I’ll get to be with her, right beside her, and that’s all that matters.
I follow her upstairs, and we get under the covers together. I’m prepared to stay on my side of the bed, so I’m very surprised when she reaches for my hand.
“Thank you, Brad,” she whispers.
“It’s okay,” I say. “I know this has been a pretty fucked-up situation. I’m trying my best to do what’s right for you. I hope you understand that.”
She makes a little sniffle sound, and my heart goes out to her. I don’t dare move, and when she folds my arm around her to pull me over to spoon, I practically shiver with shock.
She was biting my fucking head off, now she wants to snuggle? Women are extremely complicated.
I briefly examine my own behavior and conclude that men aren’t much better.
Alisha wriggles backwards until her body is pressed snugly against mine. She still holds my hand, fingers laced together across her chest. Her breathing slows, so does her heart, and I get ready to drift into a deep sleep with her.
“Brad,” she whispers.
“Yes?”
“I have to tell you something.”
Chapter 8 - Alisha
Brad’s arm tightens around me, and I feel him take a deep breath and hold it. He’s expecting me to drop a bomb, and in a way, that’s exactly what I’m about to do.
My feelings are a raging storm of confusion. I can’t believe I let him kiss me, or that I let it go on for as long as I did. My resentment for him rose like a sickening cloud, and I had to push him away, and I even felt guilty and dirty for a while after.
But now, I just want him near me…and all I can think about is that kiss.
Even though we’re pressed up against each other now, I’m not feeling any lust. The idea of sleeping alone just felt too terrible to contemplate, and now I just feel warm, comfortable, and safe.
There was something so gentle and vulnerable in his voice when he asked me to come back with him. Maybe I should share my burden…
Fear and a deep, echoing sadness make my chest tighten, and a hard lump forms in my throat.
I’ve never told anyone.
“Alisha,” Brad murmurs. “It’s okay. You can tell me anything, and if you don’t want to, that’s okay, too.”
His soft words make hot tears well in my eyes, and I can’t keep it together. I sniffle a little, but I don’t want to break his grip by sobbing and moving away, so I just snuggle deeper against him and take a deep, shuddering breath.
“I want to explain why Mitchell’s comment hit me so hard today.”
“You don’t have to explain,” he says firmly. “It was completely out of line. He shouldn’t go around saying things like that.”
“Most wolves respond the same way to a wolf who can’t shift. Believe me, I know.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Brad answers. “Even though I do think he might have intended it as a friendly warning, I won’t have anyone talking to you like that.”
I sigh, squeezing his hand in mine where they rest across my chest. The solid warmth of him at my back feels so good, and I’m glad that I can’t see his face.
This will be easier, like this. When I don’t have to look into his eyes or read his expressions.
“I’ve never told anyone about this,” I say softly. “But I left my pack when I was barely eighteen, for this very reason.”
I feel him jerk in surprise. “Alisha—”
I shake my head. “No. Just let me talk. This is going to be hard enough for me to say. I just need you to hold me.”
