Page 20 of Broken Chains

I already knew he was a Larken. I heard Luke portray a bit of their life growing up and it only softened me even more to him. None of that defined the man I’d finally met today. He defined himself with his actions.

I smiled just thinking about him. He was so gorgeous, six foot of lean muscle, brown hair that normally looked a few days past needing a haircut, but now was cut short, though not quite clean cut due to a week-old beard he’d let grow. His eyes, the color of the Caribbean sea, made my head spin and I feared I just might pass out on him again. The mating call was powerful, but discovering my one true mate was also Eve’s father had started a bond between us that I wasn’t strong enough to break. Only he could do that and yet he didn’t even seem to notice it existed.

I remembered how he’d growled at Thomas and tried to cover it up. I knew what I’d heard, and I was going to hold on to that thought, because I wasn’t brave or bold enough to just take control of the situation. I feared I was in for a true test of my patience instead, but I could already envision my little family in the white farmhouse my ancestors had built, and it made me giddy for the future.

Now all I had to do was convince Oliver that it would all be worth it.

Oliver

Chapter 8

Staying away from Peyton was harder than I imagined it would be. She’d asked for a week and I wasn’t going back over there until that week was up, or she called me.

You didn’t give her your number, idiot,a little voice in my head reminded me. She watched as I’d given it to Ruby, though, and she could always ask Kenneth. Call it stubborn pride or whatever, but I was not caving into the incessant need to see her.

I didn’t even know Peyton, so this constant desire to be near her didn’t make sense to me and I wasn’t sure the vivid dreams I awoke to every night were entirely appropriate. She was a beautiful woman, there was no doubt about that, but she was also a complete sex goddess playing out my deepest wishes each and every night. I was obsessed.

I met each morning with disappointment, reaching for a woman I couldn’t have. It was making me temperamental. I was losing my temper easily at work and at home. Even Eve crying in the middle of the night, interrupting my dreams, was harder to deal with than usual.

It had only been three days since I'd last seen Peyton, but the overwhelming need to go to her was getting to me, and if I went off on one more person I'd be lucky if I still had a job.

Friday wasn't much better, but I finished up a project early and had most of the afternoon off. I found myself wandering around Powell's, where I'd first seen Peyton. I legitimately did need groceries and had just gotten my paycheck, but I had made it a point to avoid the place since Mr. Powell canned me. I felt ridiculous just being there, but somehow it made me feel a little closer to the woman who haunted me.

I headed for the baby aisle to pick up diapers and formula. When I rounded the corner, there she was. At first I thought I was imagining things, like this obsession I was having had morphed into hallucinations now, but then she turned and smiled. That smile righted my entire world.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

She blushed. "We ran low on formula today, so I wanted to make sure I had some on hand for Eve just in case." She shrugged. "Emergency stash." The fact that she cared enough to even think of it warmed me all over. "I guess you're here for the same," she said.

"Yeah, was trying to hold out ‘til payday," I said, feeling a little embarrassed at the admission.

She didn't seem to notice as she filled her cart with baby supplies. I looked at my cart, which didn't have half of what she was buying.

"I'm not some baby freak trying to overstep that invisible boundary or anything, I swear. Ruby knew I was coming into town and asked me to stock up for Opal to save her a trip."

I laughed. "Well, that makes me feel a little better."

She blushed harder, which stirred up memories from my dreams and made for a very uncomfortable situation, but simply seeing her made everything so much better.

"Hey, what are you doing this afternoon?" she asked.

I held up a pack of diapers. She looked around like she was expecting Eve to stroll over.

"Eve's with her grandparents today. I finished up a project early and don't start my next one ‘til three," I said.

She scrunched up her forehead in concern and I wondered just how much Kenneth had explained to her. It wasn't like him to air our family business in public, but nothing seemed normal when it came to Peyton Collier.

"Melina's parents live in town. I made a deal with them for full custody. They take her on Thursday and bring her home Friday evening on their way to bingo."

For some reason that made us both laugh and eased some of the awkwardness settling in between us.

"That's good. I'm glad she can keep them in her life. Family's the most important thing in the world to me."

I winked. "See, we do have something in common." It was easy to flirt with her, but as she stared into my eyes I had a momentary fear she was going to pass out again. "If you faint again in here, I will never live it down."

She laughed and looked away, breaking the connection between us that made me feel like we were the only two people in the world.

She covered her face with her hands. "I'm never going to live that down, am I?"

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