Page 20 of Pack Apollo

He gets quiet and when I glance at him over my shoulder, his shocked expression drops into blankness, and he smiles while looking down.

By the time I finish, Cordell is already sitting with all of his things spread out on the blanket. As I sit in the spot he's left open beside himself, he offers the variety of the layout, and I realize I was right about the hummus. I may be in tune more than most with what I put in my body, but for whatever reason, I just can't seem to get on board with the stuff. He chuckles as I tell him as much. It brings out this dimple in his cheek that I find myself wanting to kiss.

"Everyone's tastes are different," he says, reaching back into his bag. "I wasn't sure if I would need this or not, so I'm glad that I packed it."

What he pulls out almost makes my stomach rumble embarrassingly. A giant turkey on rye loaded with lettuce, tomatoes, black olives, and a plethora of other things. It's stacked super high and wrapped tightly with a clear plastic wrap.

"Thanks," I tell him as I take it, not at all trying to hide the relief in my voice.

He chuckles again and we start eating in silence, listening to nature. I'm the one that finally breaks it. "After the fallout with my mom about coming here and weeks of stress trying to stay caught up in class while working, I think this is the first real peaceful moment I've had in a really long time. Thank you for that."

His eyes go from capturing mine to flicking down to my lips as I speak, and it makes those butterflies come back.

"I come up here often when things start feeling overwhelming," he admits. "I'm glad that I'm able to share that with you. Count it as one of my courting presents. I don't mind doting you with gifts, but I tend to be more of a memory gifter than material."

There's a quick moment where I can see it. Me, part of their pack. Being cared for and loved. Given some of the finer things in life that I've never had. But, just as soon as I see it, it's gone again. The thought of my mother drinking herself away because she didn't have a pack to turn to when things got bad pushes the other feelings aside.

"I wasn't lying when I told Palmer and Brent that I didn't want anything serious," I tell him quietly, looking away.

He lays back on his elbows, stretching his body out and crossing one foot over the other. "I know you weren't. I think sometimes fate has a different plan for us than we have for ourselves. You should reconsider your decision. The worst thing that could happen at the end, if it comes to that, is we all might walk away with broken hearts, but stronger for it."

Screw it. I know that he's right. All my life I've always been too scared to let anyone in because of my mother's warnings about packs. There are no rewards without risks. Without second guessing myself or stopping to think twice, I lean down quickly and press my lips against his. What was meant to be a quick kiss, turns intense almost immediately. His hand sinks into the hair at the back of my head surprising me enough that a small sound passes between us from me. With my lips parted, he takes advantage, slipping his tongue past them and kissing me until a fire deep in my belly burns those little butterflies to ash.

Without breaking contact, I twist my body until I'm ableto throw a leg over his and end up straddling his lap. Still holding himself up on one elbow with the other hand in my hair, he breaks away only long enough to trail his lips down my jawline and over my neck. I should be more cautious about exposing my neck to an alpha. My mother always warned me of it, but I'm literally throwing all that caution to the wind and trusting him. His teeth never touch my skin, but his lips and tongue sure do. Enough so that I find myself rocking my hips against him.

We're both wearing thin material clothing, so it's not difficult at all to feel him growing hard beneath me. The sensation has a breathy sigh slipping past my parted lips as I rock against him again. He groans softly, the warm air against my skin causing goosebumps to break out. As his face drops into the v of my shirt right between my breasts, the hand that's been flexing in my hair slowly works down to slip underneath my shirt. His palm covers my breast on top of my bra, instantly making my nipple hard. He works it between two of his fingers, and a quiet moan slips from me. My hands that have been clinging to his shoulders are now locked in his hair, clinging on for dear life. My hips move of their own accord getting faster as every second that he's attached to my skin.

The orgasm hits me out of nowhere. I stop breathing for a few seconds before autopilot kicks back in and I finally catch my breath. His hands slowly drop to my hips as my forehead drops to his shoulder.

As out of breath as I feel, he confesses, "I don't think I've ever in my life come in my pants before."

I let out a small laugh. "There's a first time for everything, I guess."

His lips find my ear and the warm air gives me goosebumps all the way down my arms. "I think I want a lot more firsts with you. Was this you changing your mind and letting us court you?"

I'd thought after what just happened that it'd be self-explanatory, but apparently, he still needs an answer. "Yes. Though, I don't think your whole pack will be on board."

Looking up to lock eyes, he smiles big enough to bring out that damn dimple. "Don't worry about Roz. Sometimes, he doesn't know what's good for him."

"It wasn't just him," I remind him.

His brows draw together in confusion. "Palmer and Brent are smitten with you already, otherwise they wouldn't have brought you to meet us. Which leaves Jake. He's kind of a wild card. Always has been. It takes a lot for him to trust people and a way lot less for him to lose that trust with them. Just give him time."

"I don't want them thinking that I was lying about what I said, though."

He's shaking his head before I even finish speaking. "You weren't lying...at the time. Things change. You're allowed to change your mind."

"Overnight?" I ask skeptically.

"Absolutely," he answers. "Listen, I'm going to be honest. You didn't stand a chance. Unfortunately or...fortunately, however you want to look at it, for you, the two out of five of us most likely to rope you in were the two that you befriended. Once you won them over, the pieces started falling as they were meant to. They are the heart of our pack."

"Is that so?" I say, smiling. "So, if they're the heart, Roz is the voice of reason, and Jake is the wild card. Where does that leave you? What's your place?"

Laughing until that dimple shows, he replies, "I don't know. The bringer of health food and fitness?"

Glancing down at the humus, I chuckle. "There's that, but I think it's more. I feel like they might look to you to help make decisions. It's in the way you're quiet and observant."

"And you gathered that from only spending one day with us?" he asks.

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