Page 91 of Begrudgingly Yours
“There’s no way to get out of this, Nicole. Leave my pack mate out of your mess.”
She wrinkles her nose at him. “I can’t believe I ever thought you were the hot one.”
Charlie cuts in. “You’re being highly inappropriate.”
Nicole literally rolls her eyes at her beta father and crosses her arms. “Yeah, yeah. Take his side like always.”
Dax loses it. “You can never let me have anything nice! This is my pack, myfamily,” Dax adds, talking directly to Nicole.
“THIS is your fucking family, you don’t needthem!” she yells back, the covers at risk of falling off her body as she gets amped up.
He looks like he’s about to pull his hair out. “Why can’t you just be happy for me?!”
“Oh, fine. I’m happy for you,” she says sarcastically. “Happy for smart,talentedDax who gets to have the pack of his dreams! Woo-hoo!”
“Quiet,” their mother barks, which has an instant effect. Dax and Nicole stop talking, so still in their standoff that you’d think she turned them into statues. Surprisingly, Rory doesn’t react to the bark. Her omega is still focused on the audacity of the beta in front of her.
After a few tense and somber moments, Dax huffs an agitated sigh. “I can’t be around her right now.” He looks over at all three of us. “We’re leaving.”
He marches out of the room before we can respond, leaving his parents to deal with their delusional—or maybe just manipulative—daughter. I don’t even look at her as I follow Rory and Everett out of the room.
“I’ll go talk to Dax. Get your shoes and we’ll leave in a few minutes.” Everett kisses her on the forehead and leaves us to track down our exasperated pack member.
I follow Rory to her room, still feeling anxious over the entire thing. “Rory, I?—”
“You don’t have anything to explain or apologize for, Jett,” she tells me, pulling me further into the room so we can talk in private. There’s some yelling still happening down the hall in what was supposed to be my room, but it’s tuned out. White noise. Nothing else matters but my omega.
“You’re the strongest person I know,” I whisper, feeling unsure. “If I had walked into that kind of scenario, I would have freaked out. My alpha would have gone haywire. You hadevery reasonto completely freak out and you didn’t.”
“That’s because I know you would never do anything like that to me. If you wanted to be with Nicole, you would be. You’ve been in the same class for months now. And all that time, you’ve been focused onme.”
She says it like it’s simple, like this didn’t cause a ruckus between us. The look in her eye makes me feel vulnerable, like sheseesme.Finallysees me. All those months where she was living her life and I was just in the background,piningfor her. It all plays through my mind as clearly as today has.
“Jett, I love you.”
My heart falters. Stutters. Fucking leaps a mile a minute at the confession. The happiness I’ve been waiting to feel from those words shoots out of me. I can’t control the strong leather-filled amber that drifts out or the grin that takes over my face.
Instead of responding, I take her face and pull it to mine. When they merge, an explosion of lust blooms. The place where our lips are touching feels charged with electricity as I try my best to convey to her how I’m feeling with every stroke. When her arms wrap around me, trying to get closer, I groan involuntarily, my chest vibrating with a purr.
When she pulls away, her smile is dopey and cute and everything good. Her cranberry scent is better than anything I’ve ever smelled in my life. I want to pour it into my veins, keep it with me as close as I possibly can.
“I love you, too,” I say, my voice raspy from the dehydrating kiss. “More than anything in the world. My beautiful scent match.”
Rory preens under my touch, and I feel so fortunate. This side of her is meant for me, for my pack, and no one else. She deserves all the praise and comfort that she wants.Everything.
Someone clears their throat behind us and we zip around at the sound, but it’s only Everett. He’s in the doorway, a happy smirk curving on his face. “Dax knows where we’re going. He said we can get our stuff later, he just wants to get out of here as soon as possible.”
I nod, agreeing with that. The sooner we’re out of here, themore settled our omega will be. I grasp her hand in mine. “Are you ready to see New York with me, Omega?”
FORTY-TWO
The condo that Dax takes us to is just as large as the penthouse. It’s vast, but not white. This place has personality anda lotof freaking color. I think every room is dedicated to a different one, which really speaks to my omega for some reason.
“Whose place is this?” I ask, assuming it’s an Airbnb or something.
Everett laughs. “Did you miss the part where your mate’s family is filthy freaking rich?”
“Shut up.” I push him playfully, and he nudges me back, causing me to giggle.
