I want to buy time here in her bedroom and with her. I want to play with her hair. I want a lot of things I shouldn’t want, so instead of listing them, I shrug. “I don’t know if I know what to do, but you can’t sleep with wet hair.”
She cocks an eyebrow. “Because I might catch my death?”
“Yes, better be careful.”
I watch as she takes a blow dryer from the wardrobe, plugs it in, and hands it to me. I look at the thing in my hand as she makes herself comfortable in the spot I just left on her bed. I’m obviously out of my depth. There’s a plate with spikes at the end. It looks like a medieval torture device, and I have no idea what to do with it.
“It’s a diffuser for my curls.” She giggles as she takes the hair tie from her hair, and it all cascades down to her waist. “Here, let me turn it on.”
She shows me how it is supposed to be done, gently gathering her hair and using the diffuser to keep it bouncing at the top. She dries it gently, and I nod, taking the blow dryer from her and taking over.I move behind her, afraid that she can see too much if I let her, and I swallow dry, concentrating not to moan when I take her damp hair into my hands.
It’s torture.
The moment my hands start working on her strands, her perfume goes up a notch, suffocating me, yet I’d happily die like this. There’s no denying she loves being pampered, and I live to serve her.
Forget the ranch, this is my full-time job.
I wonder what it would feel like if I were chosen. If I was an Alpha with a real pack and not my older brother’s responsibility. I wonder what she would think of me if we met when I was on top of a bronco, with the crowd calling my name.
My questions remain unanswered, and I keep working until it’s all dry and I have no excuse to keep touching her. She stands as I turn the thing off, with a smile on her face.
“Thank you.”
“I like doing it. I could do this every day.”
Her laughter is musical, and it changes something in me when she pushes my chest in jest. “I don’t wash my hair every day, but I’ll keep it in mind.”
I don’t want to beg, so instead, I nod, my eyes searching every crevice of the room, wondering if there’s something else I can do around here. I don’t want to go, but eventually, the silence between us stretches for far too long, so I step back.
“Tomorrow, we can get you more bread. Write me a list if you need anything else.”
She shakes her head. “You’re going to spoil me.”
“Good.”
fifteen
Major
“What the fuck is wrong with you?”
The anger in my brother’s voice doesn’t surprise me.
I knew it was coming. Jesse gave me a piece of his mind, too, and I took it because he was right. I shouldn’t snap at Veda like that. There are no excuses. I don’t fucking know how to talk to her, and that’s on me. I can’t say it’s the lack of practice. They obviously deal with it just fine, and they’ve never had an Omega, just like me.
Not that I have her because I don’t. It’s my duty to protect her, and that’s it.
“Is she okay?” I sigh.
“No thanks to you.”
At the sound of Derrick’s voice, Jesse returns, his gaze flickering between us, but I feel the judgment heavy on my shoulders.
“Let’s talk outside,” I request and turn around, not wanting to see if they agree. I trust they want to know what I have to say, even if it’s to curse me out a little more.
The moon is high in the sky, illuminating the dirt path in front of the house. I brush my hand over my face, waiting until Jesse andDerrick come out. We move a little farther from the porch, furtively looking back at the house as if at any point she’ll come out and pressure us for answers.
“The main tractor fucking died again, and I had to call Carver. I didn’t want to, but he’s the only option for now. I was on edge when he came. I knew if he saw Veda, he would know what she is.”
