Chapter 6
CHAPTER SIX
Kayla
Iwoke up, my mouth feeling like a cotton ball was inside it. The television was off and the lights were dim as I sat up, rubbing my eyes from the blurriness that had overtaken them. Definitely had too much wine.
Scooting off the chaise, popcorn crunched underneath me as I moved, and I grimaced. I hadn’t meant to drink the whole bottle of wine and pass out, but the longer I had sat waiting for the pack to come home, the more I drank.
As much as I’d tried to fight it, my instincts had taken over and I’d gone a little bit bonkers for their scents. I wasn’t sure what scent belonged to who, but each one made me feel safe and a certain kind of way I hadn’t felt before.
So much for acing Olfactory Management.
I took one of the blankets that smelled like a hot toddy with me as I went to the kitchen to get a drink of water.
Part of me was really fucking glad they hadn’t come home because I’d left dishes in the sink, empty and partially eaten takeout containers on the counters, and the dining room table was covered in quilting materials.
Brian had been useless when it came to helping me get settled in. His number went straight to voice mail every time I tried to call. I couldn’t tell if he’d read my texts or not, but something told me he had and was choosing not to respond.
I could have called the other numbers he left me for the pack, but he’d told me not to and I knew that they were busy men. Honestly, the first day of independence had been great.
Until it wasn’t.
I threw the blanket on a clean part of the counter and went to the sink, frowning at my mess. I’d never been an overly tidy person, but now I was going to be staying here for a few weeks or maybe even months, I needed to at least attempt to not appear like a slob.
Wait.
That was part of the plan; annoy them enough for them to send me back.
I bit my lip as I had an internal battle of whether to put the dishes in the dishwasher.
Now that I’d smelled their scents, it was like a light switch had been flipped, and I had the urge to do things to please them.
That’s what had made me so tired the past few days because leaving my shit everywhere was wearing me out.
Shaking my head, I filled up a glass with water from the refrigerator and went to stand by the floor-to-ceiling windows. It was just after two in the morning, and the city lights had dimmed a bit. The view really was breathtaking, and I had found myself drawn to it several times a day.
My eyes closed as I tipped the glass back and gulped down the ice-cold water. I’d need at least two glasses to quench my thirst. My body wasn’t used to drinking bottles of wine and gorging on junk food.
“What are you doing?”
I jumped at the gruff voice right behind me, the glass slipping from my hand and shattering at my feet. My wide eyes met Beck’s over my shoulder as I turned and winced as my foot came down on some glass.
“Fuck. Don’t move.” He jogged out of the kitchen, leaving me standing there with my heart nearly beating out of my chest and a pain in my foot that I was trying to keep pressure off.
A minute later, he came back, flip-flops on his feet, and scooped me up like I was his bride. My skin heated at his touch, and I looked away. “You scared the shit out of me.”
He set me on the counter near the sink and paused, looking inside it. “We have a dishwasher, you know.”
I narrowed my eyes as he flicked on the light over the sink and grabbed my ankle, bringing my foot up to examine it. His fingers sent tingles across my body as he made a disapproving noise.
He was shirtless and only wearing a pair of basketball shorts.
His skin was lightly covered in freckles, and I found myself wanting to touch them.
I hadn’t paid much attention to him at the meet and greet, but up close and personal like this, he was a stunning man.
His green eyes assessed the damage, and I couldn’t look away.
Damn it. This wasn’t how this was supposed to go.
“It doesn’t hurt that bad.” I wiggled my toes, and he released my ankle. “You aren’t going to kiss it and make it better?”
He braced his hands on the counter on either side of me, his lightly stubbled jaw ticking. “I need to go get the first aid kit. Don’t get off the counter.” He pushed off and walked out of the kitchen; his scent hit me like a freight train. I inhaled deeply.
I’d been sleeping in his bed and using his blanket.
“Damn it, Kayla.” I brought my foot up across my knee and glanced at the bottom. There was a small piece of glass in there, blood getting ready to drip onto the floor.
Beckett came back with a first aid kit, his frown still firmly in place. “You have to eat and drink at the table or counter. These floors make glass shatter.”
I bit my tongue, stopping myself from snapping at him like I wanted to. “Usually, I don’t drop glasses, but someone decided to scare me.” I stared at the pair of tweezers he pulled out of the kit, not liking the idea of him digging around in my foot. “Do you know what you’re doing?”
He poured some rubbing alcohol on them and moved in close to me, his bare abdomen brushing against my leg and making my body tingle. “I’ve taken out splinters before. Just hold still and don’t look.”
His touch on my ankle was light, and the way he was leaning in blocked my view. The temptation to run my fingers through his short, dark red hair was nearly killing me.
I sucked in a sharp breath as pain radiated from the bottom of my foot. Beck leaned in closer, more of our bodies contacted, and a light purr came from him, immediately making me forget about the pain in my foot.
Before I knew it, he was moving away from me, the bottom of my foot covered with a thick bandage. “All done.”
