Page 39 of Wild Card

“I kinda hate that I believe you,” she whispers, glancing away.

I move my face, bumping her cheek with mine until she looks at me once more. “One day, very soon, you won’t doubt me anymore.”

Now, I just have to figure out how to turn that statement into reality.

Chapter Thirteen

Lennox

There’s no way to tell if the wave I had at the bar is a random thing or if it’s a signal that my heat might hit at any time.

The idea of calling The Exchange to see if they can fit me in makes my stomach ache.

Not just any alphas will do now.

Bear drops Thorne off at the bed-and-breakfast to gather his belongings and mine too.

Rush is supposed to bring him to their house afterward, but I’m a little confused about what’s happening.

I hope that means they’re all willing to get along to help me ride out my heat. I’m still too afraid to ask. It would suck even worse to get my hopes up, if that’s not the case.

Thorne has my mind a mess.

It’s hard to know if I’m treating him unfairly. My heart aches whenever I recall the last few months, but before that, he really did make me happy.

Bear is quiet during the short drive to his house. I keep my gaze out the front passenger window. It’s dark and hard to tell if the flutters coming down are ice flakes or snow.

The heat feels incredible blasting against my face, and it seems to permeate the entire truck with Bear’s scent.

“Are you doing okay over there?” he asks, flipping on his blinker.

“Yep, all good.”

He grunts, and I’m unsure what the sound means. “We’ll be home in less than two minutes.”

Who knows why the word home sends a shiver down my spine, but it sure does.

The house is cold when we walk in. I keep Bear’s jacket tucked around my front as I follow him through the dark house.

Shera runs into the dining room, wiggling her entire body against my thigh until I lean down to pet her.

“Were you lonely, trapped here all by yourself?” I ask, scratching behind her ear.

“She’s fine,” Bear grumbles, walking over to the French doors that I assume lead to a back porch. “Come on. If you want me to supervise your bathroom break, now is your chance.” He tosses open the door and clicks on a set of lights that illuminate a heavenly back deck.

Shera runs out the open doorway.

“She has a doggy door. She’ll go out on her own if she absolutely has to. There are floodlights that pop on any time she runs out, but…” Bear shrugs, shoving his hands in the front pockets of his jeans. “She’s afraid of the dark. I know she’d rather wait for me to get home. I think it makes her feel safe if I supervise.” His dark tan complexion helps hide some of it, but his cheeks are unmistakably pink.

My face breaks out into a silly grin.

That might be the cutest thing I’ve ever heard.

He really is a giant softie.

What’s that old saying?

You can tell how a man will treat you by the way he treats pets, children, and his own mother.

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