Page 68 of Knight With Benefits

The surge of blood to my cock was painful, but as much as I wanted to take hold of her again, I knew if I did, I wasn’t going to let go another time.

Backing toward the door, I jerked my chin down in a nod, a low rumble coming from the bear inside me as he fought to keep me where I was.

“You’ve got it. I’ll be here by seven thirty.”

I fumbled behind me for the doorknob, barely holding onto my control as she smiled. I wasn’t going to go far, but I had to get out of the house and away from her scent before all our plans went up in smoke.

“I’ll be waiting.”

Her words followed me into the darkness outside as I shut the door between us and dragged in great gulps of air to clear my head. My bear was still fighting to go back to her, but a reminder that we had to watch for danger helped him settle and give me a chance to think. I wasn’t going to hold myself back again, so if I tipped her into heat tomorrow night, there were plans to be made.

Chapter Thirty-Three

Gwyn

Iappreciated that Carl was trying to be responsible, it was more than I’d have expected from an alpha before meeting him, but I kind of hated him at that moment. I had been looking forward to what might come after since I’d made my decision, so I hadn’t been prepared for him to force me to wait.

It was the right thing to do, but it sucked.

My core throbbed as I breathed in his lingering scent, half tempted to follow him out into the night. It was a little appeasing that he’d seemed to struggle to leave, but part of me was ticked that he had been able to. I couldn’t even give myself any relief, because with his pheromones in the air, it would be just as risky as if he’d stayed.

Groaning into the silence, I turned around and took hold of my glass, downing the rest of my drink in one gulp. The comfortable warmth of the first one had faded, temporarily replaced by the heat of my desire, but now I was left to face reality alone in my cold kitchen.

I eyed the bottles sitting on the counter, well aware there was enough for me to pour another drink or two, plus Carl’s glass remained mostly full. It was enough for me to get a good buzz if I drank it fast, but I found myself cringing away from the idea. I’d used alcohol as a crutch to get through the loneliness before Carl, but I no longer felt like I needed it.

Dumping his glass in the sink, I put the two bottles under the counter so they were out of sight before making my way to my bedroom. With the excited buzz of what was coming faded since the moment had passed, my eyelids were beginning to droop. Going to sleep would bring the next night closer, so there was no reason to resist the pull of my nest.

I woke before my alarm, blinking into the darkness as I oriented myself. My dreams had been a jumble of running from shadowy figures, and being tangled up with Carl, so my instincts were on edge. I found myself straining my ears, searching for any sound that might let me know which way the day was going to go.

It wasn’t long before my alarm went off, jolting me out of the light doze I’d fallen into as I’d listened to the silence. While it was usually a struggle to pull myself out of bed, there was an itch under my skin that sent me upright and scooting for the edge.

The first stop was the kitchen to get the coffee going before I jumped into the shower, enjoying the few minutes of warm water before it became little more than tepid.

Another issue for another day.

With something to look forward to, I wasn’t going to let the pile of things that usually bothered me bring me down. I was dressed and ready to go before the sun had done more than made the sky blush, deep purple still holding court over the west. A familiar scent tickled my nose as I strode down the sidewalk with my coffee in hand, making me falter for a moment as the smokey chocolate filled my mouth with saliva, but a quick glance around proved Carl wasn’t there. The soft breeze should have pushed his scent away overnight, so all I could think was that the wind had only begun with the coming dawn and I was simply more sensitive to the alpha’s smell due to my coming heat.

Shaking off my hesitation, I crossed the street and headed for the short one that would bring me to The Hangout. It felt strange to have gone so many days without stopping in, and I realized I missed talking to David. He had been the closest thing to a friend I’d had since moving,hell, since Anthony had claimed me, and I didn’t want him to think I’d abandoned him as soon as an alpha showed interest in me. There was no romantic pull between us, but I still wouldn’t want him to think I was that kind of person.

Resolved to stop by and say high before leaving for the day, I was humming a tune as I came around the corner and spotted my newly painted café. The sight of it put a smile on my face, the obvious change lifting my spirits. It seemed like I’d worked for so long without anything to show for it, then suddenly it started to look like a real business almost overnight. While the inside was still empty, I was getting closer to being ready to open.

The blank slate reminded me of another task I faced, and my cheeks warmed despite no one being there to see or able to hear my thoughts. I still needed a sign, and I’d finally placed the workorder for it, but there were lingering doubts about the logo I’d chosen. Anthony would have laughed and called me names for what I’d picked out, and even though I knew Carl wasn’t the same type of man, I’d been hesitant to even tell him the name the other day because of the fear he’d think the same.

Pushing aside my worries, I unlocked the door and slipped inside, locking it behind me. It had become habit to lock any door I could, and while I knew it was smart and kept me safe, I hated that I lived in a world where it was a necessity.

My barren kitchen welcomed me, the empty space cleaned of all remnants of the previous counters in anticipation of the new ones arriving. Carl already had the new sink sitting in the corner, ready to be placed, and the excitement over seeing everything coming together made my heart speed up.

The space out front looked like a different place than the one I’d bought. Adding the wall made the area smaller, but it also helped it feel a little cozier, especially with the fresh paint and new flooring. I still had more to do on the lounge side, but the dining area was ready for tables and decorations. Everything had been ordered, we’d decided to go with a pre-built display case, and once it arrived Carl would build the counter around it, and then I could have the rest of the furniture delivered.

I’d planned to use my time at the café while I waited for the window to be replaced taking care of bills and making a grocery list, but I decided if I was finally going to have intact windows, it was time to show them off. We’d removed the plywood to paint but had replaced it with paper on both the inside and the outside to protect the glass. Since the guys had finished painting the outside yesterday, I wanted at least the outer layer off.

It didn’t take long to slip out and pull down the paper covering the windows, but doing so showed me how dirty they were. Deciding taking care of that was my next task, I was so lost in scrubbing away layers of dirt I didn’t notice the truck pull in or the man approaching until the crunch of rocks was right behind me.

My immediate reaction was to freeze in place and prepare for a blow. Every muscle tensed, my breath held and my heart racing.

It took a moment to remind myself I was expecting someone, and it was far too early in the day for Adam or any of Anthony’s old cronies to be up and about. They kept late hours and tended to sleep in until noon, so I sucked in a deep breath and gathered my courage. Peeking over my shoulder, I spotted a portly beta with scraggly grey hair peering back at me.

“Ms. Cogann? I’m here to replace a window?”

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