Page 79 of Not Ready

My head tilts as my eyes narrow.

That sounds very sexual if he only means for a cuddle.

My teeth dig into my lower lip.

When I don’t move, he stretches forward and grabs my hips.

He yanks me closer and slides his hand to my thigh, pulling my pajama dress up a bit. “Now it’ll be easier for you to get situated.” His strong fingers dig into my skin, and it feels like he’s again telling me to climb on his lap.

I’m out of my depth with Holton Hayes. That much is obvious. My knees hit the cool leather on either side of his hips. The way his hands land on the backs of my thighs feels very intimate. It forces me to hold myself up on my knees, so I don’t squish his hands.

He tilts his face down to meet mine. “Aren’t you supposed to be trying to soak up my pheromones skin-to-skin?”

Chapter Twenty-Six

Vale

Ihonestly have no idea what I’m doing.

“I’m still confused. You don’t really like me. That much has become clearer the longer I’m here.” My hands land on his shoulders, and I move to push myself off his lap.

His forearms tilt up as his hold on the backs of my thighs tightens. It blocks me in pretty effectively because his elbows are too high for me to climb over. “I admitted how shitty it was for me to make judgments based on your prior employment. I was trying to look out for one of my closest friends, who’s far too pure hearted to look out for himself.”

“I get that,” I admit as my fingertips dance over his sweaty skin.

“I’m hoping we can start fresh.” He smirks. The sight sends a literal shiver down my spine. “You’re basically my wife. Well, once we have our meeting to get the pack paperwork approved.”

My legs tremble as he runs his thumbs down the sides of my thighs. “I don’t want to sound like a weirdly possessive omega, but I don’t like the idea of having to run into the people you hook up with. So, if you could do that out-of-sight, out-of-mind style, then I’d appreciate it.”

Holt frowns as his hold tightens. “It appears you don’t think very much of me, either. Huh, sweetheart?”

My cheeks heat.

I didn’t have any right to say that, but Bishop did mention that Holt only agreed to all this for his own payday. I’m sure some of it is wanting to help fund the project they talked about.

“I just think it’s good to set boundaries and stuff.” I shrug. “Six months is a long time.”

“Basically, you think I’m the kind of guy who would go out hooking up while I’ve got a wife and baby at home.” He laughs derisively. “Good to know.”

“No, I mean, not if it was a real relationship. I wasn’t trying to offend you.” My head shakes.

“I’m treating this exactly like a real relationship.” He grunts, pulling his hands from my thighs. One lands on my lower back and the other on the back of my head. “Just soak up my pheromones.”

My face hits his bare skin. The rush of pheromones I’m hit with makes it difficult to focus. “I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. I guess all I was saying is, something like last night where I don’t have to see it. Just come back home and take a shower?—”

“You think I was out fucking someone else last night?” He snorts. “Jesus Christ, woman.”

Well, now I just feel kinda stupid. “I’m trying to be as accommodating as possible because I know, even after you dissolve your link to the pack, we’ll still have to see each other regularly. I want to keep things as civil as possible, so neither one of us is uncomfortable.”

“That’s very practical,” he says. “Did you give any thought to how you feel about looking into your baby daddy?”

I grunt, burying my face farther into his warm, salty-smelling skin. “No, not really. I’m pretty sure he doesn’t want to know.”

“That’s a real possibility.” He sighs, palming the back of my head. “I wasn’t out, trying to get laid yesterday. Merryweather and I visited The Kitty Cat Lounge to try to find any information we could about Andrew Landis.” My entire body tenses. He runs his hand down my back in soothing strokes, and after a few seconds, a ragged purr starts in his chest. “I’m still really fucking pissed that you used to walk home.” He exhales heavily. My fingers brush over the vibration of his purring chest. It rattles against my cheek, making me ache to burrow even deeper into him. “After that, we checked out the place he and his guys were staying. Did a little light breaking and entering. Then had a look around.”

My heart stalls, and I finally manage to say, “I’m sorry. That really does make me an asshole for jumping to conclusions.”

“Nah, but I’m not sure how much you want to hear.”

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