Page 119 of Heat & Deceit
Devotion. Safety. Desire. Affection. Worry. Rage. Those eyes tell me so much, and when he chokes out my name, I crack. A tear tracks down my cheek, and he shakes his head, brushing it away with his free hand.
“Never again,” he says. “Never.”
I nod, desperately wanting those words to be true.
He uses his hold on me to bring my mouth to meet his, but the kiss isn’t rough and bruising. It’s tender and achingly sweet, everything I need and could have ever wanted from him. Lycus somehow speaks to my soul, and his pack mates hold my heart.
“Come home with us,” he whispers against my lips. “Please.”
I wanted to take things slow. I wanted to give myself time. I wanted to delay the inevitable, because I’m not entirely sure I can handle being with a pack again. But after tonight, after only feeling secure in their arms, I can’t fight this anymore.
Whether or not my mind is ready, my heart is theirs, and right now, I need the safety they’re offering. I can’t hide behind them forever, but tonight, and for however many nights to come, I won’t fight this thing happening between us.
“Okay,” I say, but he steals the word with his lips and keeps it for himself.
“I’m guessing you won’t be needing the heat suppressants anymore,” Kiki drawls from the other room.
Three growls fill the air in response. No more heat suppressants. No more denying my attraction to these alphas.
* * *
I leave Kiki and the Hell Hounds with a promise to check in every day. After everything that happened in the alley and my reaction to the guys coming back, the Hell Hounds developed a begrudging respect for my guys.
With a suitcase full of my things—clothes, shoes, my favorite book, toiletries—I sit in the back, holding Rome’s hand, as Javi drives and Lycus goes back to get his car from the coffee shop.
I was surprised Lycus was willing to go. Is he regretting asking me to come to their house?
Rome’s hand squeezes mine. “Sometimes he needs a moment,” he says, reading my mind.
I chew on my cheek and nod, searching his face. “What happened after we left?”
“The beta won’t be bothering you again,” he says, trying to protect me from the truth.
“He’s dead,” I surmise.
“Yes,” Javi admits without an ounce of regret. “The Hell Hounds called in a favor to dispose of the body and erased the security footage. No one will know what happened.”
Maybe it should bother me that they don’t seem affected by what they’ve done. Maybe the relief flooding my system should bother me. It doesn’t.
“Okay.” I nod and rest against the seat, laying my head on Rome’s shoulder. He wraps his arm around me.
The drive is short, and the setting sun casts pretty shades of pink and purple across rippling clouds. Not even the gorgeous view can take my mind off what happened in the alley. That beta shoved a pill—who knows what type—into my mouth. He forced my mouth shut, snarling at me to swallow.
I refused, knowing I could’ve ended up right back where I was before the Hell Hounds rescued me. If Javi hadn’t torn into the alley when he did, the pill would have dissolved on my tongue. I spat it out as soon as I could, but I’m still worried what this means for my sobriety.
The entire encounter hits too close to what it was like working for Curtis and Shelly. Taking a shaky breath, I exhale as the car rolls to a stop. Silence closes around us. Javi turns in his seat, eyebrows pinching together as he scrutinizes me. His eyes narrow and Rome’s arm tightens. I must be doing a shit job of hiding my despair.
“Let’s get inside.” Rome slides out of the back seat and holds out a hand for me. I take it with a flush, feeling ridiculous and high maintenance. He tugs me to him and tips my chin up. “None of that.”
“None of what?”
“You know what,” he says, running his thumb over my lip. “Let us take care of you. Don’t feel guilty about it. If we didn’t want you here, we wouldn’t have offered.”
Somehow, he always finds the words to say to reassure me. He’s done it before at the coffee shop, when he startled me, and now, when doubt is burrowing into my mind. I bite my cheek and nod, letting him know I’ll try my best.
“What the fuck?”
We turn and head to where Javier is staring down at the ground. A large bird’s nest, or what remains of it, lies broken. Segments of the nest are still held together, the wood and leaves bundled together, but it’s ripped apart. My stomach lurches as I think of baby birds, but there are no eggs or traces of feathers. Just a nest that’s been destroyed.
