Page 14 of Desire Him

CHAPTER SIX

“How much flour is this?” Eme asks Val, incredulous. Wayne sides with Eme. A giant mound of flour is piled on the counter in front of them.

The two girls are in the kitchen, making fresh pasta dough from what Wayne can tell. Cooking has never been his thing, but thankfully, Val has appointed herself his chef. He’s grateful for that and also feels sort of guilty about it. She’s good to him. She doesn’t have to do the things she does for the pack. She’s choosing to, and it makes Wayne feel guilty that he doesn’t turn her away and take care of himself. Val spoils them.

Val’s earlier words come back to mind. Perhaps he should share his gratitude with her. Flowers or something? A gesture of some kind? Maybe that’s why she doesn’t feel like she’s being seen. Maybe he hasn’t expressed his thanks for anything she does for him.

The thought of sending flowers to her seems intimate, and if he’s being honest with himself, he likes that idea. Val is attractive, he will admit, but she’s off-limits. She’s too good to be with someone like him, but at least, he can appreciate her beauty. He just doesn’t need to act on it. He knows better.

Wayne inches his way into the kitchen to peer over Val’s shoulder. He gets a whiff of her scent, a pleasurable soft aroma, and his wolf stirs inside him. She smells like home. Like pack, and . . . something more. Something he and his wolf can’t quite figure out. Whatever it is, it pleases his wolf and confuses him.

He shoves aside the feeling when both girls look up at him. They’re scowling. “What?” he asks.

“What do you want?” Val grinds out.

He holds up his hands, palms out. “I was just checking on the progress. Is there anything I can do to help?” He smiles at Val and the dusting of flour on the tip of her nose.

“Yes,” Val says quickly. She points to the stools at the island where Logan sits. He’s talking with Draven about the upcoming trip to the city. “You can sit down.”

Wayne rocks back on his heels. “Okay.”

He moves past the girls, walks around the island, pulls out a stool at the edge, and sits like he was told to. Val watches him go, and with a roll of her neck, she heads to the fridge and pulls out a beer. Both Draven and Logan have one in their hands already, so she just takes out one and brings it to Wayne.

“Here,” she says.

He takes the bottle from her with one hand and grasps her wrist with the other. The action causes her to startle for a moment, but she quickly covers her surprise. “Thank you,” he says sincerely.

She blinks at him, blushes a soft pink, and nods. Taking back her hand, she heads back to the mound of flour and eggs Eme is cracking.

Touching her had been a surprise. He hadn’t planned on doing it, and as far as he knows, he’s never actually touched her. It felt . . . He rakes a hand through his hair. It felt confusing. Sure, he was sincere in his thanks, but this was something more. Something different. Perhaps her words from earlier are affecting the way he looks at things when it comes to Val.

He studies her back and allows his eyes to sweep from her hair to her feet. She does have nice curves, he thinks to himself. And that ass . . . He wouldn’t mind biting it.

He mentally slaps himself. He shouldn’t be thinking about such things when it comes to Val. She’s a friend. Nothing more. And by her attitude, she doesn’t want anything else. Hell, she probably doesn’t even want to be his friend. So, no, he shouldn’t be finding her attractive. But now that the thought is there . . .

A knock sounds at the door, and Draven stands up to go answer it. Val turns and beams as Draven escorts Viola and Clark inside. Clark immediately waves at the group while Viola gently smiles at Val. Wayne hadn’t known that Viola and Clark would be joining them.

“Glad you could make it,” Val says to her. “Here, take a seat.” She rushes around the island with goopy hands and pulls out a stool for Viola to sit on. Clark finds a seat on the other side of Draven, and Logan immediately begins talking to the youth.

“Thank you,” Viola says. She sits down and pats Wayne’s hand, which rests next to his bottle on the counter, while Val heads back to Eme. They’re rolling out the dough and cutting it into lasagna shapes with some sort of special tool.

“How are you?” Wayne asks her.

“Better now,” she replies, her voice unusually quiet. “You didn’t know I was coming, did you?”

Wayne shrugs. “It was a good idea to have you come.” No doubt, Val invited her. She truly is a good woman.

At the thought of Val, Wayne turns his attention back to her. She and Eme are giggling as they begin the process of mixing the tomato sauce with herbs and vegetables. Her laugh is musical, and Wayne can’t help but grin at the sound of it, even though he has no idea what they’re laughing about. Him, probably.

Viola must have continued talking to him because she taps his hand. “Huh?” he asks, turning his attention back to her.

“You didn’t hear a word I said, did you?” Viola’s grin is back on her face.

Wayne rubs the back of his neck with his free hand and looks at her sheepishly. “No, I didn’t. I’m sorry.”

Viola looks at Val and then back at Wayne. She blinks at him knowingly. “She’s not mated. You have nothing to be sorry for.”

He stares at her for a moment. “It’s not– I’m not–”