Page 31 of Building My Pack

"Did you sleep okay?" she asks, throwing some greens in with the berries into her blender. "I hope you had a warm enough blanket. I've been keeping it pretty cold in here lately."

"Yeah," I say stupidly, still somewhat distracted with the way her sweater rides up exposing her thighs as she moves. "I mean, I slept okay. Best night of sleep I've gotten since leaving my pack, actually."

She throws me another one of those smiles and my gut clenches for an entirely different reason. How in the world am I going to tell this perfect specimen of a woman that I'm planning on leaving? I'm saved by the start button on the blender as she pushes it and fills the room with the sound, giving me a few extra minutes to procrastinate. By the time she's filling our cups and setting one of them down in front of me, my hands are almost sweaty enough for it to slip through if I try to pick it up.

Moving around the counter, she takes the seat next to me, and I see her out of the corner of my eye not looking away. Glancing at her, I ask, "What?"

Shaking her head, she says, "I haven't seen you with your hair down like this. I like it." Before I know what her intentions are, she reaches a hand out to run it through the blond strands that fall to the top of my shoulders. My breath gets caught in my chest making it hard to breathe even after she's taken her hand back and gets distracted with her drink.

It's now or never, Kit ol boy. Man up and tell her.

"I'm going to be heading out soon. My housing situation was only temporary. I've got somewhere else to stay, but I think it might be time," I try to explain, refusing to look at her.

If I wasn't so hyper attune to her, I might've missed the harsh inhale that she tries to hide. "I've got the extra space, Kit. You've been so kind to me from day one, and I need a way to repay you, anyway. You can stay here as long as you want."

I roll my eyes before finally looking at her. She's got both hands on the counter now, slowly spinning the glass between them. "You don't ever have to repay me for anything. I'm glad I was here to help." That's by far the thing I'll always be most grateful for, having met her. "Thank you for offering, but I really don't want to take advantage and wear out welcomes with people I care for."

The soft scent of her omega and bananas hits me like a punch in the gut, and I know for certain that whatever she says next is going to determine what happens in the future.

Turning in her seat to face me, she lays a hand on my forearm as she insists, "You won't be a burden or wear out any welcomes here. I'd like for you to stay if you want to. No strings attached."

What if I want the strings attached?that little voice asks, making me swallow hard. It's been a long time since I allowed myself to get involved with anyone. Let alone an omega in the midst of building her pack. It's a dangerous game that we're playing, but as much as I know that Ishouldtell her no, I truly don't want to. Repeating her action, I turn to face her, locking her knees between mine. "Let's give it a go then."

And just when I didn't think it was possible for her to be any more beautiful, she lays that grin on me again. Skimming a thumb across the freckles splattered across one side of her cheeks, I say, "I haven't noticed these before. I like it." That banana scent blooms and it's all I can do to not close the distance between us and make her skin flush for an entirely different reason. Trying to keep my cool, I jerk to my feet, forcing her to sit all the way back in her chair and cast a worried glance up to me.

"I'm off today, but I've got to run some errands," I tell her, taking a big drink out of my cup and passing it her way. "Would you put that up for me so I can finish it when I get back?"

"Sure," she says skeptically. "Are you actually going to come back for it, or is this your goodbye speech?"

If she only knew how badly I wanted to take her face between my palms and kiss her until neither one of us could think straight, she'd never doubt me with words like that. Before I can ruin this thing that's barely had time to start, I hold out a hand and wait until she takes it, kissing her knuckles with the promise that Iwillbe back. Then I leave her sitting there, probably still doubting if I plan on returning or not.

Oh, I'm definitely coming back and with a surprise. I've been wanting to do something for days and haven't found the right moment to do it. Plus, I've got to go talk to the guys where I'm staying now to thank them and let them know they're getting their space back. Which there ends up being only one of them there as the other is at work, but he's cool enough to pass along my message. Taking the couple bags of clothes from where I've been storing them in the corner and tossing them in the back of my truck. I sit behind the wheel for more minutes than I count, wondering if I'm really going to do this. Picturing how amazing she's looked not just this morning, but every moment in between now and that first day, makes it easy to crank up my old reliable truck and head toward my next stop.

A little while later, I'm back on Bryce's doorstep holding on tight to a small baggie underneath my arm and trying to crack the door open with the other filled with another much bigger bag. "Hello," I call out, not feeling totally comfortable inviting myself into her house yet.

"Come on in," she yells from somewhere toward the back.

Walking from the foyer into the hallway, the kitchen is the last stop on the left and the living room on the right with a set of screened-in patio doors right between them, leading onto the back deck. Which is where she's calling from. Setting the heaviest of the bags beside the counter, I carry the smaller one out onto the patio where she's waiting.

"What were you doing?" she asks. "Trying to sneak in and scare me again?"

I want to tease her that maybe I was, but I can't get past the curiosity demanding an answer. "What are you doing out here?" Ten feet or so away from the patio, stakes have been dug into the ground and there’s flagging tape wrapped around them individually leading to the next one, forming a perfect rectangle. Bryce crosses her arms over her chest with a proud smile, and I can't get over the dirt smudged on one of her cheeks.

"I've always wanted a swimming pool, so I think I'm going to have myself one," she tells me, switching her gaze back out over her masterpiece. I swear it's the cutest damn thing I've ever seen in my life, and I don't even think she realizes it.

This time, I can't help but tease her. "I thought I requested no more yard work."

She laughs with an eye roll before they lock onto what's hiding underneath my arm still. "What's that?"

"Pet," I reply much like she blurted it, telling me that she wanted one. "I figure you start off with something small then work your way up to a bigger one. My mom kept great danes and let me just tell you, that was like having another job taking care of them."

I anticipated excitement or maybe even a hug. The last thing I expect is to see big tears rolling down her face. "Hey, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done anything without ask—"

My words are cut off when her arms go around me and she breathes into my chest. "No one has ever treated me the way that you have."

Tightening the one arm around her while trying to keep the poor fish in the bag in the other from hitting the deck, I declare, "It's about time someone did then, huh?"

Her chin tilts as she looks up to me, and it's there. That feeling deep down inside that my mom had always said would appear when I found somebody. It's fifty times better than all the sunsets put together. She licks her bottom lip, and my eyes track the movement. Inching closer, I'm disappointed when she takes a step back out of reach.

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