Chapter Eighteen
Roderic
“Are you okay, Sweetheart?”
She’d seemed off since she came to the door, but I’d chalked it up to my unexpected arrival. The way she trembled under my touch made me think it might be something more.
Refusing to meet my eyes, her only response was to pull her bottom lip into her mouth to bite down on it. I wanted to lean in and take it for myself, but I needed to know what was going through her head that had the stench of fear flooding the space around us.
I gentled my tone further, giving her hand a light squeeze and letting a soft purr rumble from my chest.
“Paige, please, look at me.”
Her eyes clenched shut and another tear ran down her cheek, her nose turning a rosy red. When she opened her lids again, her beautiful blues were swimming in moisture gathered along her bottom lashes.
“Just do it.”
My brows furrowed and her eyes instantly slammed closed again. It took a moment before I realized what she thought was about to happen.
My stomach dropped, and for the first time in my life, I regretted the life I’d lived.
Strengthening my purr, I moved my hand from her chin to the back of her head, pulling her into a hug. She was trembling so hard she practically vibrated, and I hated that I was the cause.
“Oh, Sweetheart, I’m not here to kill you. Do you really think I could do that?”
Part of me was horrified that her view of me was so low, while the practical side said it made sense. She’d clearly overheard me tell Leo I’d killed the Walkers’ men, so naturally she’d expect me to have no qualms about killing someone who was witness to the confession.
“The men I was talking about were abusing the woman with them, keeping her high on drugs so she couldn’t leave or protest. They aren’t the first ones we’ve found with that setup.
And while they were also part of a rival family who’s stolen from us, their connections and the drug dealing wouldn’t have mattered if I hadn’t found them fucking her while she was unconscious. ”
Talking about what I’d walked in on made the memory fresh, fury rising once again, but I tried to push it away instead of embracing it the way I usually did. I didn’t need Paige thinking I was angry with her when she was the one with every right to be angry.
“You asked me if you could leave, and I wasn’t going to imprison you, so I agreed, but Leo won’t let me just pretend you didn’t hear anything. I need to stick close to you until I can assure him you’re trustworthy.”
The lie felt bitter on my tongue, but it was safer than the truth. The truth might leave her hating me when I refused to truly let her go.
Paige’s trembling slowed as she took deep breaths. The warmth of her exhale spread down my stomach, making my cock twitch, but I tried to ignore it.
Yes, she’d invited me into her home. And yes, she was in my arms.
But not for the reason I wanted.
When she finally lifted her head from my chest I let my purr die and reluctantly released her.
Her eyes were red rimmed, and there was a wet spot on my shirt, but I didn’t think her weak for crying.
Whether she’d been wrong or not, she thought she’d just faced death, and I’d found even the toughest cried at the end.
“I’m sorry for scaring you, Sweetheart. I never imagined you’d think I would… do that to you.”
I didn’t want to use the K word again. It was bad enough that she’d jumped to that conclusion, and I wanted to put it behind us. The sooner she forgot about it, the better, but I didn’t think lingering at her home would help.
She’d thought she was going to die, but she’d let me in anyway, accepting it with an ease that made my hands clench at my sides.
Did she truly have nothing to fight for?
I swore I’d give her everything she’d ever wanted and make sure her will to live was stronger than any threat to her. I couldn’t eliminate all the risks associated with being involved with me, and I had to know if something unthinkable did happen, that she’d fight.
Paige still hadn’t spoken, but her expression was clearer, and she seemed to be calming.
I was impatient to distract her, but she needed the time to collect herself and accept that she was going to live after all, so I turned my attention back to the cat who’d come down the stairs and was standing close enough to reach.
The thing was ugly.
Bald and wrinkly, a litany of crude jokes about it played through my head, but I held them in. Some people were crazy when it came to their pets, and being an omega who didn’t seem to have many people to rely on, Paige just might be one of them.
Leaning down, I reached for it, curious if it would feel like the limp dick it resembled.
“And what’s your name?”
