Page 36 of Sweet Heat

His voice trembles and I hear the unspoken message… his parents died because of me. I killed them. It’s my fault. Because I was being so self-absorbed about what I was wearing. And now I’m bringing everyone pain once again by not listening and dragging my feet.

“Eat. Now. Omega.” He releases an Alpha bark that makes my body rigid. Alpha demands, and omega must obey.

My dad shoves him back, pushing Miller out the door with Owen hot on his heels, but I hear him loud and clear.

“I can’t fucking deal with this.” Miller’s voice echoes down the hallway, his rage a beast I can’t ignore. It burrows into my very soul.

With an agonizing breath, I unwrap the food and take a bite. As predicted, it tastes like nothing, but I chew a few times before choking it down. Determination settles in my belly.

I won’t cause more harm.

I won’t make others sad.

I won’t be the reason another person gets hurt…

“That’s what you said… that day…” Steam from my chicken swirls in front of me, my eyes following the plume as it disappears into thin air. Anxiety churns in my gut, and I freeze, finding it hard to breathe as I wait for Miller’s reaction. And condemnation.

Had he forgotten? The day I went from his best friend’s little sister to a murderous, selfish omega?

This strange attraction, the pull between us, needed to end at some point. Having his hands on me has been a fantasy come tolife, but he was never mine to keep. Though my omega desperately disagrees.

Sheesh, hussy.

“What the fuck, Puff?” he growls, grabbing my seat and spinning it to face him. The glasses on the table rattle, and for a second I worry the whole thing’s going to topple over, but it pales in the face of his fury. “That’s not what happened.”

His chest heaves as though he’s just run a marathon, and the pulse at his temples beats hard enough to bulge. White teeth flash, and when his hands come up to run down my arms I flinch, expecting pain, but his touch is the opposite.

Gentle.Reverent.

My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. Sniffing the air, I try to catch Miller’s scent to understand his emotional state, but as always, nothing comes. Fortunately, he doesn’t hold back.

“The only person I’ve ever blamed for my parents’ death is that piece of shit who was driving drunk. Lenny. He got wasted in the middle of the afternoon and somehow didn’t see a huge ass limo. He got what he deserved…” The darkness in his voice makes me tremble, and I wonder what happened to the man. “But never you.”

“It was my fault, though,” I argue, my voice small and quaking. “I was so silly. Worried about howIwould look on television. If I had just hurried up, we wouldn’t have been on the road with him.”

Miller brings his hands to my face, tilting my chin gently so I have no choice but to look straight at him as I explain. The pain I try so hard to keep in its box pierces my heart, and the wet slide of a single tear trickles down my cheek.

I miss them so much.I can’t even imagine how he gets through every day without his mom and dad.

“And if I hadn’t pushed the driver to take a different route, we wouldn’t have been there either. Or if I had looked for them sooner in the wreckage, they might still be alive.” His voice breaks, and he presses his head into his hands. I lean forward, sliding my arms under his, flattening myself against him.

“You couldn’t have known. You would never put them in danger. It’s not your fault,” I whimper, not wanting to bring attention to us. The thought that he caused any of this is simply preposterous. No one loved those two more than Miller. He thought the sun rose and set over his parents—the perfect son who brought them nothing but pride and adoration.

Miller crushes me against his muscular chest, stuffing his face into the crook of my neck and taking deep breaths. The sensation makes me preen—it’s almost like heneedsme. Like my scent anchors him.

“And it’s not yours either. Never yours. I need you to forgive yourself, sweet girl. For me. God, they loved you so fucking much. You were like the daughter they couldn’t have. It would break them to know you’ve been beating yourself up about this. They would be so damn proud of the amazing woman you’ve become,” he promises fiercely. The torrent of tears I’ve been holding at bay for so long spill over my lashes, trailing down my cheeks to drop onto his shirt and leave splatters on the expensive material. “That day, I only ripped into you because I was so fucking scared. I couldn’t watch another person I lovedisappear.”

Love?

“But I deserved it,” I whisper, my voice barely audible, but he hears me anyway.

“No. You didn’t. Please forgive me, Puff. I never knew you felt that way. I would have …”

A soft cough comes from behind Miller’s sturdy back, causing me to jump and pull away. A small woman with long, shiny blonde hair stands there beaming at us, completely oblivious to the heavy conversation.

She extends her hand to Miller, and he looks at it like a bug.

“Can I help you?” he asks through gritted teeth, sitting up but keeping one hand on my knee.

---