There was no way we could get back down to town in the storm,and no conveniently located mountain hotel to take her to. She would have to stay with me.
An omega would be in my cabin.
Fuck my life.
“Thanks for rescuing me.”
Her sweet voice pulled me out of my spiral. I took a deep breath and turned to face her.
“What were you doing out in this weather?” My words were too harsh, but images of her sliding off the side of my mountain flashed before my eyes and filled me with anxious rage.
“Oh, you know, just some camping and hiking. I’m Lucy, by the way.”
She held out her hand. I stared at it, not trusting myself to touch her. She awkwardly lowered it. “What’s your name?”
“Wilder,” I grunted.
“Well, thanks for rescuing me, Wilder.” She chewed her lip and glanced out the window. It wasn’t even ten in the morning yet, but the storm light made it feel like night was falling. “I’m guessing getting back to town might be a bit tricky.”
I turned off the truck. “You can come inside until it passes.”
Before she could respond, I was back in the downpour. I sucked in a deep breath, filling my lungs with the smell of damp earth as I desperately tried to erase her scent from my memory. Her door popped open before I got to it, and I rushed over so I could carry her.
Only because of her injured ankle. Definitely not because my alpha was pushing at me to have the cute omega in my arms.
Lucy clung to me as I led us inside, only letting go once the front door was shut behind us. I glanced around my cabin, trying to see it through her eyes. I’d renovated it last year—rewiring the electric and updating the plumbing—but in terms of decoration it was…sparse. I had been more focused on making the old cabin livable, but maybe I should have gotten a throw pillow or something for the couch.
I toed my boots off. “I’ll get you a towel.”
I headed into my bedroom and stripped off my sopping clothes,leaving them on the bathroom floor. Did Lucy need something to wear? She had a backpack, but what if her clothes were wet? I pulled on sweatpants and a sweatshirt and grabbed an extra set for her.
She was still by the front door, dripping water on the floor, teeth rattling from the cold, when I returned.
I fought the urge to pull her against my chest.
“I got these for you in case you need them.” I thrust my clothes at her, and she took them with shaky hands.
“Could I possibly take a shower?”
I swallowed hard at the image of the stunning omega in the shower, water dripping down her bare skin. I cleared my throat, ignoring my hard cock.
“Bathroom’s down the hall. Clean towels are under the sink.”
“Thanks.” Her voice was an almost whisper as she started to shuffle by me. I shook my head and picked her up again.
“Are you going to be able to shower on your own?”
She froze in my arms and I squeezed my eyes shut. Fuck. Now it sounded like I was asking to shower with her.
“I’ll be fine.”
I nodded and set her down by the bathroom door. “Sit down in the tub if you need to.”
“I will. Sorry for being such an inconvenience.” She slipped into the bathroom and closed the door behind her.
Lucy was a temptation. A disruption to my carefully curated life. But I would never describe her as an inconvenience.
The woodstove crackled asit radiated heat into the living room. I’d pushed the armchair close to the fire so Lucy could warm up after her shower. She’d emerged all pink and clean, her wet hair a darker shade of gold.
