Page 78 of Packed Up In Vegas

“I—”

“I’m talking right now,” I snapped. “I have been through a lot of hell with the people in my life, and maybe I stupidly thought things would be different, especially with you, when you can feel what I’m going through, but no. That didn’t matter. And you know what? It fucking sucks to see so clearly that you don’t trust me and wouldn’t even give me the benefit of the doubt.”

“Cal—”

My glare lapsed him back into silence. “I’ve realized how unhappy I was in my relationship with Jerry, and with my family. You’ve all shown me things don’t have to be that way, but I will not put myself in a position where that behavior becomes the norm again. You trust me or you don’t, and if you don’t, I can’t stay.”

The anguish from him twisted in my chest, but I hadn’t said anything that wasn’t true. I’d never have said anything like that to Jerry, but I felt safe enough to speak my mind here. I hadn’t a fucking clue where I would go with no home, no money, and no car, but I’d figure it out somehow, even if it was a few miserable months staying with my sister, paying with my sanity instead of paying rent.

With a sigh, I said, “You can talk now.”

“Callie…I’m so sorry. I should have trusted you. We all should have trusted you. Please, please don’t leave us. Give us a chance to make it up to you.”

It would be so easy to agree, but I’d lived so fucking long in complacency, staying quiet because I didn’t want anyone to be upset when they didn’t give a shit if I was the one upset. “And what if you can’t?” I held my breath at the sharp pain coming through the bond.

“If you want to leave, I’ll go with you and spend the rest of my life making sure you never feel that way again. I know talk is cheap, and the only way this can be fixed is if you give us the time to implement actions that prove it. You’re my mate, and I fucked up. I want to fix it.”

I really, really wanted him to fix it too. I was so fucking trapped and I didn’t know what to do. Even leaving here meant him following because we were bonded. Wanting the life they offered didn’t change the fact that I had very little choice in the matter. Bonding was bigger than marriage, older and deeper, winding souls together, and I couldn’t leave Kai. I didn’t want to think about how much pain I would be in every day for the rest of forever if I tried. For the sake of saving us both a lifetime of pain, I had to let them try.

“Can I hold you?” Kai asked.

I slipped out of my seat and let him take me in his arms, relaxing against the warmth of his chest, his purr rumbling to life beneath my ear. I knew it was just a biological response, alpha to omega, but it felt like maybe everything would be okay if I could just stay right here.

“We’re going to get everything figured out,” he promised. “And we won’t lose faith in you again.”

I wanted to believe it.

“Eat your food, and when you’re done working, we’ll spend some time in the pool to relax, okay?”

“Okay.”

I didn’t protest when he lifted my chin and dropped his mouth to mine. Rising on my toes to hook my arm around his neck, I let myself sink into the taste of him, drowning in the sweet cinnamon that soothed all my worries.

I consumed everything he had brought for me after he left me in peace, and I put in a few more solid hours of work before I rejoined them for the day.

They all looked so contrite when they noticed me. I could only assume Kai had told them about our discussion.

Kai was the first and boldest to approach me. “We’re making dinner. Can I get you something to drink?”

I shrugged, still exhausted from earlier and half tempted to lock myself in my room.

“Alcoholic or virgin?” Amir asked.

“Virgin is fine. I’m gonna sit outside, if you guys don’t mind. I’m not very hungry.”

The four of them frowned, but no one made a move to stop me. It was uncomfortably warm outside, but I found a corner of the pool that was shaded and stuck my feet in it, stretching back across the tile to stare at the wide sweep of blue above me.

Why wasn’t there a two-stage bonding? Do the initial bond when you’re out of your mind from the hormones, and then, like, two weeks later, a biological notification pops up to ask if you were actually sure about that. I knew it wasn’t possible, but a girl could dream. It would certainly be saving me a lot of grief right now.

A flash of pink out of the corner of my eye caught my attention. Amir was approaching with a pool float and a fancy drink.

“At least lie on this and not the tile.” He laid out the float next to me and set down the drink. “Virgin piña colada.”

I readjusted myself, too proud to admit that the float was much more comfortable than the tile.

Amir sat down unbidden. “In fairness, both you and the company were telling the truth.”

“I don’t want to hear it right now. If you don’t want me to pour this drink on you, you’ll leave.”

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