Page 141 of Chosen Beta

I hug him close as he moves back, standing up in front of me.

If we were in bed right now, we’d be ready to fall asleep in each other’s arms.

“Do you feel better now?” he asks.

“Infinitely,” I reply, kissing his shoulder.

“Then I’ve done my job as your mate, and you can thank me for that by taking me to the kitchen to find out what the chef wants to make us for lunch.”

I can’t help but laugh. “I knew you were thinking about food.”

“Well, duh. I’malwaysthinking about food.”

“And that’s one of the things I love about you.”

He almost drops the T-shirt he just picked up off the desk.

“Uh, what?” he asks.

“I love you, Shadow.”

His shock quickly turns into happiness.

“I don’t think I’ve heard you say that in years.”

“Well, it’s never not true. I’m just kind of an asshole, if you hadn’t noticed.”

He laughs. “Oh, I’ve noticed, but that’s okay. I love you, too.”

I know that, because he makes sure he shows it.

I haven’t been great at sharing my feelings, but speaking them out loud feels like a good start.

Getting Shadow whatever he wants from the kitchen also sounds like the right idea.

Other things might be more complicated to tackle, but I’ll figure those problems out when I get to them.

Chapter Fifty-Two

Pete

Brooke Corvina walks confidently in heels, wearing a vaguely salty expression that her slightly dramatic eye-makeup only seems to emphasize. She’s in a plain black dress that hugs her body tightly, and her shoulder-length blonde hair is poker straight and shines like spun gold.

No one puts this kind of effort in for nothing.

If I didn’t already know she’s the woman Lana has a connection with, I would have figured it out pretty quickly. She gives me a suspicious once over as she comes to a stop outside the office door, then her gaze moves to Lana, and her expression warms right up.

“Hey, Brooke,” Lana greets, her skin flushing.

“Hey, Lana. Am I interrupting anything?” she asks, raising at eyebrow at me.

“Uh, no,” Lana says, after a second of hesitation. “Could you just give us a minute?”

“Oh, sure,” Brooke says with a nod. “I brought Kellan, by the way. He went to the break room for coffee, and he doesn’t need to be in on this. But if you think you’d prefer it, I can bring him in?”

It’s a loaded question, and it hangs in the air like a bullet coming out of a gun in slow motion.

Does Lana want to be alone with her, or doesn’t she?

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