giggled. “They’re just stopping to let people out.”
