Page 130 of Scent to the Feral Cowboys
Somehow this was more uncomfortable than spitting bitter words and fighting.
I pushed my tangled hair away from my face, tucking it behind my ears. No one was moving. No one was speaking. A few times, I wondered if anyone other than me was breathing.
“Are we all just going to wait around here for Eros to email back with a 'sorry, no refunds' message?" I eventually asked.
My Alphas seemed to consider this.
That ocean.
Salty.
Turning stormy.
Churned.
But the clouds parted.
“You could help me pick furniture for the new house,” Cooper said hopefully, “It’ll be finished soon. They’re doing final touches. Got some clawfoot tubs that haven’t arrived yet, but it really should be done any week now. You’re going to love it. So much space. You can decorate. Any color. Whatever you want.”
“Why would I pick stuff for a house I’ll never live in?” I countered, trying to look acutely bored.
Wyatt cleared his throat. "We could show you around the property properly. In daylight. So, you can see what you're dealing with."
I narrowed my eyes, suspicion flaring hot in my chest. "You mean so I can see how impossible it is to escape?”
I almost said, ‘you want me to walk right now? Did you not see my feet last night?’
But, again, I had no desire to admit I was still hurting.
"I mean," Wyatt said, his jaw tightening, "so you can understand the terrain if you decide to try again. Already told you that mountain lions aren't the only danger out there. I don’t want you to get hurt again, Nelly. You getting hurt again might kill me."
The sincerity in his voice threw me. I'd expected threats or warnings, not what sounded like genuine concern. My eyes flicked to the window, taking in the vast landscape beyond the glass—rolling hills, distant mountains, endless sky. Somehow, the clear blueness of that last was terrifying. Maybe because it was the drowning ocean made real, only now it hovered above us threatening to drop at any moment.The sky is falling! The sky is falling!
“I don’t want to roam around your stupid ranch.” I looked down at my hands, knitting them together, trying to stop myself from digging my nails into my palms, because my words were lies. Part of me did want to go outside and see Sagebrush. To remind myself that being here was painful, and I shouldn’t want to stay, I brutally pressed my back harder against the counter behind.
"On horseback, you could see the ranch faster. Get out in the sunshine, wind through your hair. It always makes me feel better.” Levi offered, pushing his glasses up into place. He seemed like the type that liked to have something keeping his mind occupied. Maybe that’s why he was so into numbers. “I’m the worst rider of the bunch, but I’m happy to take you.”
"No, thank you. Sounds like literal torture.” I shook my head, heart panging a little when I saw the hurt flash through Levi’s Elizabeth Taylor eyes.
"You don't like horses?" Wade asked, genuine curiosity in his voice laced with a little disappointment. I looked over at him, feeling my face drain of emotion. Just drain. Nothing replacedwhat had vacated. Just… emptiness. I’d told them I didn’t fit here. They just need time to believe.
Yeah, that’s me. The perfect Omega for your perfect ranch… and I hate horses.
"The few times I've been on a horse, I nearly fell on my ass. So no, we're not exactly friends.” I shrugged, knowing I looked like a disgruntled child at this point. They were trying to be nice. If I believed they didn’t know how Eros got its Omega products, and I believed they were willing to break the contract and let me go, then there really was no harm in letting them try to please me.
The problem wasn’t the pleasing.
The problem was that I wanted to be pleased by them.
Dammit. Why? Why couldn’t I fight them? Why couldn’t I resist?
It was obvious I was the wrong Omega for them. I wanted to scream it at them a second time. I. Don’t. Fit.
But part of me wanted to be wrong.
Shit, why was I such a basket case? Why did it feel like there was a battle raging in my heart and soul and head?And it didn’t matter which side won; I’d still lose in the end.
My personal perfume plumed outward, heavy with notes of jasmine.
