Page 61 of Sweet Heat

To Posie, this must all be moving at warp speed.

“There’s no pressure, Puff. You can come over to work on projects whenever you want. Or hang out with me. Or watch a movie. You’re welcome whether or not I’m here. I want you to use it… if you want.” The backpedaling tastes like dirt in my mouth, but I refuse to push her. This needs to happen on her schedule. We aren’t bonded…

Yet.

She rolls the key in her fingers, her mouth opening and closing as if she has something to say but isn’t quite sure how to say it, and I wish I could read her mind.

Is she happy? Excited? Panicking? Trying to figure out how to let me down easy?

The longer the silence lasts, the more I want to crawl out of my skin—but I refuse to take it back. She needs to know how serious I am about us. That I’m all in. What’s mine, is now hers; even before we bond.

“I—I…” she swallows hard and I hold my breath, waiting for the rejection to burn me like acid. Clenching my muscles, I tighten my hold on my expressions, making sure not to give anything away. “I think I’d like that.”

The words are so low that I strain to hear them, and once I do, I can’t believe my ears.

“You… would like to move in here?” I ask; certain I’ve got it all wrong.

“I mean…kind of? Yeah.” She looks around hesitantly before continuing. “I don’t like sleeping apart anymore. Every time I go back to my parents, the bed feels so wrong. My omega hates it… there’s no nest here, so that’s not ideal… but we can still make it work…”

With a loud shout that echoes off the walls, I’m across the room in less than a second, pulling my sweet girl into my arms. I spin us around, manic excitement pouring from every fiber of my being. My glee catches Posie by surprise, but soon has her giggles filling the space, making this apartment feel like a home.

Our home.

“Don’t you worry, my girl. I’ll take care of the nest situation. This weekend, in fact. I have a surprise for you,” I say vaguely, wishing I could blow off everything to take her to the mansion and show her the luxury nest that’s just waiting for her to put her touches on it.

“Miller, you’ve already done so much. Don’t do anything crazy to create a nest—we’ll make it work,” she says, biting her lip.

“I won’t make any big changes to this apartment,” I promise, dropping my lips to hers in a passionate kiss. Our tongues tangle, and her flavor bursts over my tongue, happy and bubbly. It makes me almost lightheaded.

My mate. Forever starts today.

Her phone beeps loudly, causing Posie to step back with an unhappy groan.

“Shit, I need to leave now to get to school on time.” She lunges forward, wrapping her arms around me in a bone-crushing hug that lets me feel all the love inside her. It’s everything I’ve ever wanted.

“My driver can be here in five minutes.” Tapping quickly, I snap off a text. I wish I could take her myself, but her school is in the opposite direction, and I needed to be at our team meeting ten minutes ago. “I would rather you use him than a rideshare.As soon as you take the driver’s test, we’ll get you a car of your own.”

She nods, rushing to the door. Bending over, Posie snatches a new pair of sneakers she got from Niko a few days ago, and a growl rumbles from my chest at the sight of them.

“Not those,” I demand, and her spine straightens. She lifts an eyebrow in question.

“Fashion faux pas now something you get an opinion on?” she challenges, and I clench my teeth. There’s no way to say what I need to without sounding like a complete and utter psychopath. But the girl hasn’t run from my brand of crazy yet—so here’s hoping she’ll accept this, too.

“There’s no tracker in them. And you’re not wearing a coat today,” I explain, bile crawling up my throat at the possibility of not being able to see her every move. Especially when she smells like heaven. Especially when I suspect her heat is nearer than she knows.

Posie’s chocolate-brown eyes scrutinize me, seeing every worry and insecurity etched on my features. She brings her thumb to her mouth, chewing on the nail as she considers all the options while I hold my breath.

“In for a penny, in for a pound,” she says with a nod, dropping the sneakers on the floor and reaching for a pair of her favorite, well-worn boots instead. “Will these make you feel better?”

“Much,” I agree, finally able to pull oxygen into my lungs. What the fuck did I do to earn such an easygoing omega? She barely bats an eye at it.

“Maybe we need to find an easier way that doesn’t involve my clothing,” she muses aloud, sitting on the couch to slide them on. The zipping of the boots calms my possessive tendencies.

“Like putting one under your skin?” I ask hopefully. Her head twists, eyes widening, and I wish I could take that stupidity back. Of course, she wasn’t offering to be chipped with a damn tracker.

“Um… no… not on your life, buddy,” she snaps, crossing her arms over her stomach. The move has the added bonus of pushing up her breasts, and the soft mounds catch my eyes.She’s so fucking beautiful.“Those aren’t going to talk back…”

My cheeks flush with guilt, and I bring my focus back to the mildly irritated vision before me.

---