Page 80 of Who We Were

When she leans forward for another bite, I pause. "Ah-ah. Let’s play a little game."

She narrows her golden eyes on me, then down to the spoon. The twinkly lights above us making her glow so beautifully. "What kind of game?"

"Like twenty questions but until your soup is gone." Which, now that I'm looking at the bowl, won’t be long.I should have thought of this sooner.

Her head cocks with curiosity. "Okay, ask me something. I'm hungry."

I growl a little, hating that I've delayed feeding my mate, but unwilling to backdown now, I ask the first thing that comes to my mind. "Why green?"

She stiffens, but relaxes in defeat. We're surrounded by her plush nest filled with greens, so I have to know. A nest is an integral part of an omega, so this is important.

"Sam and Oli have green eyes. It reminds me of my childhood, when I was happy and free. As much as I feel like those memories are tainted by what came after, it’s the only color that soothes me," she whispers, not making eye contact.

I grip her chin and tug a little so I can reward her with her nana's soup. While she chews, I reply, "That makes sense, little mate. I'm sure you looked into their eyes in your happiest and saddest moments as a child. They feel like home, huh?"

She nods, wonder filling her eyes as she looks at me. I smile, loving that I'm capable of understanding the intricacies of my omega.

"And the gold?"

Licking her lips, she tugs on the gold robe she's wearing. "Emmett. His brown eyes have these little specks of gold in themI used to love finding. He would blush every time I looked for them."

"That's sweet," I hum and give her more soup. "Your eyes are gold too, you know."

"Yeah, but it's different. Emmett looks like he has these little shards of real gold. Mine's just a hue."

I smile, really enjoying our moment. "The blue?" I think I already know her answer, but my alphareallywants my name on her lips.

Amaya confirms my suspicions while peeking over her shoulder at the canopy of blue beads. "You," she breathes.

"What about me?" I prod, the last spoonful of soup dangling between us.

Her glossy brown hair sways around her shoulder when she looks back at me. It feels like she's diving into my soul with her heavy gaze on my eyes. "Your eyes are like the ocean. Raging and fierce. A solid presence that I love to wade in. The blue makes me feel protected and like no matter what, my ocean will always be there."

Holy fuck.Forget the soup. I feed her my tongue instead. With a delectable little gasp that I swallow, she falls back on her pillows. I follow her down, careful not to spill in her nest and shield her from the world with my body.

Pulling my mouth from hers, I trail the pads of my fingers across her cheekbones and through her hair. My leg tucks between her legs, her bare pussy soaking through my sweatpants.

In between kisses, I rasp, "I willalwaysbe here, Amaya. If I'm the ocean, then you are my moon. I follow you."

"Alpha," she whispers, tears building in her eyes.

My hand trails a path between the edges of her robe. "Let me worship you?"

"Please," she breathes with a wiggle and a teardrop.

My pants will stay on because before I take anything from my mate, she's going to know how much I love her. And I do. I love her so much.

The more I learn, the more I want. I will never stop worshipping her.

52

PAUL

I'm tryingreallyhard not to think about what's going on beyond the door in front of me. When Kate texted me two days ago to let me knownotto visit my daughter, I was upset. Until I found out her heat cycle had started.

Then I was upset for a whole new reason.

I don'teverwant to think about Amaya having a heat, but it's natural—cue the fucking shudder—and it's happening, so I have to get with the program. Okay, so those aren't my words. They're Kate's, but the kid is right.

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