“Thank you.” I lowered my foot as he wiped up a small spot of blood on the floor.
“You should get to bed. It’s late.” He closed the first aid kit and then finally looked up at me. “You’ve been sleeping in my bed.”
My face felt like it was on fire under his gaze.
I couldn’t tell exactly how he felt about my taking over his bed.
I’d tried to stay in the guest room on the first level, but it was so far removed from where they slept and where their scents were concentrated.
His scent had called to me the most with him being the pack leader, so I’d chosen his room.
It just so happened that I knew it might piss him off too if our first encounter was anything to go by. “The guest room isn’t ideal.” He was going to flip his lid when he discovered where I’d set up my nest.
He chose to ignore my comment, and after washing his hands, he stood in front of me and grabbed my ankle again. “Just checking to make sure it’s not bleeding through the bandage.”
The smart thing to do would have been to pull my leg away from him and get off the counter. But I sat still, my heart thudding much harder than it needed to since I was just sitting there.
His thumb ran along the arch of my foot, and I bit my lip in an attempt to not moan or whimper. Why was he torturing me by touching me? Had he turned over a new leaf since I’d heard him balk at the idea of an omega?
“What are you doing?” I whispered as he bent down and brushed his lips across my ankle.
Goosebumps erupted across my skin, and a pleased shiver raced down my spine. My head fell back against the kitchen cabinet with a soft thud.
“Are you still on perfume blockers?” He put my leg down, but instead of backing away, he pushed between my thighs so he could get closer, and buried his face in my neck. “Fuck, you smell good.”
“I’m still taking them.” My nipples pushed against my tank top, and I tilted my head to the side so he had better access to my neck.
“If you smell like this while still on them...” He inhaled, his stubble brushing across my sensitive skin as he moved his nose along the column of my neck. “Stop taking them.”
I was starting to get turned on by how he was touching and speaking to me. Instead of pushing him away, though, I wrapped my legs around him and finally buried my fingers in his hair. It would be okay just for a minute.
Who was I kidding? My body had been starved of the affection of an alpha, and now I was getting it, I didn’t know why I’d ever been so against having a pack.
He groaned, his arms going around me, our chests pressed against each other. “Do you have any idea how difficult it was trying to fall asleep with your perfume in my bed and you not in it with me?”
I did know because, as soon as I smelled their scents, I knew it was going to take everything in me to not give in to my needs. Their scents called to me, which was probably why, even with perfume blockers, I was releasing more than usual.
My body wanted them.
“I didn’t want to want this,” he mumbled against my neck, his lips brushing against my skin, sending a throbbing pulse to my clit. “But now you’re here...”
His lips ghosted up my neck and across my jaw until they were centimeters from touching me. I’d never been kissed or anything before. There had never been any opportunities to explore sex while locked away at the academy besides with ourselves.
The tiniest of whimpers escaped my slightly parted lips as I thought about how different a real alpha cock would feel compared to a silicone one. “Please-”
I didn’t get to finish because his lips took mine in a hungry kiss that both excited me and scared the crap out of me.
It was as if I was feeling desire for the first time in my life.
Sure, I’d masturbated during my subdued heats, but it had never felt so right and so good. And all he’d done was kiss me.
My fingers tugged at his hair and his tongue probed at my lips, seeking entry. I opened for him, not sure if what I was doing was correct, but it felt right. The wetness of my slick between my legs made me tingle and ache, and the need to move against him was too strong to resist.
I barely knew this man, yet there I was, ready to hump him on the counter. If he was causing this strong of a reaction now, I could only imagine what my heats would be like, especially if I went off my heat suppressant.
Beckett’s hands moved under my shirt, starting at my lower back, and then traveling up along my spine. I arched into him, our kiss becoming even more frantic. He groaned, his lips moving back down to my neck, right under my ear.
“Stop me now.” His voice was lower and filled with lust. “Stop me now or there’s no turning back.”
His hands moved to wrap around my sides, his thumbs brushing under my breasts and making me feel dizzy. Did I want this? Did I want to give in to this overwhelming physical pull I had to this man?
I was naive to think I’d be able to resist alphas once I was in the thick of them. There was part of me that didn’t want the all-consuming need and love. I had goals and plans, and what if this pack didn’t let me see them through?
Beckett pulled back, gripping my chin gently after I didn’t respond quickly enough. “I need to hear you say it, Kara.”
Kara.
Whatever I’d been feeling quickly shattered, just like the glass I’d dropped. I shoved him away, embarrassment and anger making my eyes burn. I hissed as my feet hit the ground, my cut stinging.
Of course they’d wanted my sister. I didn’t know or care how the mix-up had happened, but it had, and now the sliver of feeling I’d let myself have was dashed away.
It was painful, and I could only imagine how much more painful it would be to bond with a pack and then have something tragic happen.
“What’s wrong? Did I move too fast?” Beckett gently touched my arm as I pushed past him.
How did I even begin to tell him I wasn’t Kara?
So, I did the only thing I could.
I ran.