Page 18 of Pack Giroux

He laughs, and it brings his cheeks up, giving him a boyish look about him. I like the way his tan skin seems to glow in the sun, the same with his brown eyes. And just when I think that's my favorite feature about him, the wind blows and has his brown curls rustling around, tempting me to change my mind.

I want to keep him laughing, so I honestly tell him, "Better be glad you came back for your hoodie today. I almost stole it straight out of your mom's office, and I'm pretty sure she would've let me."

Succeeding making him laugh again, he says, "You're probably right. If you think my mom didn't have her hands on that bit of chance today then you're wrong. She's been on my case about settling down since I graduated high school."

My lips part in surprise as we come to one of the benches on this side of campus. "Why so soon? Did she not want you to experience the world first?"

This time his smile is softer. He pulls his hoodie over his head before he says, "She knew that I've never been one that needed to experience the world. I had goals and met them as soon as I possibly could. I've wanted my own pack for as long as I can remember, so I got my degree out of the way. I just so happened to meet Jameson and Emerson along the way, and the rest is history."

Holding out his hand for me, I don't know what he's playing at but I take it anyway, letting him pull me to my feet. Reaching down to the backrest of the bench, he flicks a little mechanism I didn't even know was there, flipping it up to make a table.

I gasp in surprise. "I've been here for weeks now and didn't know those did that. Did you go here, too, or did you learn that from visiting your mom?"

He waits until I set my bags down and sit before straddling the bench at my side. "I went here for the first part ofmy degree. The last bit of it, I finished at the culinary academy in New York."

"What's it like there? I've always wanted to go," I confess, turning my whole body to face him and crossing my legs on the bench. There are only inches between us.

"It's busy," he answers. "There are a ton of people everywhere, they all seem like they're in a race. All the time. Definitely not as pretty as here, either. Especially now."

He ensnares me again with his sexy smile, making my cheeks go pink from his compliment. As close as we are, I feel little tingles in my belly every time his eyes flick down to my lips. I've never kissed a boy before. We omegas would have been severely punished if we were ever caught doing something like that with someone who wasn't our pack. There was more leniency for the betas and alphas, but not for us.

I don't know what I'm doing, other than going with my gut instinct. Leaning forward half the distance, I watch until the last second as he covers the last half and our lips touch. Those little tingles morph into a full-on raging inferno as the kiss continues. Surprising me, his lips part, and I follow his lead, doing the same. When his tongue touches mine, there's no controlling the soft whine that leaves my throat. My hands find the front of his hoodie, and I'm not sure if it's more to touch him or to keep myself grounded and stop me from floating away. His hands move to my knees where they're now resting on the tops of his thighs. Other than his thumbs skimming across my skin, he doesn't move his hands further than that.

When we separate, I pull back, watching his eyes as my fingers come to my lips. They're still tingling. Just like my belly.

He smiles slowly. "Does this mean you'll call me now?"

I laugh, hiding it behind my hand still at my mouth. "Maybe."

"Not to rush or anything, but would you consider lettingmy pack court you?" he asks. "Grady has the others excited to meet you."

My lips slowly droop into a frown, and I scoot away from him until we're no longer touching. "You don't even know me."

He opens his mouth to speak, but I cut him off, laying it all out on the line. "I don't even know what courting is, Kinkaid. The place I grew up, the place I...ran away from, we don't get to choose our packs, if that has anything to do with courting. It's all an arranged situation. I'm scarred in places that'll probably never heal. You and your pack deserve someone better than that."

Jumping up, I snatch my bags off the ground and quickly make my way down the sidewalk.

He's already caught up before I can be upset about what just happened. "Don't you think that should be something that we decide? We know what we want and what we can handle."

Moving to cut me off so that we come to a stop, he gently adds, "If this is about you then I will walk away right this second with but one word from you. Courting is pretty much pack dating. Getting to know each other. Just the same as actual dating. If you aren't ready for that then tell me now, otherwise, I'll take your silence as an opening to keep trying. Because, there is something about you that has me and Grady both thinking of you nonstop. I, for one, can't wait for you to meet the others, because I'm sure they'll find the same thing in you that we see that I'm not so sure you see of yourself."

"You don't know me," I whisper, repeating myself.

"I know enough to try," he replies, bending down to capture my gaze with his own. "We all have our secrets that we want to bury in a box to never be opened. Every single one of us. That box doesn't have to open until you're ready, if ever."

I bite my lip, thinking about his request. It'd be so easy to say yes. They're not the only one that's been lost in thought sincewe met.

He jumps on my silence. "Give us a chance to prove that life doesn't have to be what you grew up believing it is."

Without all of the information, he can't possibly know the extent of how deeply ingrained some of the teachings are in us. But, his comment and the pleading in his brown eyes has me agreeing. "Okay."

"Yeah?" he asks, reaching out to touch my elbows and dropping a quick kiss to my cheek. "Thank you. You won't regret it."

We'll see about that, because I fear that I won't be the one regretting it at all. However, I don't say this to him. Instead, I tell him, "I've got to go. Classes and practice, honestly, this entire day has kicked my butt. I've got work to do for my classes."

"Oh yeah, of course," he says, stepping back. "You have our numbers if you need anything or want to chat later if you have time. We can plan to get together this weekend if you're free."

"Sounds good," I tell him with a smile. I'm not lying. It does actually sound good. Too good to be true, but I was honest when I said I'd give his pack a chance.

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