Page 22 of Dawn of the Pack

He’s confused for just a second until he reaches up and snatches the bright orange cap off his head. “There’s a reason for it, and it’s not that I’m transferring to UT, promise.” His thick lips split into a pearly grin, and he holds his arms wide for me, waiting patiently.

I duck into his chest and enjoy the warm vibration that flutters across my skin when his lips touch my forehead.

“I missed you today, gorgeous.”

“We missed you too. And you too, Landon,” I add, peeking around Jared’s muscular shoulder to grin at my other mate who’s waiting his turn.

Landon grabs my hand with long, delicate fingers and tugs me away from Jared. “Not as much as I missed you, I guarantee it.” His light brown eyes sparkle with joy, the sexy dimples appearing on his cheeks as he leans in for a kiss.

My heart does a little pitter-pat when his fingers caress my jaw and his lips touch mine. I still maintain that if he had the inclination, he could easily become the lead singer of a band and break a million girls’ hearts. However, he is extremely shy about his music and vehemently uninterested in any girl but me.

I pull back, slightly breathless, and gaze up at him dreamily. It takes me a minute to notice he’s in a hoodie and track pants, also coated with a fair amount of dirt.

“What did your dad have you guys doing, rolling around in the mud?” My gaze sweeps between them, and their sheepish expressions ping my instinct that something’s up.

Eyes narrowing, I cross my arms and take a step back. “Obviously, you guys aren’t telling me something. Out with it.”

Jared pipes up. “We’ll tell you everything, but why don’t we sit down and have dinner before it gets cold? We can talk and eat.” He doesn’t sound worried; in fact, he sounds rather pleased with himself.

I raise a brow in disbelief. “Mrs. Dowling is fine with you two sitting at the table like that?”

They both glance down in unison, as if only now realizing how dirty they are.

My uncle’s stern voice calls out from behind my mates, silencing the room completely. “Mrs. Dowling is off tonight; I told them it’s okay, so if she wants to lay into someone she can talk to me.”

The boys split apart, so I have a direct line of sight with Dom. He’s got an odd sequence of expressions crossing his dark features, as if he can’t decide whether he’s amused, embarrassed, or annoyed. Roxanne is beside him, and after a moment elbows him subtly in the ribs.

“I mean,” he adds gruffly, “if that’s okay with you, of course. It’s your house.”

My gaze darts to Roxanne, who nods slightly and shoots me a small smile. When I refocus on Dom, his expression is now solidly uncomfortable.

I decide to let him off the hook. “Alright, they might as well eat since the food’s ready. Just… put a napkin on the chair or something, guys. You know Dowling will notice a solitary speck on those embroidered cushions.”

Dom’s face relaxes, and the four of us head to the table to claim our seats. Dishes of tender beef, whipped potatoes with thick gravy, fragrant, fresh-baked rolls and brown sugar carrots make their way around the table.

My stomach rumbles loudly, and Milo glances my way with that sexy smirk. “Hungry, are you? You must have really worked up an appetite earlier.”

I almost snort water straight out my nose, but manage to swallow the mouthful and set the glass down before I injure myself. Milo reaches over and pats me gently on the back as if he hadn’t just made a comment laden with innuendo. A few small coughs and my windpipe clears, so I shoot him a warning glare. “I can’t say I did. It was a pretty dull afternoon.” Even though my tone is sharp enough to cut through stone, Milo continues grinning.

“My mistake.”

If anyone else is curious about our brief exchange, they don’t act like it. I’d been slightly apprehensive about returning, and not just because of Dom. Since I arrived in Smoky Falls, it’s seemed as if everyone could tell exactly what was going on between me and my mates without a word from any of us. This occasion—which to me feels huge, even outside of the every-girl experience of losing my V-card—seems like a non-event as far as they all can tell. I thought for sure my other mates would notice something different, but they sure aren’t acting like it.

I decide to tuck into my dinner since that’s occupying everyone else currently at the table. The staff have long since retreated to the kitchen to eat.

Knowing that my mates are bottomless pits when it comes to food, I’m not really surprised that they’re far too busy stuffing their faces to talk right now. However, I am surprised that Dom and Roxanne haven’t spoken a word, particularly since they normally consider meals the best time to catch up.

It occurs to me that things aren’t all sewn up between them following Dom’s sudden arrival last night. Also that they might be hesitant to talk in the wake of my outburst earlier.

Everyone continues eating silently, and the scrape of knives and forks on porcelain grows unbearably loud in the uncomfortable silence.

“So, let’s hear it, you two.” Everyone glances up from their plates, and Jared and Landon realize my gaze is focused on them. “What were you up to today? I’m getting the feeling you weren’t ‘doing something for your dad’, as I was told.”

They glance at each other, volumes being spoken between their eyes. I can practically hear the silent conversation, each of them trying to convince the other to answer.

Finally, Jared returns my gaze. “You’re right, that was just an excuse so you wouldn’t ask what we were doing.”

“You realize I’m asking now, right?”

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