Chapter 8
FLETCHER
Ever since last weekend at the snow cone stand, I could almost swear Adam had been low-key flirting with me.
Lingering looks. Small, casual touches. Little things you wouldn’t normally notice—unless you had a crush on the person.
And unfortunately for me, I was harboring a big old crush on this handsome savior of an Alpha.
Which was foolish. Foolish as hell.
Adam himself had said he was pack royalty. And what was I? A street rat. A stray with no place to call home.
And yet… Those smiles, small and sweet. The way Adam’s eyes crinkled at the corners. The way the Alpha made my inner-feline purr and yearn to rub against his legs.
Damn. I really needed to keep my head screwed on straight before it popped off and floated away like a balloon.
As much as I liked spending time with Adam, I needed space. Time to think. Time to process these fickle feelings in my heart.
So I spent all afternoon and evening outside, fixing up the flower beds, raking out the old, faded mulch and replacing it with bright red chips.
The hard work was paying off. I was getting stronger. My body was leaner, and I’d been putting on muscle from all the exercise and proper nutrition.
For the first time in my life, I felt good about myself. It was nice.
Over a dinner of spaghetti and meatballs, Adam cleared his throat. “I was thinking maybe we could watch a movie to wind down,” he said. “You’ve had a busy day and my mind is numb from work. All those numbers.”
My stomach flip-flopped.
“What kind of movie?” I asked, my head already spinning with images of us snuggled up on the couch together. Be still, my heart.
Adam only smiled. “What kind of movies do you like? How about you pick?”
We cleaned up the dinner dishes. Well, mostly. We rinsed them off and left them stacked up in the metal sink basin.
“We can get to them tomorrow,” Adam promised, leading me into the living room.
Despite us just finishing dinner, he popped some popcorn and grabbed a couple of sodas while I browsed through movies on Netflix.
Once he flopped down beside me, I picked an action movie and settled in next to him.
Adam dimmed the lights…and suddenly, all I could smell was Adam. Purrrrrrr… Never in a million years did I think I’d be cozied up next to some wealthy Alpha in a literal mansion, after everything I’d been through in my life.
It kind of felt like I’d died and gone to heaven.
Still, after working in the sun all day, exhaustion crept up on me. I tried to keep my eyes open, but my eyelids kept drooping, heavier and heavier. I fought it best I could, but eventually, sleep won.
The last thing I remembered was resting my head on Adam’s shoulder as the bad guys busted into a bank and started shooting. Right at the good part…
I woke up in the dark, still on the couch, covered by a blanket.
I’d been tucked in. The covers smelled faintly of Adam’s spicy scent, and for some reason, tears sprang to my eyes.
He’d tucked me in.
No one had ever cared about me like that. Why him? The man I’d attempted to rob. By all rights, he should hate me.
But he didn’t. That much was obvious in the way he treated me with compassion and care, like I wasn’t just some Omega he’d picked up off the streets.
Like I was a friend.
Sniffling a little, I rolled over and pulled the blanket up to my nose, mopping at my teary face.
Then I breathed in Adam’s scent to calm my unsteady heart, and let myself drift back to sleep.