Page 62 of Pack Owned
A chuckle, undeniably real in the quiet library, sends a flush crawling up my neck. Across the room, Liam leans against a bookshelf, a knowing smirk playing on his lips.
“Wh-What are you doing here?” I stammer, wiping away the traitorous drool at the corner of my mouth.
“Watching over you,” he says casually, but there’s a glint in his eyes that suggests he knows exactly what my dream was about.
“Watching me sleep is creepy, you know,” I mutter while I tug at the hem of my shirt, suddenly self-conscious.
“Creepy? Maybe,” he admits with a shrug, but the amusement in his tone is unmistakable. “But you seemed... content. Didn’t want to disturb that. Besides, you look super cute in your sleep.”
“Right,” I say, pushing to my feet and steadying myself. I can still feel the ghostly press of lips against mine and the solid wall at my back, making my pussy throb from the memory.
I brush an escaped strand of my dark blonde hair off my forehead, trying to collect my scattered thoughts. “Wow, guess I was way more zonked than I realized.”
Liam lets out a low chuckle, the teasing edge impossible to miss. “Must’ve been one hell of a dream from the noises you were making.”
“Uh, I, uh....” My whole face heats.
He throws his head back and lets out a rich, throaty laugh that sends the most delicious shiver skating down my spine. It’s so infuriatingly attractive—the kind of laugh that could melt entire glaciers into puddles and me right along with them if I’m not careful.
Striding toward me with slow, deliberate movements, he stops close enough that I catch a wafting whiff of his warm, masculine scent, sending my senses into an insane, dizzying tizzy.
“Were you dreaming about me?” Liam asks, one eyebrow raised
I clamp my mouth shut in a tight line. No way am I discussing my dream with him, especially when he’s looking at me like he can see right through my clothes and into my deepest fantasies.
“Fine, fine,” he says with a playful shrug, though his eyes still hold that same intense glint. “Keep your secrets, Kayla. But hey,if you ever want to talk... or do anything else, you know where to find me.”
The way he says “anything else” so nonchalantly on the surface, his voice dropping into a husky rumble, sends a jolt straight through me. A reckless, needy part of me wants to jump right in, but past experiences have taught me the hard way that letting people get too close only leads to more heartbreak down the line. I’m so not lining up for another helping of those kind of brutal emotional scars. Thanks.
“Right. Uh, glad you were... keeping an eye on me and stuff,” I manage to say, trying and failing miserably to sound casual about the whole thing. The confused mess of desire and fear churning in my gut is making it seriously hard to form any kind of straight sentences right now.
“Anytime, Kayla,” he replies, that half-smile still in place. “I came here to ask if you wanted to play the video game with me again, but it’s late, and you’re obviously exhausted.”
“No, I’m fine.” I stifle a yawn, and he shakes his head.
“Raincheck on the game then,” Liam says, his voice a low rumble that seems to vibrate through the room. “You should get some sleep.”
I push up from the couch, my limbs heavy with the remnants of sleep and the aftereffects of my dream. The library is dimly lit, shadows stretching, and I blush at realizing his eyes are hooded.
“Come on, let’s get you tucked in.” His voice has an unexpectedly gentle tone that catches me off guard. It’s laced with a surprising tenderness I definitely wasn’t anticipating, and it makes my heart do a full-on stutter-step in my chest.
We walk side-by-side down the hallway in silence, the plush carpeting muffling our footsteps to a soft shush. A million different thoughts are ricocheting through my head in rapid fire, all tangled up with the lingering heat still thrumming through my veins from that vivid dream where we kissed.
Part of me is tempted to word-vomit everything, to spill all the raunchy, vivid details of the batshit crazy dream I just had. However, the other, more sensible part is utterly mortified that I even dreamed about him—about any of these Alpha hotties—in such an X-rated way.
Too soon, we reach my bedroom door, and I find myself wishing he wouldn’t take off so quickly. I clear my throat awkwardly.
“Thanks for... you know, not waking me up earlier.”
“Hey, no problem,” Liam responds. His piercing gaze is drilling straight into me in a way that makes it impossible for me to look away.
“You know,” Liam’s voice is serious now, “you’ve got nothing to be afraid of. We’re here for you. Nexus won’t lay a finger on you.”
“But how can you be so sure?” I swallow hard, fear knotting my throat. “If they find out I’m here, they’ll arrest you, Dane, and Ryker. They’ll... they’ll take me away.” And force me onto some Alpha who might want to fuck me.
Liam’s jaw tightens, the muscle ticking. He pushes off from the doorframe and steps closer, his presence overwhelming.
“You’re our Omega,” he says firmly. “Nobody else’s. You got that?”
