She flashes me a smile. “I’m glad everyone was okay, animals included.”
“Me too. You shouldn’t have waited up for me. I appreciate it, but you need the rest.”
“Some things are worth staying up late for. What started the fire?”
I keep my focus on her words and not on her body. Her wavy chestnut hair is in a braid with a few loose strands framing her face. Iacheto touch her. Murph said it’s okay. Acting on our feelings isn’t bad or wrong, but the things I want to do to this woman aren’t thoughts I should be having about another alpha’s scent match.
“Joel?” she asks.
I shake my head and look away in yet another failed attempt to focus. “Sorry. A box fan got clogged, and it started the fire. All the hay in the barn made it worse.”
“Why do you keep avoiding looking at me?”
She’s right. I look, then turn away, look, then drag my gaze away.
I stare at the couch, cycling through what I should say and what I should not. And all the while, the scent of her skin, lavender and sweet peach, is almost too much to handle. I turn to her with no clue what to tell her. Her face scrunches and she sneezes.
It’s fuckingadorable. When she rubs her nose and her cheeks turn pink, it’s the icing on the cake, and I can’t help but grin.
“Sorry for sneezing in your face.”
“It’s the smoke.” I push myself to my feet before I give in to the urge to pull her into my arms. “I really do need a shower. Ready to go up?”
She nods and gets up from the couch. I turn off the lamp and we walk up together.
At the top of the stairs, her steps slow, and mine do as well. Her bedroom is a few doors down from the largest bathroom, which we let her use because it has a bath, and none of us have ever been interested in those. She bathes Ben there and was the first to use the claw-footed tub we installed. We prefer showers.
“Rose?” I ask when she continues to hover.
She hesitates, shifting from foot to foot. “I know it’s late, and I should go to bed, but…”
“Do you want to talk for a bit longer?”
Please let her say yes.
Five minutes ago, I was yawning into my hand, literally counting down the seconds until I got into a hot shower and crawled into cool cotton sheets.
What the fuck happened to my exhaustion?
She nods. “You’re tired though, so I should?—”
I snag her arm and tug her back as she turns to walk away. “Nothing would make me happier than staying up later with you. Idoneed a shower, though. If you want to sit on the bathroom counter and don’t mind staring at a wall, I promise I won’t be long. We can still talk, though.”
A rosy flush spreads over the apples of her cheeks. “And if I don’t want to stare at a wall?”
I look at her, struggling to believe I was ever tired at all. It’s like someone replaced all the blood in my veins with caffeine. Except it’s not caffeine. This is pure adrenaline-based need for Rose.
“Well,” I eventually say, “you might see one or two interesting things.”
Namely, the erection damn near poking a hole through the front of my pants. I wouldn’t want her to see it and think this has to lead to anything tonight.
She glances down. Her eyes widen, and she quickly looks away again. “Oh.”
I chuckle. That blush is far too tempting, so I drop a kiss on her mouth and thread my fingers with hers, leading the way to the bathroom and switching on the light as soon as I step in. “Come on, before I start pinning you against things and kissing you.”
“You say that like it’s a bad thing.”
I let out a groan, and she grins up at me.
