Page 81 of Pack Rivals, Part One

I drag my teeth against her skin. I could sink my jaw into her flesh and claim her.

"Silver," Hardy warns, and I stumble backwards away from the heat of the omega and the intoxicating aroma of her scent.

I nod. He's right. We need to take her home.

But the distance, the coolness of the air, seems to pull the omega out of whatever trance we'd dragged her into.

She steps backwards too, away from Hardy, blinking rapidly.

"I … I …"

"We'll take you home to our place," Hardy says, reaching for her hand again.

She shakes it away. "No, I need to find Courtney and Ellie and …"

"No?" Hardy grins and tilts his head to one side. "It seemed like we were just getting started here, sweetheart."

"I know and I'm sorry–"

"You don't have to apologize, Bea. Ever," I say, scowling at Hardy.

"I don't know if this is what I want … well, maybe I know I want it, but do I need it? I can't keep my head straight when I'm around you and I'm worried that everything will fall apart, even more than it already has. Some days I feel like I'm barely keeping it all together, like it's hanging on by the thinnest of threads and any moment it's going to snap and–"

"Shhh," I say, "Bea, it's all right. We shouldn't have done this."

I drag my hand through my hair, feeling like a giant asshole.

It's her scent, her body, her fucking smile. She's not the only one who can't think straight.

I take her hand in mine and lead her back inside the bar.

Her friends are hugging and kissing each other goodbye when we return to the table, all of them pausing to scrutinize us as we wait for Bea to gather up her belongings. Maybe they all suspect we were doing exactly what I wanted to be doing out there.

"I'll drive you home," I tell Bea and her cousin, and when we arrive at their apartment, Hardy and I insist on delivering them right to their door.

"You sure we can't come in?" Hardy asks, leaning against the doorframe.

"Good night," she says, rising up on her toes to kiss us both on the cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow for our run."

When she's gone, Hardy sighs long and loud.

"Shit, this is harder than I thought it would be, Silver."

"Yeah."

And I wonder for about the one millionth time whether letting her walk away is the right thing to do.

19

Nate

"Here again?"Mrs. Finch asks, peering over her glasses at me.

"Yep," I say with a grin, sauntering past her desk and kicking open the door to my office.

I've been in the office more days this last fortnight than I usually am in an entire year. Usually wild horses and all the king's fucking men couldn't drag me into this place. Too many walls. Don't like it.

But now this place has one key attraction. One I'm finding hard to resist.

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