Page 12 of Sweet Heat

Such a good girl standing up for yourself.

She takes another step toward the door, and my body tenses, ready to follow, to chase her down. My girl is all kinds of distressed, tossing her delectable scent every which way. If she goes outside now, Alphas from all over will scent her and come swarming, searching out my omega like heat-seeking missiles.

All that cotton candy is for me. Only mine.

“How about we make a deal?” Papa Samuel says, ever the peacemaker. Posie eyes him warily but jerks her head in a quick nod, ready to hear what he has to say. “We would all feel a lot more comfortable about you moving out if you knew how to drive. That way, you wouldn’t need to trust strangers with your safety. If you can pass your driver’s exam and use your car to take you anywhere you need to without using rideshares for an entire month, we’ll help you take everything over to Emma andMari’s.”

“Take the deal, little sis,” Owen encourages. “It’s the closest you’ll get to their blessing.”

Posie’s whole body slouches, all the bluster disappearing under the scrutiny of her family, and she deflates before us like a balloon with all the air sucked out.

“Fine,” she agrees, swallowing hard and biting her lip.

“Let’s eat! I’m starving. And we have practice soon!” Crimson declares, and just like that, everyone shuffles back to the table, ready to dig into the now-cold food. Posie stands woodenly, unmoving, her eyes fixed on a knot in the wooden floor.

“You okay?” I whisper, unable to help myself from reaching out to stroke a hand down her smooth arm. The slight touch sends a zip of electricity through my blood. It breaks her out of her trance, and she gives me a thin smile, her scent still soured.

What I wouldn’t do to bring her home and take all that stress away… with my tongue.

“Just fine,” she answers, her voice cracking, but I can’t call her out on it. Not here. “Thank you.”

Her words are thick with meaning, and she walks back to her seat, where she remains silent through the rest of breakfast, shuffling food around her plate but never eating a single bite. The second it’s over, she high-tails it out of the room, bolting for the stairs.

And though I wish I could follow her, every fiber of my being wants to… I’ve already caught enough curious frowns being tossed my way today. Damien catches my longing gaze and raises an eyebrow at me. I shrug, trying to look nonchalant, but I’m not sure if he buys it.

I don’t want anyone to figure it out before she does…

Chapter Seven

Miller

I can teach you to drive.

Sitting at the back of the large lecture hall, I can’t help but look at the text. Over and over and over again. It’s pathetic, I know. But I’m drawn to it like a dragon to treasure. Like a siren to sailors. Like an omega to a compatible Alpha.

But why would he want to help me?

For years, Miller has treated me like a nuisance,when he acknowledges me at all. He moved in with our family after the accident and literally could not stand the sight of me. Leaving every room I entered, pinning me with death glares. When he moved into his own place, that bitterness seemed to bereplaced by a grudging tolerance. But lately, it’s seemed like something more. Friendship perhaps?

Shaking my head, I focus on the professor standing at the front of the classroom, droning on in his brain-frying monotone. I usually love my classes, but science is just not it—not it at all. Physics makes me want to cry.

Of course, I put this course off until the last possible second, taking all the business and fine arts classes I was excited about first. I’m nearly done with my degree, so now it’s time to go back and take the gen eds I could push back.

The guy a few seats away from me is playing a video game on his laptop, and the girl two rows down seems to be writing a paper for a different class. Glancing right and left, I make sure no one is looking before pulling up my search bar and typing in: Drivers Education Classes.

About a hundred options quickly populate the screen, and I chew on my lip. Nerves flutter in my stomach, and my palms become slippery with sweat.

Deep breaths. You are not in danger. In through the nose. Out through the mouth.

One breath. Then two and three. Wrinkling my nose, I click much harder than necessary on the first link for a driving school. The room spins, and I blink a few times to focus on the screen, but it’s memories that appear instead.

The professor’s droning fades into the background…

“Come on, Posie! Hurry, or we’ll be late,” Owen shouts up the stairs. He’s annoyed, but this is a big night for me—we’re going to be on television, and the whole school will tune in.

“Just one minute! I’ll be right down!” Frantically, I glance at the mirror again. The blue dress my mom picked out is too plain, too basic. I look chunky and frumpy in it. If I show up like this, everyone is going to make fun of me tomorrow. ‘Fat, puffy, Posie’ I can hear them now. Sasha telling the entire class I look like a tubby baby. That omega mark or not, no one will ever want me.

I rush to my closet, fling it open, and grab every dress I have, stuffing them into my arms until I can’t carry anymore. Lugging them over to the bed, they spill onto my luxurious white comforter that’s fit for a princess. My hands fly as I sort through them all.

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