24. Sunny
Sunny
I'm completely spent by the time I return to the house, my body heavy with exhaustion.
The guy's tent looms in the darkness. I still haven't talked to them the way I need to.
Since the dinner, something clicked within me, and I want to take a chance on this pack.
I'm not saying that I'm definitely going to bond with them or anything, but moving them out of the yard, seeing if a few courting dates work out, doesn't seem so bad anymore.
I want to ask them at this point. But I haven't, and I don't know when I'll be able to.
Definitely not tonight. My legs are jelly, and my eyes keep slipping closed. I'm so tired.
"Are you all right, Little One?" Cole's deep, growling voice slices through the silence, jolting me. I squeak in surprise, barely stifling the sound, praying it hasn't woken the guys in the tent.
I place my hand on my chest, breathing for my life.
He just smirks. His sharp green eyes crinkle.
His muscles flex as he gets out of the rocking chair he's sitting in on the porch.
Now that he no longer wears suits, how ripped the man is is ridiculous.
The familiar scent of smoke and leather wraps around me, tingling my senses with something primal, something deeply inviting, and I want nothing more than to curl up in that scent forever.
"I just wanted to make sure you got back to the house okay," he says, stopping just a little too close to be considered respectful of my personal space bubble. His hands hang casually from his pockets, radiating an easy confidence. "Are you okay?"
"I did—I mean–are… am." I stumble over my words, heat rising to my cheeks.
Ever since I'd decided that I might give this pack a chance and actually do the courting thing, I've turned into a nervous bundle.
I'm hyper aware of every movement and word.
This is the same pack I yelled at, swore at, and cursed under my breath in the middle of the night.
I haven't been nervous with them so far at all.
If anything, I've been aggressive. I knew I came off as such.
It's my default setting. But now that I've decided I'm interested, my brain seems to have short-circuited.
Maybe it's my omega. Perhaps she's died of happiness that I'm finally doing what she's wanted all along, and that part of my brain has gone brain-dead.
The corners of his mouth twitch, a barely suppressed laughter dancing in his eyes.
"Oh, shut the fuck up," I snap, feigning annoyance, but it only fuels the tension brewing in the air. I turn to head inside, but he halts me with a gentle hand on my arm, the warmth of his touch sending shivers down my spine.
He meets my eyes and I know he can see what I'm thinking and feeling.
I see it in him too. I've spent so much time trying not to get attached that I missed the need lurking in Cole’s gaze.
There's something so dominant and savage underneath the layered finery he keeps around himself.
Like a deadly animal wrapped in a package so fine, you forget that it's still feral at its core.
"We'll figure this out, Sunny, together.
I'll take care of it." His voice is low, firm, and commanding, leaving no room for doubt.
He's not just talking about the threats and the farm.
He's talking about all the feelings, needs, and scents between us.
I nod, and he lets me go, pulling open the screen door so I can step through alone.
I make my way up to my room, strip off my dirty clothes, take a two-minute shower, and throw on a slip nightgown.
I feel the fabric glide over my body, igniting little sparks of awareness.
Finally collapsing into bed, my heart races.
My thoughts are thick with possibilities, and I can't ignore the pull of what awaits with my pack.
***
Thunder cleaves the dark, and I sit bolt-upright in my bed.
No wonder the air was so heavy and humid when I went to sleep.
It was all that rain-soaked potential waiting to be released.
Rain drums a melody against the roof of the farmhouse.
It beats against the windows. I usually love thunderstorms. The smell, the electric charge, and knowing that I'm safe and warm inside while everything outside my window is cold and miserable.
So why is my heart pounding in my chest while a sickening panic crawls up my spine?
Outside. Something is outside.
I whine, my omega clawing to the surface.
I move to the window and peer out but can't see anything through the darkness and rain.
A flash of lightning illuminates blindingly, and I see the tent in the afterglow.
It's being pulled back and forth by the forceful winds.
The poles are cheap, shitty plastic, but the stakes are metal.
The wind whips at the fabric so hard it looks like it'll blow away at any moment.
I'm running downstairs without processing a plan.
I fling the screen door open and almost slip down the steps. When I reach the tent, I throw myself to my knees and struggle with slippery, wet fingers to unzip the flap. I'm soaked through in seconds.
My nightgown. In my haste, I hadn't put anything over or under it.
I push the thought aside. Too late now. I finally get the fucking flap open and am met with four disheveled-looking alphas staring back at me in the dim glow of a battery-operated lantern.
They look more like wolves in a wet cave than men. They freeze at my intrusion.
"Come on!" I yell over the intense, rolling thunder that feels like it might break the earth beneath our feet. I don't wait to see if they'll join me inside. I book it back to the door. Not that it does me any good. I may as well have jumped in the lake because of how wet I am.
As soon as I push through the door, I know they've followed me.
The door doesn't even shut behind me before four huge alphas track mud and rainwater all over my poor floors.
Each is breathing heavily and staring at me.
I think it's the storm and the fact that I must look like I've been dunked. Then I remember my nightgown.
I look down to find that the light pink silk camisole nightgown that goes down to my knees is now clinging to every inch of my body…
and has become sheer. It provides almost no coverage, and my breasts are completely outlined.
My nipples are hard peeks pointing straight at the alphas.
I'm shaking so hard that my vision blurs a bit.
The water is glacial, and I don't have heat in the middle of the summer.
I look up and freeze. Four completely feral alphas look back at me.