She nods. “I know the bite will fade, but even after it has, I need you to know that my feelings for you mean everything to me.”
I pull her close, wrapping my arms tight around her.
Our lips find each other desperately. I roll her onto her back and slide into her again. And it’s perfect. Every moment with Rose is always perfect.
Chapter 29
Rose
It’s been a week since I slept with Win, bit him, and cemented that my future is here, in Rios, with Murph, Win, and Joel.
He walked around with the biggest grin on his face until the bite faded, so big that I bit him again when we slept together. I’m not sure if I’ll keep doing it, but if it makes him that happy, I probably will.
We’ve laughed and hung out together, made love, and finished renovating the dining room, which we’ll probably turn into a game room since we all love eating in the kitchen so much, and it makes cleanup so easy. The attic remains a dumping ground that we’re all actively avoiding.
We’ve talked a lot about the future, including Ben starting school in the fall and our pack name.
A pack takes its name from the most dominant alpha. In my parents' case, that was Bryan. I became Rose Hayes when I bonded with Simon. Our pack name will probably be Owens, since Murph is the most dominant alpha, but none of us are in a hurry to start changing our names. We have enough on our plate right now, including one thing that Win, Murph, and Joel keep avoiding talking to me about: the house they can’t afford.
I clear my throat. “So, I’ve been thinking.”
The three men at the dining table immediately tense up.
Even though we’ve spent the last week planning our future, laughing, watching movies, making love, and bonding, they stare at me as if bracing themselves for me to say I’ve changed my mind about us.
“About?” Joel asks warily, nudging his half-eaten bacon and eggs aside.
Murph’s hand tightens around his mug of hot coffee before he sets it down and pushes it away as if he doesn’t want anything fragile nearby.
Win just watches me, quieter and more serious than he usually is.
In the living room, the distant sounds of a cartoon on low are a distraction I set up for Ben so we could have this important conversation without his interruption. I’ve gotten up twice to make sure he is actually in there and not eavesdropping at the door.
“I’m buying this house,” I announce.
When no one says anything for three beats, I figure they’re in shock, so I continue. “Ben has this terrible habit of eavesdropping on private conversations. He got it from me. I used to do the same thing when I was a kid. It drove my parents mad.”
“So… Ben heard something?” Murph says, his expression unreadable.
I nod. “Y’all told me you bought this house to flip, but you didn’t tell me you changed your mind about selling but couldn’t afford to keep living here. I want to buy it.”
"No," Joel says firmly. “We won't ask you to do that, and we don’t expect you to. We’ll find another way to keep the house."
So that’s why they kept changing the subject whenever I brought up the house: they were struggling to find a solution and didn’t want me to know.
“Like what?” I ask.
No one says a word.
Shifting in my seat, I reach into my pocket and pull out a piece of paper, unfold it, and lay it on the table. I rub my palm over it to smooth out as many of the creases as I can, then push it toward them. “That’s what’s in my savings account right now.”
Win, Joel, and Murph lean toward the statement, with its many, many zeroes. It’s not quite a million, but it’s pretty damn close.
Their expressions range from shock to disbelief and a combination of the two.
“I spent a couple of days checking out house prices in the area, including in and around downtown Rios. I could buy this house outright and still have six figures in savings for emergencies. Or was my research wrong?”
Joel shakes his head, and his voice is strained when he says, “You’re not wrong.”
