Page 26 of Pack Giroux

I can taste his warm-vanilla scent on my tongue and it seems to seep down my throat and into my belly. An image of Kinkaid’s proposal last night pops into my head, and I have to stop myself from the whine that wants to come out.

As our kiss ends, and I put a little space between us, I stare into his eyes and become even more brazen than I was last night. "If I end up staying again tonight..."

Well, I thought I was brave enough to get it out. My words fall off as I stare into his dark-blue eyes.

A smile creeps up on his face as he answers the question I didn't ask. "Yes. Come stay with me."

I bite my bottom lip, a small movement his eyes track before he gently grabs my chin and pulls my lips back to his. By the time that I'm finally stepping out of his car, my face is likely as red as it can get. Not just from the blood pumping twice as hard in excitement but also from the slight burn from the stubble lining his jaw and top lip.

I'm still smiling when I run up the stairs and take out my key to unlock my room. Of course, it dies quickly when I see all three of my roommates scattered around the room doing classwork. Well, Whitney and Nichole are. Laura has her stuff spread out, but her phone is in front of her face.

Whitney is the first one to look up. Her expression of disgust is all I need to know before she even opens her mouth to speak. "Decided not to come back last night, huh? Where've you been? Whoring around with those alphas?"

Laura snorts, not glancing away from her phone. Nichole ignores us all completely. Just like I ignore Whitney and go into my room, shutting the door behind me.

Jameson said he was going to sleep for a little while and would text when he's on his way to pick me up. That means that I had to give his twin my number, too. Not that I hate Jameson. I understand where he was coming from. I just wish that wecould've gotten off to a better start this morning.

Since I ended up getting a good night’s sleep with Kinkaid, I decide to take a super long shower, taking the time to shave everything before sitting down at my desk to get some work done for my classes. There's an email from one of my professors saying that I need to pick a book from his list for our final paper. I end up having to send him five choices. From what I'm assuming to cut down on him having to read every paper on the same book, he gave us a ton of different options. We've still got months until the end of the semester, but that doesn't mean that I can't get started on it. I set a reminder on my phone that's now on the charger with the names of the books I chose. I'll probably buy all five of them to read. That's just one more thing that we weren't allowed to do on the compound. All reading material had to be approved by The Reverend. Let's just say that the fantasy books on this class list would've never made the cut.

I spend a few hours getting ahead in some of my classes since I'm completely caught up. It helps to do this on the weekend when I know that it's going to be busy during the week with classes and practice. When I finally close my laptop, I get dressed in my snug-fitting white shirt and overalls. I don't want to spend any more time in this room, since all I can think about is how good it felt in Kinkaid's last night.

Stuffing all of my things in my pockets, including my phone charger, I lock both doors that lead into my room before going out into the main one. At this point, I don't trust my roommates, which really sucks, considering I'm stuck with them for the rest of the year. None of them speak to me this time as I leave as fast as I came.

Taking a deep sigh, I really don't know if my anxiety can take many more months of this. As I race back down the stairs, I think about going to talk to Coach and taking her up on the offer to move. Alas, all that's going to do is piss everyone off morewhen I get special treatment. If I can survive the compound, I can certainly survive three girls still stuck in their high-school mentality.

As I make it outside, I realize that I hadn't given much thought as to where I was going once I left. I was in that much of a hurry to just get out. Without much thought to it, my feet take me over to the shop on campus to see if they have any of the books that I want in stock.

The same guy from weeks ago greets me as I walk in, and I throw up a friendly wave. He's helping a couple as I walk around, but by the time I determine that they don't have a single book like I'm looking for, he's free and walks over to me.

"Hey, again," he says, walking up.

"Hi." I smile.

"Something I can help with?" he asks.

I explain what I had been looking for and that I didn't think they had it.

"Yeah," he agrees sadly. "We don't carry those unfortunately. But, I could order them and have them sent here for you to pick up so that you don't have to pay shipping."

He's already walking over to his counter and typing things in on his computer before I can say, "Actually, that's okay. I was hoping to have it sooner, so I might see if I can find it somewhere else first. Thank you, though."

He smiles in a cute, nerdy way, but it does nothing for me like my pack does.

My pack? When did they become that?

I'm so distracted with my thoughts that I don't realize he's said something until he repeats it.

"Want to go out sometime?"

I open my mouth to reply, but a voice at my back beats me to it just as an arm goes around my shoulders. "Sorry, friend. She's taken. Like, really taken."

Glancing up at Raine, that fire comes back from earlier. Apparently, I like the way he stakes his claim on me. But not at the risk of hurting someone else, because I don't miss it as the guy flinches at Raine's words.

"Thank you anyway," I tell him. "And thank you for all your help."

"Anytime," he says with his eyes flicking to Raine before he scurries off to help someone else.

I turn on my heel, as angry as I am turned on. Two feelings at war with each other that I can't explain.

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