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CHAPTER THIRTY
________
GABRIEL
Iwatched Sloane in the back of the car, my knuckles white on the steering wheel. It took all of my self-control to keep my mouth shut and my fists to myself back there, and I was fraying. Hanging by a thread.
As soon as we got home, I was sending the recording to Harrison. Though we’d only met earlier today, I knew who he was by reputation. His family was one of the wealthiest in the country, and his security company was the best.
In the mirror, I saw the same look on Sloane’s face as I had last night. One that told me she was questioning herself. However clear it was to the rest of us that Craig was out of his mind, Sloane had been the one to go to him. Because of that, she felt guilty.
We would put an end to that.
My Omega would not suffer guilt or shame because an asshole decided he didn’t like being rejected.
I pulled into the garage and nearly forgot what we’d arranged in the house. Sloane might not be up for it now, but it also might be a good distraction.
We entered the kitchen, and I heard our guests out in the front room. Before I could say anything, Sloane did. “I’m sorry about that.”
My control was already too far gone. I turned and pulled her against my body, her back pressed to my chest, my hand at her throat, my lips at her ear. “What did I tell you about apologizing for things that aren’t your fault?”
“But—”
“No.” I stroked my thumb over the point of her pulse, inhaling every delicious breath of her sweetness. Right now there was a touch of sour laced through the blueberries, but she wasn’t afraid.
The way her scent turned while she was in front of Craig?Thatwas fear. Sour that bordered on rotten. What I smelled now was merely the slightest apprehension or anxiety. No fear.
“I know, little one. I know you feel like you brought this on yourself somehow. But it’s not true, and I—” I cut myself off. “Wewill not tolerate it. You have every right to be angry, and you have every right to be scared. But guilt? Shame? Over an asshole who’s trying to make you feel likenothing? Never.”
She shuddered in my arms, surrendering. The others had surrounded us, so she had someone on each side. Safety. Warmth. Comfort.
“This is not my fault,” I whispered in her ear. “Say it.”
“This is not my fault.”
“Good girl. Do you believe it?”
“Yes,” her voice shook with unshed tears. “I believe and I know it, but I don’t feel it.”
I released my purr, savoring her curves pressing against me as her body soothed. “I’ll tell you the truth, little one. The only reason we’re not in your nest right now with you over my knee is because we have company.” Slowly, I kissed her neck. “They’re here for you, our own little surprise. Are you up for it?”
“I don’t know.”
“We’ll go and see, okay? But later, I think we all need some time in your nest.”
At that, she nodded. I turned her around in my arms, and she hid her face in my shirt. I ran my fingers through her hair. “Will you look at me?”
She did, slowly, and I carefully examined her face. “We’re still new at this. I need you to tell me if this is okay. My Alpha instinct wants this. To give you structure and make you feel safe. But I don’t have arightto it. And we are not like him. We will never take what’s not offered.”
Panic slid over her face. “I know you’re not. I don’t think that. Please don’t—”
I kissed her softly, and Roman stepped up closer behind her, offering more touch. “I’m saying it because I want you to hear it, little one, not because you think we’re the same. But I still need you to tell me if this is okay.”
“Yes,” she breathed, letting her head drop once more. “I never thought I would before you, but yes. I get… caught in my head. It’s nice to have you pull me back.”
“Then I always will.” I held her close and let her breathe, meeting the others’ eyes. All I saw there was love. I hadn’t said it yet, and I wouldn’t now. Not in the wake of something like this. But I felt it. Hell, I’d felt it the moment I realized what she was to me. How could I not?
And every second I spent with her made me fall for her more. Even this. Because I needed to care for her and lead her just as much as she needed me to do those things.