My fingers connected before Paige’s, “No,” registered. She’d lunged, reaching to pull my arm back, but froze as the cat arched up against my hand.
“I… She…”
I turned my head but continued to scratch the cat’s back. It was surprisingly soft, and as bald as it appeared.
Paige looked stunned, her wide eyes staring at the cat as if she didn’t recognize it. The way she stuttered made me think the swipe the cat had taken at her wasn’t unusual, but why would she keep an animal who wouldn’t let her touch it?
Unless she was really that starved for connections.
Once again anger bubbled inside me over what I had learned about her life. No wonder she had accepted the fate she thought was coming without a fight.
Which meant, perhaps she’d accept the one I offered instead, without fussing.
“Her name is Peach. She’s not nearly as sweet as her name, but I didn’t know that when I found her. I thought she was just hangry, or hurt. Not that she’d stay that way forever.”
I wanted to chuckle but the upset on Paige’s face made me swallow it, and I pulled away from Peach so I didn’t make it worse.
“Cats are fickle beasts.”
Like omegas, but I kept that to myself as well.
At least petting the cat helped bring back the Paige I’d started seeing at my home.
“So, you just need to be able to tell your boss I’m trustworthy? How can I prove that if you’re here? If I wasn’t, I would pretend to be until you leave.”
My lips ticked up at her question, because that was exactly what an innocent would ask.
Someone trying to trick me would do their best to keep me from thinking of that possibility, unless they were truly skilled and thought bringing it up would fool me into believing them innocent.
I might have thought Paige could be a spy for a moment when I first caught her snooping, but nothing about her pointed in that direction.
“Well, I guess that means you’re stuck with me.”
People rarely saw the truth when it was given to them. It seemed safe to tell her she’d never be rid of me because she’d take it as a joke, but as I watched her lips part on a deep inhale and her pupils flex, I wondered if there was a part of her that felt it. That knew I meant the words.
She hesitated before giving a short huff, her lips twitching, but not enough to call it a smile. More like she was scoffing at the idea, as if she thought I’d grow tired of her eventually.
Never.
I knew enough to be ready for forever, I just had to bring her to the same degree of obsession.
“It’s a good thing you’re on break for the summer.
Might have been hard to explain to the boss why an alpha was following you around like a love-struck puppy.
Although some of us can really be that possessive, so maybe not.
Explaining why it was happening without a claim would be interesting to hear. ”
I grinned as her cheeks went pink. I’d already told her she was stuck with me, might as well let her know how bad it was going to be.
It would give her a chance to get used to the idea while she still thought it was a joke, but I could already tell there was no way I’d be letting her out of my sight, before she wore my mark, or after.
Not unless she was in a place I deemed completely safe, with people I trusted on watch.
“You wouldn’t have.”
Her tone made it sound like she was scandalized, as if alphas weren’t truly that crazy about their omega.
My grin widened, the look on her face morphing to horror as she realized I would.
“But…”
She trailed off and her breath rushed out of her. She knew as well as I that arguing wouldn’t change anything. I’d follow her everywhere until I won her affection and could sink my teeth into her.
The thought of feeling her bite me in return had my cock weeping. It was throbbing so hard each fresh surge of blood hurt, and I didn’t hide that I had to reach down and adjust it.
Her inhale was almost loud enough to be called a gasp as her gaze followed the motion before she jerked her head to the side, her cheeks getting darker. Even her neck and chest were flushed, and I thought I caught a hint of slick in the air.
“I’m just going to stay home and clean today. I’m not going anywhere, so you don’t have to stay. I probably won’t leave the house all weekend, actually.”
Tsking, I closed the space between us and took her chin between my fingers, making her look up at me again. I loved the deep blue of her eyes, shading to grey at the outer edge, and I loved watching her expressions even more. She was so open, something I wasn’t used to.
“You could call someone.”
Nothing she said would get me to leave, but I wanted to see how much she’d push before accepting it.
Her tongue slipped from between her lips, sliding along the bottom one. I wanted to lean down and chase it with mine, to taste her again and see if it was as good as I remembered. It already felt like it had been too long.