Page 38 of Hayden's Haven
“Drake lost it. He nearly killed me outright, but that would have been too quick, too easy, not in the style of Logan who’d taught him every sadistic trick in the book.”
She traced over one of his scars and he inadvertently jerked away from her. He suddenly recalled the feel of Drake’s claws raking through his flesh. Eight years later, the memory remained all-too-fresh in his mind.
“I’m sorry,” Mila said as she settled her hand in her lap. “I shouldn’t have asked. It’s too personal.”
“No, you should ask me whatever you want. I want you to know who I am, Mila, and if that means dragging up the past, then so be it.
“I’m sorry, Hayden. I know what it is to be at another’s mercy.”
She gazed into the fire. He wasn’t the only one with secrets. Someone had hurt her. A white wolf, and not Drake, or she would have said so by now.
“I won’t let him hurt you, Mila. You’re safe here with me, with this pack.”
“This pack. Damien’s pack. Do you realize how often you refer to it in any term other than saying ‘my pack’? It’s as if you don’t consider this pack yours, Hayden. And yet you’re here, doing Damien’s work, going where he sends you, watching over everyone, including shifters like Benji who don’t accept you as their own. Why? And why did he call you a traitor?”
“I killed my alpha.”
“Who was feral,” she added.
“That depends on who you ask. My birth pack, Drake. . . none of them thought Logan was feral. Extreme, cruel, harsh, but not feral. And there’s no way to prove otherwise. Not then and certainly, not now”
“They shouldn’t judge you if they weren’t there.”
“Perhaps not, but I made my choice and now I have to live with the consequences.” He felt lighter for having told her. She was easy to talk to, his Mila. Hayden wove his fingers through her hand that rested on his chest. “Thank you. For believing me.”
“I can’t be the only one.”
“No, but you’re the most important one.”
Chapter Eight
MILA
The heat enveloping Mila was just too divine to ignore, let alone leave. She cracked open one eye to check the mantel clock. Eleven thirty am. If it weren’t for the fact that she needed to check on the cultures in her lab and document the results within the hour, she would stay on Hayden’s sofa with all his muscles and delicious flesh wrapped around her. Falling asleep in his arms had been so natural and easy. Extricating herself without waking him, especially when she wanted to hunker down and never leave, was the hard part.
Lips grazed her ear. So much for not waking him.
“I thought you were asleep,” she said, turning just enough to see that wry grin of his emerge. God, he was better than handsome, he was sinfully enticing.
“I wasn’t tired. Besides, I much preferred watching you sleep.”
“Boring. Maybe even creepy, Hayden.”
He laughed at that. “But not a waste of time. You couldn’t keep my hands from learning your body as you slept.”
She pushed herself. “Tell me you didn’t.”
“Maybe. Maybe not.”
She wasn’t sure whether he was serious or joking and if she should be mortified, upset, or incredibly turned on.
The way his nostrils flared, it appeared they both had their answer. Shewaswet and she didn’t have to look at him to know he was hard. His hand sifted through her hair, and then gently, Hayden pulled her toward him. His mouth covered hers, bringing another type of heat to her body as his tongue caressed her lips, waiting for her to open to him. Why did she do as he bid so easily? Why couldn’t she pull herself out of his embrace, away from that strong, silky tongue that had her melting in his arms?
As he held her, flush to him, his free hands slid down her back and over her backside, where it came to rest. No squeezing or kneading her ass, definitely no smacking her to keep her from pulling away or threats if she did. This was Hayden, not Vance. Hayden simply kept his hand there, telling her she was his, if she’d let herself be his. It was tempting, in so many ways, but it wasn’t smart, not given her issues. He’d dump her the moment he found out her secret.
“I have to get to the lab, Hayden.”
“You make your own hours.”
