Page 40 of Pack Rivals, Part One

"Really?" The corner of his mouth lifts in a half smile that dimples his damn cheek.

"Uh huh."

"Then I'd like to take you out tomorrow, Bea." He ducks so our eyes come level. "Just me, you and my packmates. How about I take you out for breakfast?"

"I'd like that."

He leans in and kisses a surprisingly tender spot beneath my ear, then whispers, "Me too."

Gently, he slides his hand from my hair and, remarkably, even that gesture skims fire across my skin. He steps away.

"We'd better get back to the table before your family sends out a search party."

I laugh and bite my lip.

"Okay."

We stroll back to the table, his hand lingering on the small of my back, reminding me he's right there.

If the others were wondering why we were delayed, I'm sure my flushed face is a dead giveaway. Axel picks up his knife and fork and stabs at his lobster, sawing at it so hard I'm surprised he doesn't cut right through the table.

Silver wears a smug look on his face which doesn't help.

I can't help feeling guilty, like I betrayed Axel or hurt his feelings. In an effort to make it up to him, I turn his way and offer him my undivided attention.

"You're in a pack too?"

"Nearly all alphas are, sweetheart."

"How many of you are there?"

"Three. Me, Connor and Nate. We've been together since school. Always knew we'd be a pack. Always knew we belonged together."

I nod, a strange sadness falling on my head like snowflakes.

"I used to feel the same way about someone," I confess as he watches me intently with those eyes. I think he could make me say anything he wanted, get me to tell him anything he wanted, with those goddamn eyes. "It doesn't always last."

He lowers his knife and his fork. "It does with the right people, with the right bond."

My gaze strays to his neck. A pair of faint scars mark the point where his shoulder meets his throat. Bite marks. It's what packs do. Their way of claiming one another. Snapping their jaws right through skin, hard enough to leave an everlasting scar.

I wait for bile to ride up my throat. But desire shimmies down my spine instead. Am I turned on by that too?

And just as that thought enters my mind, along with a picture of three hot sweaty men tangled together, their fangs buried into each other's necks, it happens.

I get a hell of a lot wetter.

So, so wet.

A gush of liquid flooding my underwear.

I freeze.

At first I think it's my period, or perhaps I …

Except, a sweet smell fills the air and Axel's nostrils flare wide.

"I need to use the bathroom again," I squeak, slamming back my chair and scurrying towards the rear of the restaurant.

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