Page 93 of Bonding with the Beta

“You can come work out with me,” I offer.

She snorts quietly. “Yeah, right.”

“What’s funny about that?”

Her eyes scan me for a long moment. “Like I’m gonna exercise with you when you’ve got a body like that, and I’ve got a body that’s?—”

“Perfect?”

“No.” She narrows her eyes at me. “That’s not what I was going to say.”

“Well, that’s a shame because that’s what I think.”

Kayleigh’s throat visibly tenses as I tug on my boxers and walk towards her bed, flopping down beside her with ease. I cup the side of her head when she says nothing, but I can see something whizzing past her eyes.

“I wish you didn’t talk so low about yourself,” I murmur.

Warmth spreads down my arm as she presses further into my touch.

She’s not pushing me away.

“I’m working on it,” she says calmly.

I drag my tongue across my bottom lip as my gaze snags on her nose ring that sits perfectly against her skin. “When did you get your nose pierced?”

“When I was sixteen.” She smiles, her hand automatically moving to touch it. “My mum went crazy. She doesn’t really like piercings.”

“Why? I think it’s super fucking hot.”

Kayleigh shrugs with a small smile. “Not sure. She always said I should be myself, not push myself to be someone I’m not. But then I got my nose pierced, and she actively despised it. Itold her I can always take it out; it’s not like a tattoo. She doesn’t mind it now, though. It’s grown on her.”

“I love it on you,” I admit.

I never knew I had a thing for nose piercings, but my attraction to Kayleigh bypasses the roof and goes straight through it.

“Thanks.” Her eyes glimmer. “Do you want to watch a movie?”

“Sounds good. Pick whatever. I’m easy.”

Kayleigh laughs sceptically. “Remember when I told you my favourite movie?”

I bite down on my jaw. “Yeah…on the other hand, maybe not.”

“It’s a good movie,” she defends.

I snort. “Yeah, if you’re eighty and in need of a good cry.”

She reaches for her laptop and opens it before picking an easy-going movie we’ve both seen. She snuggles back into the pillows but is stiff as a board. I glance at her out of the corner of my eye.

Something is wrong.

My knee gently rocks into hers, and I let it rest there for a moment, a spark of fire trailing down my leg and into my chest. I smile and tilt my head at an angle, but Kayleigh’s eyes are trained on the screen so hard that I know she’s not even watching.

Just cuddle him, Kayleigh.

He literally had his head between your legs.

Press your hand to his leg. Anything.

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