Page 45 of Chasing Savannah
Chapter 16
Savannah rolled her neck and slid the scarf off her hair as she entered the kitchen. The kids were all chattering in the living room, giving up the pretense of whispering. They now giggled loudly, debating what movies they’d watch.
“What do you jerks want for breakfast?” She shouted into the living room.
More giggling, along with shouts of eggs and pancakes.
She rolled her eyes. She’d barely gotten any sleep, so pancakes were not in their future. She opened the refrigerator giving a happy exhale of air at the tube of croissants on the shelf. Easy enough. She yawned and grabbed the eggs and…turkey bacon.
Ugh.
She shut the door with her hip and set everything down on the counter. She found the coffee and sent up a prayer of thanks. How many hours of sleep had she accomplished? She looked at the oven clock and shook her head. It was eight a.m., so barely three hours. Carlos and Derrick had been on her mind as she attempted to go back to sleep. Just thinking about them heated her body. She cinched her robe tighter and shuddered as the silky fabric slid across her legs.
They were two very sexy men. A woman would be crazy not to consider being with them. She’d told herself last night when Derrick picked her up that she wouldn’t get involved with them, but when Carlos leaned down over her…she sighed. How was she supposed to refuse? She touched her neck where they’d bitten her. It was a small scratch, certainly not big enough to be a mating bite, but still, for a moment she reveled in it. It was only after she’d went back to Carlos’ guest bed and lay up well into the morning thinking about the implications, that she’d gotten a little scared.
Her grandfathers would be beyond happy, it would keep the alpha position in their family. And as far as they were concerned, any one of his granddaughters would be strong enough to lead the prowl. They just didn’t know what she knew. Did she want them? Yes, she wanted them with a desperation that was scary. Would she put her family in danger to be with them?
No.
That was a simple answer. She shook herself out of her thoughts and finished the kids’ breakfast. She’d managed to keep thoughts of Carlos and Derrick out of her head as they all ate and discussed their options for a movie marathon. She was cleaning the kitchen when she sensed Carlos enter the apartment. She turned to greet him as he entered the kitchen and paused at the exhaustion on his face.
“Ready to sleep?”
He shook his head and walked closer, crowding her until her back met the counter. “I still have a few things to do before I can sleep. I just needed to see you.”
She frowned in concern, and cupped his face. “Well, I can’t offer you any help with prowl business, but I can make you some coffee and breakfast, if you want.”
He leaned down and nuzzled her neck. “Coffee would be great.”
He snuggled into her back as she fixed his coffee and she soaked up his presence. She needed to get distance, some clarity. She needed to remind herself that she couldn’t handle an Alpha, that a shifter was too much, but the way he felt against her…
She sighed and fought to keep from moaning. “Did you make any decisions about the attacks?”
She wanted to kick herself for asking. She wasn’t getting involved with the prowl, she reminded herself.
He hummed. “It’s partners for the time being, and I have the single females moving into the prowl house. I asked everyone to be on the lookout for anyone on our land who doesn’t belong.”
“That’s hard with a new prowl coming in.” She commented, loading the coffee machine.
“Very true. Someone sold us out, because one of the last attacks was at a safe house no one outside of the prowl should know about.”
She turned. “Really? You’ll need to do some kind of gag order.” She slapped a hand across her mouth. “I’m sorry, that’s not my place.”
He said nothing, just rubbed his hands down her sides. She turned back to his coffee and fiddled with the cup while she waited on the machine to finish. She’d taken off her head scarf, but her hair was still pinned and wrapped around her head.
She smiled as he took out the pins one by one until her hair fell down to her shoulder in a silky waterfall. Her press out had taken three hours, and this man was running his fingers through it, mussing it. She easily forgave him because it felt great to have his hands on her. She sighed in pleasure as he leaned in and smelled her hair. She liked how touchy feely he was. Having been away from the prowl for a while, she’d forgotten the simple pleasure of touch.
He continued nuzzling her neck as she made his coffee. She felt closer to him for some reason, like she could actually feel his exhaustion, worry and a hint of angry frustration. Her mind strayed to the scratch on her neck. She wished she’d paid better attention to her grandmother as she talked about her mating. Since she didn’t see it in the cards for her, she’d brushed off the talk. Now, she wondered if the small bite they’d given her earlier meant anything.
She turned and smiled at him. “Sit for a moment before you fall down.” She pushed down on his shoulders into a chair at the small café table and set the coffee in front of him. “You can’t even try a nap?”
He shook his head and took a small sip. “I need to make some calls first, I want to check in with some of the allies I’ve built to see if they can send some people down if need be.”
“You should talk to Brianne about that. I believe she’d have a full list of truces the prowl has with the other packs and clans in the area.”
He eyed her over his coffee cup. “You know a lot about what goes on in the prowl.”
“Well,” she hedged. “I try to keep up, you know since Jamie will be joining.”
