Page 38 of Knight Life In Vegas

He opened his mouth and closed it again, as if thinking better of whatever he wanted to add. Probably for the best, considering his habit of sticking his foot in his mouth. My patience for men was pretty well nonexistent right now, so I was grateful he was able to keep a rein on himself.

“Could you—” He paused, pink rising in his cheeks, his discomfort obvious in the way he kept shifting. “Could you scent mark a few things for me to take back until I return?”

I hadn’t actually done that for anyone for about twenty years. In the early days of my courtship with Andrew, he had asked me to scent mark one of his shirts before I went away for the summer. “What do you want me to mark?”

“Anything I can fit in a carry-on.”

I got to my feet to do it right then, knowing as soon as the boys were out and about I would probably forget. Disappearing into the bedroom, I switched the tank top I was wearing for afresh one and swiped the worn fabric against my cheeks and down my throat to get a double dose of my scent. Every thread smelled like a bakery as I neatly folded it and diverted to the kitchen to tuck it inside a plastic bag before handing it to him, my cheeks burning.

“Thank you,” he said briskly, holding it briefly to his chest before tucking it into the inner pocket of his suit jacket.

“How are you not dying wearing all those clothes? New York is hot in the summer too. How do you survive?”

“Stubbornness, mostly. That’s how I’ve gotten through the last two decades.”

I watched him carefully, taking in the exhaustion in his eyes and the tension in his body. My omega instincts demanded I do something about both, but I wasn’t in any mental space to invite Beau for a nap in my bed. Instead, I sat next to him, scooted closer, and rested my head on his shoulder. He let out a shuddering breath and raised a shaking hand to lay it against my head, his face turning to breathe deeply against my hair. The movement brought his wrist close, his scent potent at the gland there. My fingers curled on instinct, and I shoved my hands together between my knees, pressing them tightly so I couldn’t follow the compulsion to reach out for him.

His purr rumbled softly, so low it was almost inaudible. Somehow the sound didn’t match him, like I wasn’t certain he was even capable of making it. I melted anyway, my instincts rejoicing at having triggered his purr. Alphas did that to show their contentment, and to soothe their omegas. I was half-asleep and scent-drunk on him, my own purr responding in kind.

Beau stood up so sharply I nearly toppled off the couch. “I’m sorry…I-I’m sorry. I need to go.”

I stared after him, my sluggish brain taking too long to process everything as he retreated, disappearing into the halland closing the door behind him. I blinked rapidly, mentally ordering myself back to reality.

What had happened? He clearly panicked, but I wasn’t sure why. I pinched the bridge of my nose, already missing the peace of that brief moment. This was going to be a long ordeal if he reacted that way every time.

I shook my head. I didn’t have time to worry about Beau.

Collecting all of the laundry he had hung for me, I set off down the hallway to free my children from their room and fill up their closet before returning to the towels and tucking them neatly away in our minuscule linen closet after one discreet sniff of Beau’s lingering musk on the fabric. I still had plenty to do, but Beau had saved me a bit of time at least.

“Mommy, can we go to the park?” Sammy asked. “The one with the spray water.”

“Sure we can.” The chores could wait. I was trying to treasure their childhoods while they still had them. I kissed each of their heads. “Go change into your swim trunks.”

They tripped over each other racing back to their room, and I smiled, soaking up their joy. Our little family was smaller than it once was, but we were finding our footing. I wasn’t certain I had it in me to expand it ever again, but that didn’t do a damn thing to silence my instincts from singing a swan song over the alpha who’d just run out on us. He could run all he wanted. I wasn’t going to chase an alpha ever again…

…No matter how much I might want to.

“You didn’t have to come,” I reminded Beau. He’d apologized a half dozen times for disappearing so quickly, but I wasn’t particularly bothered by it. He was fighting his own demons and I couldn’t expect more from him than his best.

“I wanted to,” Beau insisted. “I need to be adaptable right now, and I feel better taking Lucy out for the first time if you’rehere. Not that I plan on passing her off on you. It’s just been a long time since I’ve had to care for children.”

Beau was on his first grandfather outing, with Lucy in the stroller, and my boys walking on either side of me. He’d secured himself a ticket to Night of Knights to join us. I didn’t have a huge amount of entertainment fund, but last-minute tickets weren’t quite as pricey.

“It’s a stroller, not a bomb.” Mirth laced my tone. “Try to relax a little bit. Babies don’t like when people are tense around them.”

He rolled his shoulders, laser-focused on the sidewalk ahead.

We slipped into the hotel and out of the summer heat, venturing into the depths of it to get to the venue. Rows upon rows of seating rose up from the arena, and my tickets were near the top. Or at least I thought so until I scanned my phone and they guided us to the front row.

“These are the wrong seats,” I told the usher.

“I had the order updated,” said Beau. “The price of yours was refunded and I bought us all front-row seats so the boys would have a good view.”

I pursed my lips. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“I wanted you all to have the best experience,” he said.

I settled with Sammy on one side and Ollie on the other. Beau sat down with Lucy on his lap, and the usher tagged the stroller, taking it away to stow for the duration of the show.

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