Page 41 of Nursing the Alpha
I’d never met them. Never seen so much as a glimpse. Only Faith, the housekeeper, with her efficient smile and careful hands, had ever spoken to me. She’d always acted like I was just one more piece of house equipment—polite but distant, never lingering long enough for small talk.
Maybe I could give her the letter.
That would be enough.
I drew in a slow breath and adjusted my tote bag on my shoulder. The straps felt heavier than usual. My pecs felt heavier too, but not in the way they used to. They were soft now, no longer engorged to the point of pain, but still tender in that residual way my body seemed unwilling to fully let go of.
The door opened.
I froze.
Seth.
His broad shoulders filled the frame.
But his eyes held no warmth.
No softening, no relief.
Only a flicker of something sharp—surprise first, then a tightening around his mouth I’d never seen before.
“Seth,” I whispered, my stomach turning to lead.
He didn’t step aside. Didn’t smile. His fingers flexedagainst the doorframe like he wasn’t sure whether to let me in or slam the door shut.
“Flynn… baby, what are you doing here?” His voice was low, careful. Not the warm, teasing murmur I knew so well.
My chest tightened. “I-I came to…”
Realization clawed its way up from my gut.
Why was he here?
Why… why was he here?
“Why are you—” I swallowed, my voice breaking on the words. “Seth… why are you here?”
His face didn’t soften.
The faint smile he’d been wearing vanished like it had never been there at all. His jaw tensed, a flicker of alarm passing over his features. Then he smoothed it into something unreadable.
But not fast enough.
I’d seen it—the shift.
Guilt.
Oh god.
“Flynn—” His voice was low now, cautious, almost rehearsed. “I live here.”
The world tilted on its axis.
The air punched out of my lungs.
“You…” My throat went dry, the word rasping out like it had been dragged over gravel. “You live here?”
“Yes.” He said it carefully, like a man defusing a bomb, but a crease had formed between his brows. The tightening around his eyes told me he knew exactly where this was going.
