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But, for herself, she made a different vow.
If she had to survive, then she’d do so without ever opening her heart to anyone ever again. Because Della knew, deep in her soul, that another catastrophic heartbreak was the one thing her ravaged heart couldn’t endure.
“Here it is.” Cal’s rumbly voice broke through her thoughts, and he flashed her a lazy grin, dimples winking in full force. “You wanna have a seat and take a load off?”
He jerked his chin at the oversized rock she’d perched on two days ago, the same one he’d laid her out on before delving between her legs like a starved animal. With a small hum of acknowledgment, Della glanced away, embarrassed at the memory as well as all the others that transpired since this accursed Heat began. Cal got plenty out of the arrangement, but now that she had the available brain cells to pay attention, shadows graced his under eyes, and lines of strain bracketed his lips. He looked unmistakably worse for the wear, yet this peculiar concern for her kidnapper unlocked another host of anxieties, highlighting her rapidly evolving feelings for him.
Hard to complain about some thorough fucking after a century of near-abstinence, but Cal’s care far exceeded her carnal needs. Without complaint, he saw to all the other daily necessities: making food, gathering firewood, getting water, washing dishes, clearing ash from the firepit, and a thousand other tasks he completed while she snoozed between bouts of sexual frenzy. Hell, he fluffed the improvised pillow andtucked her inat night. Not to mention the way he gently untangled snarls in her hair and cleansed between her legs with warm water and soft cloths. True, he basically “signed up” for these duties when he stole her from Morris Hill, but the niggling thought persisted: any other abducting Alpha would be far less considerate.
Tenderness welled in her chest, and her thoughts converged on a simple but horrifying truth: the more time they spent together, the worse this inconvenient affection would become.
She had to get away from him.
Mindful of her footing, she kneeled on the slippery stones at the water’s edge to scoop a few splashes of water on her face. The glacier-fed stream cooled her overheated cheeks, and she scrubbed briskly, as if she could cleanse away the conflicting mess surging through her. Sitting back on her heels, she plucked a small pebble from the ground and tossed it into the water, where it landed with a merryploop.
The stream swished along, too brisk to reflect her countenance, but she didn’t need to see it. She knew her face, knew the lines that, unlike Cal’s, never softened no matter how much rest she got. He said he didn’t care about her age. But... what if he hadn’t taken the implications all the way to their logical conclusions? With Alpha aging being what it was, even in his fifties, Cal remained a young man in his prime. Why saddle himself to someone like her? She’d outlived a normal human lifespan, but who knew how much longer that would last? What about a family? Children? What about adventure? He already had two Pack brothers loyal to him. Did he aspire to break off and lead his own Pack someday? He was more than capable, but how would he do that with Della in tow?
The reasons and arguments piled up like a cairn commemorating this impulsive and foolhardy courtship. Being with her made no sense.
“I can hear you thinking clear over here.” His teasing drawl poked through her brooding. She flicked him a look, noting that under the canopied trees, his hazel eyes turned a luminous, mossy green. They shone on her with a saucy wink, and her heart clenched in inconvenient adoration. Boots removed and pant legs rolled to his knees, Cal waded into the shallow water, grimacing at the frigid stream. “Come on, let’s hear it,” he added when she didn’t respond.
Della tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “It’s nothing.”
“Uh-huh.” He took a few more steps, sloshing toward where he’d set up the net like a sieve. “Well, if you’re not gonna tell me, I suppose sitting there looking pretty is good enough.”
Della snorted and got to her feet, muttering, “You say that, but it’s not necessary, you know. Maybe I was passably pretty once, but that was a long,longtime ago.”
Cal paused, hands on his hips. “So I can’t say you’re pretty now? What’s your point?”
Feigning nonchalance, Della brushed some dirt from her sleeve. “I suppose if you’ve been living with Alphas for too long, you’ll be taken by the first woman you see. That’s simply—”
Cal tossed his head back with a hearty, rich laughter that had him clutching his belly, derailing her thoughts and melting her defenses completely. As long as she’d lived, had a man ever been more beautiful when he laughed? “I ain’t been living under a rock, Del,” he finally wheezed. “I’ve seen and scented plenty of women, BetaandOmega. Hell, I scented those two unmated Omegas back at Morris Hill, and they did absolutely nothing for me, all right? So if you’re finished making specious arguments, maybe you can take my word for it and let me rustle up our lunch.”
At that, her own surprised giggle bubbled out of her. “Specious?”
His chin lifted in a non-subtle challenge. “Yeah, specious.”
“Okay, well...” She lowered her blanket-wrapped bottom to the rock—still no sign of her goddamn pants—composing her expression into one of neutral curiosity. “Here’s a completely reasonable argument. What about children? You’re a young Alpha, so surely you’d like some pups of your own someday.”
Cal’s shoulder jumped in the smallest of shrugs. “Never really thought about it.”
The pathetic attempt at indifference irked her. “Well, maybe youshould.”
Ironically, a picture emerged inhermind: Cal, by a creek just like this one, teaching a few adorable, hazel-eyed, school-aged children how to fish while a couple of smaller ones turned over rocks looking for crawdads. Granted, she’d only know him a few days, but possessing his particular brand of quiet, laid-back patience and strength, he’d make an excellent father. Fully engaged, her imagination went wild. Maybe the whole brood would be on a campout, sleeping rough for a few days with bedding littered around a firepit with a fire going. Would their Omega mother be close by foraging for nuts and berries? Or would she be enjoying some quiet rest at home? A ball of discomfort lodged directly in her throat. Whoever that woman was, she most definitely was not Della.
Impatiently, she cleared the obstruction. “Heat notwithstanding,” she brusquely continued, ignoring the cross look on his face, “I can’t have children. You should think about that since you’re so intent on”—she flapped a testy hand between them—“this.”
Face tilted to the sky, Cal heaved one giant sigh before splashing out of the stream with such vigor he seemed to be trying to kick all the water from the creek onto the land. The crunch of sand and pebbles signaled his approach, which she stubbornly refused to acknowledge until two large palms gripped her upper arms. “Della, look at me.” Shifting only her eyes, she gave him her wary attention. “What the hell is going on? I thought we were past all this.”
Her eyes shot open. “Past all this? What’s all this?”
His brows speared together. “Whatever it is you’re trying to do here. This weak and transparent attempt to convince me that you’re not my mate.”
Della shuddered. That word again.Mate.
“Cal, I amold,” she said with forced patience. “My face is lined, my hair is faded and half-gray, and my boobs are deflated. Whatever it is you think is between us, it must be the Omega pheromones and scent or whatever. It’s obviously potent stuff.”
He tipped his face forward, bringing them eye-to-eye as heat simmered in his hazel depths. “You’re right. Thatiswhat I’m responding to, littleOmega.” He emphasized the word with the smallest of growls, and her sex perked up as if it had its own set of ears.
