Page 34 of An Unexpected Claim

An alarm went off, and Beth turned to pull the bread from the oven. She transferred the loaf to a cutting board covered in wax paper and began to slice through it. “Where are you from originally?” she asked as she put to pieces on a plate and pushed it toward me with the butter and a knife.

“New York,” I divulged after a brief pause. Then I tucked into my food to avoid more answers and because I was starving.

She served herself a portion and sat beside me to eat. She asked a few less personal questions that I happily answered, and it made the atmosphere light and easy. During the meal, she also told me about snippets of her life and a few hilarious stories about Nathan.

When we’d finished, she gathered the dishes and gave me a very stern glare and an order to sit back down when I tried to help. I couldn’t help laughing because she was almost comical with her big personality.

“Would you like to learn how to make bread?” she asked after she’d put everything away. She seemed excited by the prospect, and I really had wanted to learn the skill.

“I’d love that,” I agreed with a smile.

Beth patted me on the hand and bobbed her head, her blue eyes dancing merrily. “Perfect! How about I come by tomorrow afternoon, and we’ll make something for you and Nathan to share during dinner?”

I shrugged a shoulder and grinned. “We’ll see how good it is before I agree to share.”

Beth laughed and came around the island with fewer bags in hand than when she arrived. She kissed my cheek and promised to be back the next day after lunch. “Now, at the risk of sounding like my somewhat overbearing son, you should rest.”

I snorted in wry amusement. “No one is as high-handed and obnoxious as Nathan.” I almost clapped my hand over my mouth and wished like hell that I could recall the words.

But Beth threw back her head and belted a laugh. “I’d like to defend my boy, but you’re probably right,” she admitted when she’d calmed. “Still”—she grasped my hand in a gentle hold and looked deep into my eyes—“despite all his faults, he’s a good man. He’s worth taking a risk on, Peyton. He’d make a loyal mate and a wonderful father.” She released my hand and gave it another pat before walking to the front door. “Just my two cents,” she chirped over her shoulder before she disappeared, leaving me speechless.

I padded over to the couch and dropped down onto it. Sitting there for an indeterminable amount of time, I replayed the afternoon in my mind. The time with Beth had been comforting, like what I imagined spending time with my mom would have been like. And that only made me like and respect her even more, and I didn’t want to hurt her.

Her assessment of Nathan was probably true, but not for me. Unless Nathan up and decided to leave his responsibilities behind and live like a nomad—which wouldn’t happen even if Hell froze over—then the risk was too significant. Learning to bake bread was one thing, but I had no desire to play house, and if I tried, it would only end in disaster. Because eventually, my wanderlust would get the best of me, and I’d leave destruction behind that would eat at me for eternity.

I doubted he’d be receptive to the idea, considering we seemed to butt heads at every turn. No, Nathan and I were incompatible, and his naturally protective, possessive, and dominant personality would more than likely continue to piss me off.

After a while, my mind and body were too tired to do anything but lay down to take a nap.

Chapter Sixteen

Peyton

When I woke up that night, it was after midnight and I realized I’d slept the afternoon and evening away. I wandered into the kitchen to find a plate of food covered in plastic wrap with another note consisting of instructions on how to heat my dinner and that he’d returned to work and expected me to rest.

I scowled at his high-handedness, piqued that he hadn’t stayed to talk about our next moves. Did he expect me to just lie around and wait for this guy to find me? The smell of the food distracted me, so I heated up my meal and devoured it. A healthy appetite had never been a problem for me, but in the last couple of weeks, it had become clear that my cub had one too.

My mind was awake after so much sleep. But as I climbed off my chair, my body protested, still tired and tender, and my movements stretched my scars, making me wince. I knew the yoga had been good for me, but damn…

Sighing, I trudged to one of the comfy recliners and plopped down. There was an extremely large television mounted to the wall over the fireplace and I located the remote in the drawer of one of the end tables. I hit the power button and the room filled with sound and bright light. I jabbed the volume button until it finally fell to a respectable decibel level. I hadn’t bothered to flip on any lights in the living room, so the brightness of the television screen filled the room and I blinked rapidly, trying to adjust my eyes. A sporting event filled the screen and I watched for a moment, trying to figure out what the athletes were playing. Was that…?Interesting, I thought when I determined it was a cricket match. Selecting the button for the guide, I noticed the channel currently broadcasting was a British sports channel. As I scanned the rest of the channels, I slowly raised an eyebrow, then started to laugh.

Clearly, Nathan was a fan of sports. The revelation made me look at the living room with a keener eye and I realized that it was furnished in a way that would seat a large group of people with places for drinks and snacks on the strategically placed tables. It wasn’t unusual for the Alpha’s home to have an open-door policy. I could picture Nathan and a bunch of guys—or girls, I thought with a frown—chilling and laughing as they cheered for their respective teams.

The scenario was appealing and for a second, I could see myself amongst the spectators. I’d always enjoyed sports, and although I’d never stayed long enough somewhere to become loyal to a team, I admired those who did. Especially fans who’d waited a century or more for their team to reach the top.

As I settled into a comfortable position,I found a sitcom that made me laugh and allowed myself to relax and continue to recuperate.

It wasn’t until a few minutes to midnight that I heard a vehicle pull into the garage. Nathan looked fierce and lost in thought as he entered the house, clearly unhappy with whatever was on his mind. He stopped short when he spotted the television, then his eyes roamed around until they landed on me. He studied me for so long it started to become awkward. “I thought you’d be asleep,” he rumbled.

A shiver skittered down my spine at the sound of his deep, gruff voice, and my cat perked up at his presence.

“I’ve done nothing but sleep,” I replied evenly, unable to read him, as usual. In the short time that I’d known him, it had become increasingly frustrating that the only emotion or thought he seemed to wear freely around me was his desire for my body. “I was thinking that maybe I could go—”

“Stay here. You need rest.”His tone was hard, and his probing gaze made me want to squirm uncomfortably, but I held myself still. It dropped to take in my body, lingering at my middle for a beat before returning to my face, and I almost thought I caught a flash of anger, particularly when his wolf pushed to the surface. But he just cocked his head to the side, his silver eyes glittering in the light of the television. “If you’re having trouble sleeping, I’d be happy to wear you out.”

I managed to keep my expression deadpan, but his intense stare didn’t miss my subtle shift or my stiffened nipples suddenly poking through the soft T-shirt I’d put on earlier. “How kind of you to offer,” I said dryly.

His mouth tipped into a smirk and my core tightened while my cat purred seductively. “That wasn’t a no.”

---