Page 51 of What We Don't Say: Part One

He taps once against her palm.

Callie inhales carefully. “Green?”

Theo nods.

Idris looks at me. “Slow.”

“I heard the color lesson, professor.”

His brows lift.

I shut my mouth before the look turns into a lecture.

Theo’s mouth curves, faint and sweet. It gives me enough courage to ask, “Do you want me to kiss you, sweetheart?”

Theo’s eyes drop to my mouth.

One tap against Callie’s palm.

Green.

I move slowly, even though my whole body wants to close the distance in one breath. I touch his cheek first, giving him the weight of my hand before the weight of my mouth. He leans into the contact, eyes fluttering, and that small surrender hits me harder than it should.

“Still green?” I ask.

One tap.

I kiss him.

Careful at first. Barely more than pressure. His lips are warm and still for the first second, then he makes a little sound and tilts toward me. Callie’s hand moves into his hair, and he softens between us, held by her fingers and my mouth, his scent blooming so fast I have to grip the edge of the cushion to keep from taking more.

Idris’s voice comes from beside us. “Breathe, Sloane.”

I do. Badly.

Theo notices. His hand comes up, hesitant, and touches my chest. His fingers spread over my shirt, right where my heart is hammering like I ran ten miles. He pulls back from the kiss and stares at his own hand.

“Rut-edge,” Idris says, not hiding it from him. “Sloane is in control, but his body is responding to you and Callie.”

Theo looks at me.

I nod because lying to him would be useless and cruel. “You smell good. Callie smells good. My body is being an asshole about it, but I’m here.”

“Language,” Garrett says mildly.

Callie makes a wet little laugh.

Theo taps once on my chest.

Green.

I close my eyes for half a second. “You are going to kill me.”

“Sloane,” Idris warns.

“I’m staying slow.” I open my eyes and make sure Theo can see me mean it. “You’re in charge of how much.”

Theo studies me, then turns his face toward Callie. His forehead bumps her shoulder, and she bends over him without thinking, pressing her cheek to his hair. He breathes her in with a shudder that makes every Alpha in the room go quiet.