AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I squeaked, my skin bursting into tingles as their combined touch ignited my cellular memory of everything Billie had done to me yesterday. Warmth pulsed between my thighs as if my body was urging me to slip my hand down my pants to soothe the ache there, or simply lay back and let Tony manage it for me.
I couldn’t breathe with his gaze on me like that. My skin felt feverish, and every passing second made it harder to remember that I was at my job and that there were cameras in the library.
I had no defences against feeling like this. No one except these two had ever made me breathless with wanting or made me consider indecent acts at work.
“If you’re interested,” Tony began, “I could make us breakfast at the pack house. Jasper and Hana will both be at work. Gabe might be home, but probably not. I make a mean pancake, or anything else you might be craving.”
I swallowed hard. Going to the pack house seemed like it would be leaving myself open for some possibly regrettable choices. It was hard to think with my heart pounding in my ears and Tony's warm hand on my skin.
Billie tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear. “The pancakes are bomb. Plus we have like a million different kinds of syrup too. And you can meet Roscoe!”
“Who's Roscoe?” I managed to ask.
“He's a little tortie cat that we foster failed with,” replied Tony. “He loves people, and if you sit down in the living room for more than two minutes, he’ll probably become an anchor on your lap.”
“There's no pressure if you come over, Books. I can behave. We’ll have some pancakes and a cuddle, and I’ll send you back to Spud untarnished if that's what you want.”
I couldn’t help the snort laugh that escaped me. “I’m not sure how you can say that after this morning. Spud's witnessed some things he can never unsee.”
Billie laughed. “That's true. But cats are little voyeurs so he's probably not too traumatized.”
Tony's thumb moved softly against my throat, and it stilled the breath in my lungs again.
“We’d love to have you. And if someone comes home unexpectedly, we can sneak you out the back if you’re not ready to meet them.” He grinned at me.
Even though I was pretty sure he was joking, the reassurance helped anyway. “I could come by for a little while. Spud might hate me for delaying his breakfast, but he's not going to wither away.”
“You could bring him,” offered Billie. “Roscoe loves other cats.”
“I honestly have no idea how Spud would do with another cat. It's just been him and I since he was a baby. He does like car rides though for some strange reason, so I guess I could pick him up and bring him just to see how he likes it.”
Tony's hand slid away, and I suppressed a shiver at the loss of his touch, though the goosebumps probably gave it away.
“Sounds perfect,” he said. “Can I have your number to send you the address of the pack house?”
“Yeah, okay.” He passed over his phone for me to fill in the information, and I handed it back a moment later. Billie looked entirely too excited by this development.
“How long is your break?” Tony asked.
“Fifteen minutes.”
“Five minutes left then. Can I grab you a drink from the café?”
“You don’t have to do that,” I said automatically.
Billie poked me in the side. “Alphas like to take care of people. If you don’t have a specific objection, you should let Tony do that.”
I didn’t say that I was pretty sure that the whole concept was that alphas liked to take care of theirpartnersand not simply people in general, but I let it slide and asked for a simple black tea with milk and honey. It also occurred to me that Tony had referred to me earlier as if I were already a member of the pack, and I hadn’t even thought to correct him at the time.
I had a feeling that dating Billie was going to be like willingly drowning, and I couldn’t quite make myself be afraid of that. Maybe it was about time that I took a deep breath and let myself dive down.
10
NICKY
“Holyshit,”Iwhisperedto Spud as we drove into the gated community and rolled to a stop in front of the massive brick home that my GPSinsistedmatched the address Tony had given me. “I guess with five incomes you can afford this level of swanky.”
Bushes of blue, pink, and purple hydrangeas nestled beneath the windows on the main floor and the driveway could hold six vehicles easily. I’d expected the lawn to be something akin to a golf course at a place like this, but the majority of it was white clover that abutted a variety of flower beds. A tiny sign at the corner read ‘Don’t mind the weeds, we’re feeding the bees!’
