Page 30 of Omega's Refuge

She turned her gaze to Rex and her mouth thinned. “Rex, once you have Mr. Smyth situated comfortably in his room, would you mind coming to see me in my office?”

Rex tensed. “Yes, Ma’am. I’ll be right there.”

“See you at dinner, Mr. Smyth.” She walked toward the main house, her spine stiff.

I winced at the thought of dinner, and Rex started walking slowly toward my cabin, still helping to keep me upright. I slipped my arm around his waist, and with his assistance, was able to make it inside my little house.

I toed off my shoes, slumped onto the bed, and rolled over onto my stomach. I pulled a pillow over my head and groaned. I heard Rex moving around the cabin, and then the mattress dipped as he sat next to me on the edge of the bed.

“Here, drink some water, Tanner.”

I hesitated, but then turned and sat up to face him. He looked worried as he held the water out to me. I took the glass, giving him a weak smile. “I got you in trouble with Mrs. Rodwell, didn’t I?”

He grimaced. “Going drinking was my idea. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

I sipped the cool water, holding his gaze. Once I’d swallowed a few mouthfuls, I said, “I don’t want you to get yelled at just because you were trying to cheer me up.”

He smiled. “It’s okay. It’s not the first time she’s yelled at me, and it won’t be the last.”

I took a few more sips and then set the glass on the nightstand. “Thank you for today,” I said softly. “It was good to be with you instead of being alone.”

He laughed. “I guess that’s a compliment.”

“It is.” He’d been so kind to me today, I had no idea how to repay him. He certainly hadn’t owed me his time and attention. Especially since it seemed he was going to get in trouble now. “I could tell Mrs. Rodwell that I insisted you take me drinking.”

“Nah. It’s fine.” He stood and moved toward the door. “Get some rest. You’ll probably have a horrible headache later. There’s some Tylenol in the drawer of the nightstand.”

“Thanks.” I watched him go, feeling sad that he was leaving. He had a comforting alpha energy that I craved right now. But he’d wasted enough of his day with me already, and I didn’t want to look pathetic by begging him to stay.

Once he was gone, I reclined on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. The events of the day swirled in my head. I felt depressed and angry, but had no outlet to express either of those emotions. All I could do was suffer in silence, trying to grapple with what Steve had done.

It ate at me that he was probably with Tony right that minute. I tried not to think about them fucking, but that image kept replaying over andover in my head. I wanted to puke. I wanted to scream. I wanted for this all to just be a nightmare.

But it wasn’t.

Steve had truly betrayed me yet again.

By some miracle, I managed to drift off. My sleep was restless, and my dreams stressful. When I finally woke, the amber morning sun was streaming through the curtains across the room.

I slept all night?

I sat up, immediately regretting it. The room tilted alarmingly, and, as Rex had predicted, my head was pounding. I also felt nauseous and struggled not to give in to the urge to vomit.

Grabbing the Tylenol from the nightstand, I downed two pills and drank the glass of water. I stumbled into the bathroom and used the facilities. Next, I showered and then brushed my teeth, forgoing shaving. I had no one to impress, so who cared if I had a little stubble on my jaw?

I made my way to the main house, stomach growling. I felt borderline queasy still, but I was hungry. I hadn’t consumed anything yesterday other than booze. A big country breakfast was probably just what I needed. I didn’t want to have to face the other guests, but I did need to eat.

When I entered the dining room, everyone was seated already. There was a chair next to Rex that was empty, so I took that, ignoring the curious stares. Rex looked freshly showered and handsome. He smiled at me shyly, and thenturned to talk to Joe, who was on the other side of him.

One of the honeymoon couples was on the other side of me. The bride was named Tanya and she leaned over to me. “We missed you and Rex yesterday. Gus took us all out for an evening ride, and it was absolutely wonderful. We roasted marshmallows and sang songs.”

I smiled. “That sounds like fun.”

“It was.” Her gaze flickered. “Um… Rex said your boyfriend had to leave early because of a work emergency?”

I glanced at Rex, but he was deep in conversation with Joe. I was glad he’d already spread a story about why Steve was missing. That saved me the embarrassment of trying to come up with something on the spot.

I returned my gaze to Tanya. “That’s right,” I lied.

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