Page 102 of Alpha's Regret: My Luna Has A Son

She stops at the door and looks over at me.

“Don’t forget to call Emily,” I tell her, and she glares at me. Her lips press into a line. If a look could kill, Zoe would have murdered me. I chuckle as she leaves, taking Valarian with her.

I hear the kids making demands for their McDonald’s breakfast as they leave before lying back down. Everly instantly slides her way back over to me and tosses her leg over my waist before nestling her face back into my neck. Gripping her thigh, I haul her on top of me and hear her sigh, making me laugh softly.

She’ll probably kill me, but she isn’t complaining right now. I manage to go back to sleep for a while before waking up to wandering hands roaming over my stomach and chest. I blink up at the ceiling to see her still half on top of me. Her head falls back on my arm, and I swallow at the sight of her neck. So tempting. And it would be so easy to mark her while she’s out like this. I roll on my side and skim my nose across her neck and shoulder.

Everly has a spicy, floral scent; my mouth waters as I inhale deeply before running my tongue over her neck. Then I freeze. Realization smashes into me just before I give in to instinct, and I quickly rip my face away from her neck, feeling my canines pressing into my lips. I suck in a mind-clearing breath before untangling myself from her. I need to get away from her while she’s in this state before I do something that will make her hate me. My stomach twists as I force myself out of the room.

Needing a distraction, I flick the kettle on and start picking up toys and clothes that must be from this morning. Hours have passed when I finally look up, having completely forgotten about the coffee I intended to make. I’ve managed to clean the entire tiny apartment.

“Shit!” I curse under my breath. Is it weird I cleaned her place? Will she find it insulting? Will Zoe? I pull a chair out from under the table, attempting to make a slight mess, so it doesn’t look quite so clean, but all I can smell is bleach—taste it in the back of my mouth. The washing machine makes a noise, singing loudly as the spin cycle finishes, and I walk away to put it in the dryer before stopping, cringing. I need to put the damn chair back straight.

Maybe Iamslightly compulsive, but I have reason to be. I need the distraction—so I don’t walk in there and mark her against her will. I realign the chair, my nervousness making it challenging to stop. Passing Valarian’s room, I check it, but his room is already spotless. I place the clothes in the dryer, turning it on before throwing another load on, but it’s only half full. I quickly look around, trying to find more clothes, as the washing machine is only half full.

Stopping at Everly’s door, I push it open. I need to clean it. I run my fingers over her dresser. When was the last time she dusted? I flick my hand, ridding it of the little bit of grime before scooping up her work clothes and sniffing them to see if they have her scent on them or not. She has so many uniforms scattered around her room. She moves on the bed and I glance at her, but she’s still asleep.

Scooping up another handful of clothes that were on my side of the bed, I sniff them just as she clears her throat. I glance at her mid-sniff to find her staring at me. She blinks at me and rubs her eyes, sitting up.

“What are you doing?” she asks.

“Uh, washing?” I tell her, holding up the pieces I just grabbed off the floor that fell under the bed. My eyes dart to what’s in my hand. I blink.

“Does that require you to sniff my panties and camisole?” she asks before reaching over and snatching them from my grip. My eyes widen.

“I wasn’t! I was seeing if they were clean.”

“Well, were they, Mr. Sniffer?”

I clear my throat, standing upright. Well, this got awkward fast.

“I swear, I was not sniffing them in a sordid way. See? I have an armful. I just came in here to see if any needed washing.” God, that sounds lame even to my own ears; ‘not sniffing her panties in a sordid way’—who says that?

“Did you sniff Zoe’s panties too?” she says, pointing to the clothes under my arm.

“What? No! I just grabbed these out of the hamper in the bathroom.”

“I’m playing, Valen,” she chuckles, tossing her panties and cami to me. I let out a breath.

“But if you’re looking for a job, I am seeking a nanny,” she laughs.

“Ha, ha, very funny.” I pause. “Wait, really?” I could be a nanny, or maybe pappy; nanny sounds a little feminine, but I would if it meant spending more time here.

“No, But hey, you want to clean, one less thing for me to do,” she says, swinging her legs over the side of the bed.

“Coffee?” she asks, and I nod, scooping up a dress from the back of her chair. Everly moves to the kitchen while I go to the tiny laundry room and put another load of laundry on.

“Did you organize my pantry?” she asks as I walk back into the living room/kitchen/dining room area. I say nothing, feeling awkward suddenly.

“Where’s the coffee?” she asks, rummaging around. I walk over to her, reaching past her, and she jumps when I press against her back.

I grab the coffee jar and sugar and bring them down. “Right here.” I found the decorative canisters still in their boxes, along with a whole pile of Tupperware still in the plastic, like they bought them and forgot about them.

“Ah. We’ve been meaning to use those,” she says, turning around.

“Excuse me,” she murmurs, squeezing past me. She grabs two mugs and I lean on the counter, watching her.

“I got rid of your pills in the raisin box,” I tell her, and her hand stops mid-air.

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