Page 58

He pulls a Sumo orange out of a desk drawer and peels it, then takes my water and parks it on his desk. “Eat.” He dispenses an orange slice into my hand.

I take a bite, and sweetness fills my mouth. Mm. I haven’t had any luxury produce since I left Alden’s.

“Something’s wrong.” He sits down beside me, drowning me in his scent, warmth radiating from his body.

“I’m fine. Turn down the alpha anxiety.” I flush hot all over and my stomach clenches like a fist.

This time his frown is more of an upside-down smirk, a you’re full of shit sort of look. He seems to frown a lot more now than when we met on the beach. He hands me another orange slice. “Better?”

I swallow. “Yeah, sorry about this. I should go. I don’t want you to catch whatever this is. Reese already answered my questions, and I can email you any I forget.” I brace myself on the armrest, and rise to my feet. Blood roars in my ears.

“Elliott,” Tyler chides, and helps me lie down on the couch. “Let’s take this scarf off.”

I lift my head, and he does the rest. The air grows charged as his nostrils flare, the first sign of attraction I’ve seen.

“It’s probably just a migraine, or too much caffeine, and not enough food.”

“There’s no such thing as just a migraine,” he mutters as he dims the lights, my sweet, perceptive alpha. Alden’s alpha, I amend. “You’re too pale.”

“It’s winter.”

He props his bag under my feet, then sits on the floor beside my head.

“So, you found a mate?”

“No.”

I turn my head toward him, and stare pointedly at his neck.

“You found my mate, and then you found me.”

“Alden?”

He nods, and his frown smooths into a faint smile.

Warmth fills me. A pleasant kind. “That’s perfect. That’s exactly what I wanted.” My vision blurs. No, I refuse to get sick or cry in front of him.

“I read your article.”

“I’m sorry.”

He shushes me. “I love the way you write, how you sound so much like yourself that each time I read another column from your backlog, I feel like I know you a little more.”

I lift my head. “Really?”

He nods. “I didn’t know you before, but I know you a little bit more now. You’re very talented, by the way.”

“Thank you,” I say weakly.

“Have another orange slice, little goose.”

“You mean gosling?”

He laughs. “You still remind me of Alden.” I feel myself getting wet. It’s just because he’s hot and I know how good he can make me feel. That’s it.

“I don’t see what’s funny about your poor vocabulary,” I say.

“I don’t think you’re having a migraine. I don’t think you’re in heat either. I think your unmanageable heats have a reason.”