Page 128 of Scent to the Feral Cowboys
“But now that she’s here, we can just break the contract with her,” my Alpha with the crow dark hair said. “Nobody has the right to own another person.” His intensity moved in mydirection, sinking into my skin. “We don’t own you, Nelly. We can’t own you. But we could love you? We could keep you safe?”
Love me.
Save me.
But why did my mind home in on ‘own’. Why did I suddenly feel like being owned by Boone wouldn’t be such a terrible thing after all?
Because my Omega biology wanted him.
Needed him.
Stretched out to him with undeniable ferocity.
It was like a dam had splintered the exact moment I’d decided to believe them. To trust that they, too, hadn’t realized what they were signing, what they were asking for, and what would happen in the future.
“Break the contract,” I found myself whispering, tasting the words on my tongue, deciding if they were sweet or acerbic. But they, of course, thought I was making a request. Again, the aroma of the kitchen shifted, sliding to something tart and citrusy. Anxiety. Worry. Hope evaporating. Their Alphas reacting to losing what they’d waited for all this time.
“Nelly, we’ll figure this out. But for now, can you just stay? Can you just trust us?” Cooper hopped off the island, rushing over. “Just, please, give us a little time. If you really want to leave down the road, we’ll book your ticket home, like Wyatt said. We’ll send you off safely.”
Cooper’s voice rose and fell in pitch, trying to convince me to stay.
Cooper, who I now realized started this whole thing. Cooper, who I should hate most. But, Jesus Christ, the earnestness in his expression, the pleading in his voice…it swayed me.His navy-blue eyes were a brighter shade as they dampened with unshed tears. The sight of him had me thinking, ‘sweet’.
Breaking the contract tasted ‘sweet’ after all.
And then I was uttering out loud something completely, stupidly, ridiculously irrational.
“I’ll stay long enough for you to contact Eros and figure out what happens if we mutually break this contract. I can’t imagine they would care; they’ve already got your damn money.” My heart and brain swirled with so many thoughts and feelings. I added on the last, trying to regain a bit of my common sense, trying to remember they bought me here. Millions. I’d been worth millions, right?
“I’ll contact them Monday,” Cooper nodded, agreeing quickly. “And you’ll stay? You’ll stay until we hear back from them?”
“Why wait until Monday?” I pushed, clearing my throat, feeling the ghost of the gooseberry I’d choked on earlier.Had I just agreed to stay here for the time being? How long would it take to get an answer from Eros? A day? A few days? A week?
“It’s after business hours right now. I’ll shoot an email off anyways if that will ease your mind?” He rung his hands together, clearly stalling.
“Send an email,” I said, trying to remember that I was not a stupid woman. Giving in fully was the wrong thing to do. I had to make sure they proved that they would follow through on promises.
“Sure, sure.” Cooper gazed around the room, finding every pair of eyes glued to him. “I just wanted to help our pack,” he insisted. “I just wanted to pull us back from the edge. We were losing it guys. We were so close to really losing it.”
Quiet. Not a word spoken back to him.
He glanced up at the ceiling, gave a heavy sigh, then looked back down again. “I did not think this thing all the way through, did I?”
“No, Coop. You really didn’t.” This from Wyatt, who was sitting back in his chair. Every chair at the table was taken now.The only one standing was Cooper, burning under the spotlight of his own making. He hesitated, clearly uncomfortable, then he strode out of the kitchen with fast, purposeful strides.
In his wake, the atmosphere was thick, choking. I needed to break the tension, or I’d scream.
"When I woke up, I sort of assumed you'd all be out doing ranch-y type things," I said, cautiously pushing back from the table, picking up my half-cleared plate, and walking toward the sink. My feet were still throbbing, but it was a dull sensation now.
I didn’t know what to do with the leftovers; there wasn’t a disposal. I couldn’t see a trash can either. I set the plate next to the basin, and turned around, pressing my back into the counter to anchor myself as I faced them all, this time with space between us so their Alpha natures wouldn’t dick with my thinking too much. But, even here, they smelled intoxicating.
That had to be why I agreed to stay…
Why I hinged me leaving on some empty nod from Eros…
My brain was addled, unable to think rationally, because of the overwhelming effects they had on me.
"Usually would be," Wyatt confirmed, his eyes tracking my every movement with an intensity that made my skin prickle. "After last night, we thought it might be more important to be here when you woke up. Besides, we’re all run a bit ragged from the mountain lion incident. We took care of the animals after dawn, did a few things that couldn’t be put off. Everything else can keep."
