Page 13 of Desire Him

“To the meal.” Val doesn’t want her to be alone. Not tonight. “You can bring Clark, too.”

“Oh, I don’t want to be a bother.” Viola waves her hand.

Val gives her a sympathetic look and reaches out to touch her shoulder. “I don’t want you to be alone. Please, come. You won’t be a bother.”

“But Logan-”

Val squeezes. “Will want you there, too.”

Viola searches Val’s face and then nods. “Okay, if you’re sure.”

Val beams. “Of course.” She releases her grip on Viola.

“I’ll see you soon, then.”

“Definitely.”

Viola gives her a small smile and then heads out of the aisle. Val takes a deep breath. Viola and Clark coming tonight will be a good thing for them. Val wants to make sure they know that they’re still of value to this pack. And Clark? She would like to check on him too since he just got a clean bill of health after his stunt with wolfcalm.

Grinning to herself over her master plan, she makes her way to the eggs, adds a carton to her cart, heads to the cashier, and checks out. When she’s finished, she picks up her bags and exits the store.

The entire way of out the marketplace, she finds herself thrilled with herself. She daydreams about what else she could do to help Viola get through this, and while she’s lost in thought, someone bumps into her. Her grocery bags go flying, and she slips in the snow. Before she can fall, strong arms wrap around her waist.

“What the hell,” Val barks as she’s righted back onto her feet.

“Sorry, I didn’t see you there.”

Val turns and scowls at Wayne. He has earbuds in his ears, and he’s wearing his jogging outfit. Val throws her hands in the air. “How could you not see me?”

Wayne takes the earbuds from his ears. “I wasn’t paying attention. Would you settle down?” He bends to pick up the bags and hands them to her.

Grumbling under her breath, she takes the bags from him. She snarls quietly and turns to walk away from him. His nearness makes her feel that rage all over again. Rage and . . . desire. The combination is potent.

“Hey, wait.”

Val stops and looks over her shoulder. “What?”

He scowls at her. “Didn’t you get my voicemail? My text?”

She turns and squares her shoulders. “Yes.”

He cocks his head to the side and studies her. The confusion on his face does things to her, stirs butterflies in her stomach. “What is the matter with you?”

For a moment, she’s silent. She could think of many things to tell him, but she settles on one. “You. You are my problem.”

He steps closer to her so they’re only a foot apart. “What about me?”

Her nose wrinkles, and she looks him up and down. “You only think of yourself. You spend your entire day being a beta, but when it comes to me, I’m invisible.”

“You’re not invisible to me.”

“But I am!” She huffs and readjusts the heavy bags in her hand. “I am,” she says a little softer.

He spends a few seconds blinking dumbfoundedly at her. “Val, what happened last night?”

Her shoulders sag, and she sighs. “It’s nothing, Wayne. Look, I have to go.”

She turns to leave, but he catches her by the elbow. “Tell me.”

Wrenching her arm from his grasp, she says, “I shouldn’t have to tell you.”

Val continues down the path without him stopping her. Part of her wishes he would. Part of her wishes he’d push until she breaks. But another part of her doesn’t want him to chase her. She’s broken and vulnerable, and if she were to explain to him what he did, she might feel even more hurt. She won’t do that to herself. And yet, when she reaches the bottom of the path, she pauses and glances back just to see if he’s standing there. He is. His gaze is settled on her, and only her.

She looks away and walks toward the alpha’s house.