Page 52 of Knight With Benefits

“That sounds good. The company to replace the cooler door is coming later, and I was going to work on the flooring in the dining room after I do another coat of paint on the walls.”

If I hadn’t been in contact with his chest I wouldn’t have known it rumbled, the pitch so low it wasn’t audible. I wasn’t sure what could have caused it, but the suspicion that it was typical alpha bullshit helped pull my thoughts away from the places we were touching and onto more important things.

“The counters for the kitchen will be coming soon, and the tables a few days after that, so I’ve got to get it taken care of. I planned it out, and if things work out right, I might be able to do a soft-launch next month. If the café is even still mine by then.”

I couldn’t help tacking on the last sentence as memories from the day before intruded. My shoulders drooped and Carl’s hands froze. He’d already soaped my back, and my hair was full of suds, so I turned to face him again, ignoring the way my skin tingled as it slid across his.

“Don’t worry about that. Keep moving forward, and we’ll face any issues that get in the way when they appear.”

It wasn’t much of a plan, but having someone willing to support me was nice. Some of the weight on my shoulders lifted, and I sighed as Carl’s fingers working along my scalp, pushing mine aside to take over rinsing out the suds. I’d never had someone tend to me the way he did, and it was almost enough to want him to stay.

Clean and rinsed, I dragged my eyelids open once he’d run his fingers through my hair one last time before letting them drop to my lower back.

“Why don’t you get started on breakfast while I finish washing? You need a good meal to keep your energy up.”

I couldn’t help huffing a laugh at him repeating something I’d told my boys so many times. And while a deep satisfaction permeated my body from the number of orgasms I’d had since the previous afternoon, tiredness also dragged at the edges of my mind, warning me it was going to be a long day if I didn’t find another way to replace the rest I’d sacrificed.

“Sausage and scrambled eggs?”

“Perfect.”

The rumble in his words had my skin buzzing again, and I practically fled the shower before I upended the plans for the day, because I doubted he’d stop me if I dropped to my knees like I was tempted to and hadhimfor breakfast instead.

Tucking a towel around myself, I left another out for Carl before slipping from the bathroom in search of clothing. I was still damp as I dragged on a pair of jeans and another plain t-shirt, tying my wet hair back in a ponytail instead of dealing with it properly. Anthony had always wanted me to lookpresentable, and while I enjoyed looking nice, the memories made me happy I had an excuse to wear ratty clothing every day instead. Eventually I’d convince myself to dress up again, but holey jeans and stained tops had become my shield.

Only, Carl hadn’t ever seemed to notice the shield, slipping beneath my guard with no more effort than it took to be decent to someone of a different dynamic.

Sighing, I shook my head as I walked to the kitchen barefoot. I knew it was ridiculous to keep having the same argument with myself over and over, but every time I firmed my resolve to keep him in the friend zone, he came smashing through the barrier and showed me what I was missing.

And Iwasmissing it.

The satisfaction of taking care of another.

The comfort of having someone there to support my wants and needs.

It wasn’t just the sex, which was mind-blowing and more than enough to change my mind about alphas. It was also the easy companionship we’d naturally fallen into, despite both of us having rough spots in our past. While I’d tried to tell myself the reason I’d let down my guard so fast was because my heat was coming and hormones were screwing with my brain, and obviously my instincts couldn’t be trusted because they’d led me so wrong in the past, it was hard to believe when he kept proving how good he was.

Leaning my forehead against the fridge, I sucked in a deep breath and reminded myself I had more important things to focus on than one alpha wrestling himself into my life. If I wasn’t careful, my life wouldn’t be mine much longer, and all the freedom I’d earned would evaporate. Figuring out my relationship with Carl would have to wait.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Carl

It was difficult to watch Gwyn walk away after we’d had breakfast and it was time for her to head off to the café. Instinct and my bear wanted me to do everything for her so all she had to do was stay home and be ready when I wanted her, no matter how caveman-ish those thoughts were. I didn’t like her being out of my sight, but I still had to finish her roof since I’d neglected to complete it before ravishing her all night.

Those thoughts put a grin on my face, and for once I didn’t feel queasy while I was up on a roof.

The noise of my hammer blows echoed through the little street for a couple of hours until I had laid the last shingle, satisfied that the roof would hold up to anything short of a tornado. I was always thorough, but I’d taken extra care since it was Gwyn’s home. As much as I wished she’d let me drag her back to my den, we were nowhere near that happening, so I’d made sure she’d never have to worry about replacing the roof of the duplex again, even if she lived there another twenty years.

My pocket started vibrating as I tossed the last of the garbage into the back of David’s truck. I’d gotten a few colorfully worded texts from him while I was busy with Gwyn the prior night for not returning it to him on time, but I knew he’d forgive me. Once I emptied the bed of garbage I’d clean it up and return it looking as new as the old rust bucket was capable of looking, with fresh oil and a full tank of gas.

Digging out my phone once my hands were free, I was glad to see Danger’s name on the screen. He’d tried to call me the previous night too, and while I wouldn’t have interrupted what we’d been doing, I knew it was important to Gwyn to get Danger’s help.

“Hey, thanks for calling me back.”

“You need help with something?”

Danger had never been one to mince words, so I explained the situation and what we needed. We’d always known he had money, even before he revealed his identity, but knowing who he really was had explained why he’d had a lawyer on call to help Sebastian and the others the first time we’d tangled with the Purists, and I hoped she’d be able to do this for us, too.

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