Page 112 of Packed Up In Vegas

“You awake yet, princess?”

“Mostly,” she replied, stretching further and rolling her ankles.

“I want to talk to you.”

Callie laughed quietly. “Ominous.”

“It’s nothing bad,” I promised.

“Okay.” She sighed and tipped her face up, nuzzling my cheek with her nose.

“I’ve been thinking. This pack is my family, I’m closer to them than any blood, and I’ve realized that there’s no pack without you.” I breathed in her sweet scent and traced patterns over her skin. “I had no intention of bonding you when we came here, but after seeing Diego and Miles get their teeth in you, it’s all I can think about.”

As if on instinct, she tipped her head to the side, baring her throat to me. I dropped my mouth and slid my tongue up the column of her neck. I didn’t dare use my teeth.

“What do you think about bonding?”

She relaxed a little deeper. “I think I might like an ‘I love you’ before we crack open our souls to each other.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “I’ve never told any partner I loved them before.”

“Have you told your pack you love them?”

“Yeah, but that’s different.”

“Is it? We’re pack.”

“Does getting fucked into unconsciousness turn you into a brat?”

Callie giggled. “Maybe.”

“What I feel for you…I’ve never felt for anyone else, ever. I want to be with you, body and soul. I want to continue learning every detail of your life, your hopes and fantasies. I want to take care of you until I’m put in the ground.”

Callie’s sigh was deep and luxurious, her fingers snaking up to cup the back of my head. “It’s okay if you can’t say the words.”

It wasn’t, though. I hadn’t heard it much growing up, and she probably hadn’t heard it nearly enough in her last relationship. Withholding it from her just because I was scared wasn’t fair.

“You’re it for me. There’s no point in denying it.” I laced our fingers together and brought her hand up so I could kiss the back of it. “You’ve been far sweeter to me than I deserved with how I behaved when you came onto the scene. I felt it from the start but was too fucking stubborn to accept it, but I think…” I sighed. “It feels so much better not to fight it, to just let you in.”

Callie wriggled around in my arms until we were face-to-face.

“I do love you,” I promised. “I genuinely have no idea what else I’d call what I feel. I’ve just been a cranky chickenshit about it.” I toyed with the wet ends of her hair, wrapping it around my fingertip. “I want to be your alpha.”

She cupped my cheeks, drawing me in for a kiss that stole my breath. “I love you too.”

“I don’t have to bond you today,” I said quietly. I wanted to, though. The whole pack had that connection with her and I wanted to be part of it. The thought of waiting another three months for a chance made my stomach twist.

“What if I want it to be today?” Her eyes were bright and focused on me, no sign of the heat hormones driving that decision.

“Do I have to do it on stage?” I’d take her any way she’d have me, and maybe I was feeling sentimental, but I wanted to avoid the spectacle for this.

Callie tipped her head, showing off her throat where Diego’s bondbite sat alone, space for mine right alongside it. “Do it right here.”

My cock hardened so quickly it smacked her, setting off a fresh bout of giggles. My teeth ached as I drew her onto my lap. I didn’t slide into her, knowing that had been the trigger point for Miles to go into a rut, and I was not going to let that happen while I was in the bath with her.

Callie’s smile was content and she relaxed entirely against me, purring as I kissed my way from her shoulder to the top of her throat, carefully avoiding Diego’s bite. My instincts were a dull roar in my ears, demanding I claim her.

“Amir,” Callie whispered, “take me.”

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