“Yes, I’ve seen your apartment.”
I turned to glare at him. “I don’t mean my apartment,” I grumbled. “Well, notjustmy apartment.”
He quickly stifled his laughter. “I’m sorry. What do you mean?”
Before I could start chewing my lip, his thumb was already there, pressing into my mouth to stop my nervous tic. I sighed and relaxed into his chest.
“The longer we stay in this relationship, the more you’ll see all of my flaws. And then you won’t want me anymore.” The vulnerability of my confession broke through my post-orgasm high, making me want to run away and hide.
King tightened his hold on me, his chest vibrating with an almost aggressive purr. “Maybe you’re not perfect, because no one is, but you are perfect for me. Hopefully, with time, it will be easier for you to trust me. To trust us.”
I closed my eyes. He was right. Only time would tell. I just wished I had his confidence that this would end happily.
56
Wilder
I walked out of thepharmacy with two bottles of extra strength rut suppressants rattling in my pocket. The pharmacist had given them to me with narrowed eyes and a warning against taking too many, not that they could stop me when rut suppressants were available over the counter.
Lucy’s shop taunted me, a beacon of pure temptation across the street. It had been seventy-four hours since I’d last seen her, and I was on the verge of losing my fucking mind. After the warehouse fire, I’d worked my normal two days…and then I’d taken an extra shift to cover for one of my guys who was out sick. We were in the process of hiring a new firefighter but were short-staffed until we did.
It was a perfectly logical explanation for why I’d been working so much. Not suspicious at all.
The devil on my shoulder scoffed and crossed his arms.If you weren’t such a coward, you’d be fucking her in her nest right now.
Andthatwas exactly why I needed to stay away.
You could just tell her the truth. Then she can decide if she still wants to be with you.
I’d tried my best to ignore the angel on my shoulder, but I knew my time for secret keeping was up. Lucy deserved to know the truth, even if it meant I lost her.
Before I could talk myself out of it, I jogged across the street and pushed her shop door open. Lucy’s bright floral scent saturated the air, but instead of its usual strawberry sweetness, there was a sharp burnt edge to it. I was instantly alert. My heart raced when I didn’t see her. Had something happened? Fuck, she needed some sort ofalert button attached to her at all times so she could signal us if she ever needed us.
“Lucy?” I called out.
“Back here!”
I sprinted to the back room and stopped short. My brain needed a second to process what I was seeing because my omega wason top of a ladder.
“What the fuck?” I hurried to her side, my hands immediately going to her hips to steady her.
“Hi,” she said with a defeated sigh. “I hope your day’s going better than mine.”
“What are you doing?” I growled. Visions of her falling flitted through my mind and I tightened my grip.
“There was a water stain on the ceiling that I’ve been putting off painting, so I figured I’d get it done. But once I got started, I realized the plaster is crumbling, so I have to patch that and now my arms hurt.”
Her face was splattered with bits of joint compound and I reached up to wipe them off. “You need to get down from there.”
Her frown deepened. “I have to finish smoothing this before it dries.”
“I’ll do it for you.” I lifted her off the ladder and wrapped my arms around her from behind, but her body was stiff against mine.
“I can do it, Wilder.”
“I didn’t say you couldn’t.”
“Didn’t you? You don’t even think I can stand on a ladder correctly.”
