Page 12 of Raging Heat

They’ve been feeding me the whole time, but haven’t eaten anything yet, and I’m getting full.Time for them to feed themselves for a change, or each other, I’m not picky.

I sit down next to Caleb and then slide down, making myself comfortable on the blanket while I put my head on his thigh, using it as a pillow.

“Are you done eating?”He slowly runs his fingers through my hair, sliding it behind my shoulders, before he runs his fingers over my cheek.

I nod.“Sleepy.”A full belly, the warmth and his nearness are a perfect combination for sleepy feelings.

“Go have a nap.”He lets out a soft laugh as he runs his hand over my arm and side.The motions and the quiet rumbling in his chest are soothing, making me even more drowsy.

Because of all the running every morning, around lunch time, I’m ready to crash, real bad.Luckily, this seems the perfect moment and location to nap.

I drift off, listening to the wind through the trees, the birds’ cheerful singing and Mathew and Jorge quietly arguing over who gets to eat the last bacon and egg sandwich.

Sleep overtakes me as I smile.

This is truly heaven.

When I wake up,I’m only hearing two voices, not three.Caleb and Jorge are discussing something about cars, but I don’t hear Mathew with them.

I’m still with my head on Caleb’s lap, and he’s still doing his ‘soothing’ Alpha rumble that lets me relax properly when I go to sleep.

Jorge is sitting on the other side of the blanket and is the first to notice when I open my eyes.“Ah, you’re awake.Did you sleep well?”

I nod, sitting up slowly, still feeling drowsy.Maybe sleeping like this was a bit too perfect?

Caleb wraps his arm around me, pulling me against him.“Welcome back to the land of the living.”He kisses the top of my head.“Mathew’s inside, making a few calls.Being the boss makes it hard for him to take a whole afternoon off.”

“Right.”I blink a few times and accept the bottle of water Caleb hands me.As I take a couple of gulps from it, I notice I’m really thirsty.“How long did I sleep for?”

“Maybe an hour, not that long.Why?”Caleb’s arm around me tightens, his voice taking on a note of worry.

“Nothing.Just… I’m probably just drowsy from the food and the warmth.”I sit straighter, taking a few more sips of the water, my head slowly starting to clear.

“Do you want to sleep more upstairs?”Caleb starts to get up but I stop him.

“No.I’m fine.I’m really fine.”With so many things going on in our lives lately, it’s no wonder I’m tired.

“Okay.”The look of worry doesn’t ease.He glances to the house and then to me, opening his mouth, before closing it.

“What is it?”

“What do you want to do when you go into heat?”

“What?!”I stare at him, nearly dropping the bottle of water, which he quickly grabs.

“Your heat is coming up soon.What do you want to do for a nest?Or do you want to take suppressants?”

“Whoa!Whoa!This is too soon after waking up.”I sit back, staring at him and then looking over to Jorge, who’s looking slightly awkward, listening in on our conversation.

“I just want you to start thinking about it.Okay?”Caleb gets up, picking up some of the plates and bringing them inside.

I stare after him, not wanting to think of what I’m going to do at all.But I know that I can’t keep ignoring it, especially since I’m sure that some of my spikes in pheromones and my increased sex drive aren’t coming out of nowhere.

My heat is only a couple of days away, if that.And if I want to make sure I have a proper nest, I can’t keep putting it off.

“Does he always boss you around?”Jorge smirks.

I glare at him.“Not always.”I take another sip of the water, finally starting to feel normal again.

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