He didn’t answer with words right away, but he melted into me like he was testing the idea of wanting something for himself.
And I held him through it, letting him take all the time he needed.
Chapter 33
Kasey
“I want to show you something.”
Sleep hadn’t come easy last night, not that it ever really did. I’d given up long before the sun even thought about rising.
The sky had been nothing but ink, deep and endless, scattered with cold little stars. I’d stared up at them for a long time, letting the quiet settle over me while the rest of the world stayed asleep. It was the only time I felt like I wasn’t in anyone’s way.
Now, with Evander watching me so closely, I tried to pull myself fully into the moment. I tried to understand what he meant.
He didn’t look worried. Just…hopeful.
“What…what is it?” I managed, my voice rough from disuse.
His smile softened, warm enough to cut through the fog in my head. “Something outside. Something I think you’ll enjoy.”
My heart gave a small, confused flutter.
Evander shifted, helping me to sit up a little straighter from where I was leaning against him on the couch after breakfast.
Truthfully, I was content to just lean on this Alpha. I didn’t need anything else as long as he could keep the panic away, keep the thoughts from coming up, too. I was starting to think of him as my safe place and it hadn’t even been a week yet, had it?
“Come on. Go get shoes on.”
If I had to,I thought with a mental pout. It took more effort than I wanted to push myself up from the couch.Thankfully, one pair of sandals was already by the back door, and I easily slipped my feet into them.
Evander came up behind me, fixing the shirt I wore, so it sat on my shoulders correctly. Not that it would matter; it’d fall down again soon enough.
“You do have your own shirts now, you know.” The words weren’t an order, just a point.
“But they don’t…fit well.” They didn’t smell like him, but I didn’t think it was wise to say that.
Evander hummed, not agreeing to my statement. But he let it go and took ahold of my hand.
“Come on.”
Still half asleep, I let him guide me outside. Warmth spilled over the top of my head, down my neck, and across my shoulders. It wrapped around me so completely that I stopped walking for a second, blinking against the brightness. I’d forgotten how simple heat could feel like a blanket laid over my skin.
Forgotten how something so huge and far away could touch me so gently.
Evander glanced back, smiling like he’d been waiting for that exact reaction. “Feels good, doesn’t it?”
I didn’t trust my voice, so I just nodded, letting the warmth sink deeper, loosening something tight in my chest I hadn’t realized was there.
And then he kept leading me forward, towards something he clearly thought mattered.
Evander didn’t say where we were going. He just kept my hand in his, steady and sure like he knew I’d follow even if my brain was foggy.
I glanced around, trying to piece together why he’d brought me out here, but nothing looked different. Nothing looked important.
The grass had little steppingstones from the back deck, that seemed to lead to where his parents’ house sat about half mile back. The trees cast shadows over some of the stones and green grass, while blotches of sun snuck through in other places.
I wondered if I could be out here more often, soaking up the sun.
