Page 52 of Secrets and S'mores
“I’m sorry. I wish I could do something to help with that. But I’m not going to lie. I’m glad you’re here safe with me. If someone wants to take her out, they’ll probably go for you too. I can’t let that happen.”
“It’s not your responsibility,” she whispers.
“I hate to break it to you,” I say, nuzzling into her neck. “But I care about you.”
Despite her despair, she smiles.
“I know my mom is awful and I don’t want to be like her,” she whispers. “I don’t want to pick a mate because of his rank and treat my children like tools to be exploited. I don’t want to rule by fear. It makes me sick that I believed her for so long.”
“You won’t be like her. You are so much better than that,” I say, my voice scraping over each word.
She looks up at me through dark lashes, her expression vulnerable. But I’m not the only one standing behind her now. She’s always had Jasper, and now she’s won over Hazel and Marigold too. I know even Slate would stand behind her. We aren’t going to let her get hurt if we can help it.
The harsh truth is that she’s tangled up in her pack’s troubles and she won’t be safe until it’s over. Even here, Sienna is sinking her claws into her. And one day of trust isn’t enough to undo eighteen years of conditioning.
“Are you going to tell Slate or Jasper what I did?” she asks.
“You need to talk with them about all of this.”
She snuggles in closer, her nose bumping against my neck and her breath ghosting across my skin. “I will,” she says, and I feel the movement of her lips.
“Come on, let’s go home,” I say. I want to get her out of this stuffy office before someone finds us here and starts asking questions.
Besides, the way she’s touching me brings up fantasies of laying her across my desk, and there really isn’t room unless I shoved my computer off, and that’s not a good idea.
12 Heartbreak & Hook Ups
Ember
Fear ebbs as Onyx walks me back to his home, replaced with a self-loathing that I embrace. How could I let my mother derail the relationships that I’m building here? I bury the thought that it’s all temporary anyway. It’s getting easier to pretend that this is home.
The cabin is warm and bright with buttery afternoon light. Clove works in the kitchen, flour dusting her apron. Onyx’s hand runs down my back reassuringly.
“Can you see when Jasper and the Alphas are free to talk?” I ask, my voice soft. Onyx nods and pulls out his phone.
Instead of fretting over the upcoming discussion, I ask Clove if I can help with her baking. After a few minutes, my shoulders ache with the repetitive motion of kneading the bread, but it’s soothing.
Clove pulls the first batch of loaves out of the oven just as I set my second loaf into a pan to rise. The scent of nutty flour reminds me of Onyx, but also of his entire family. How would my life have been different if I had been raised in a supportive environment like this?
Onyx comes up behind me, putting his arms around me. I tense, glancing at Clove, but she wears a mild smile, her eyebrows rising as she focuses on her work.
“Everyone is heading over,” he says into my ear.
“That was fast,” I mutter.
“You are important, not just to me,” Onyx whispers back.
“They’ve got to be sick of me taking up their time and energy.”
Onyx’s hands move to my hips, and I drop the loaf on the countertop as he spins me around to face him. He glares at me, and I swallow thickly.
“You are not a bother. You are worth it.” His conviction makes me stammer, my skin flushing. Without hesitating, he leans forward and kisses my forehead before releasing me. Onyx settles into a kitchen chair, reclined with his feet out as he watches me.
Bemused, I turn back to my work.
“Here, I’ll take over that,” Clove says, taking my place in front of the dinner rolls I’m cutting and rolling. “Sounds like your brothers are here.”
The door clicks open and familiar voices float through the house.
