AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Water? Soda? Wine?” she offered. There was a shyness about her now that had my chest warming. My mate was sweet under all that stubbornness.
“Whatever you’re having,” I said. She hurried back inside, coming back with two glasses of ice and two Sprites.
She took the first bite of her fajita and a moan slipped free. I swallowed hard and willed my cock to not pay attention but it was futile. Especially when her pink tongue slid out to lick off some sour cream from her lips.
“Sorry,” she muttered but I let out a soft chuckle.
“Don’t apologize. I’m glad you like it,” I said as that warmth spread further in my belly. She made me feel more in a simple afternoon than I’d ever felt before.
“It’s nice being able to do things,” she admitted. “I’ve been drowning trying to do this right.”
“Is there really a right or wrong way?”
She gave me an eye roll. “Definitely a wrong way. Like how I’ve had nearly twenty fucking interviews and all of them have bombed.”
“What job are you trying to land?” I asked. Part of me wished I had more need for employees at the flower shop. I’d hire her if I didn’t think it would be too much for her. She wanted to do this for herself.
“Anything,” she admitted. “I’ve got savings thanks to my mom but I want to be able to support myself. God, that sounds so fucking entitled and lame.”
“It doesn’t,” I reassured her. “I love that you want to be independent and find your own way. You’ll be a stronger person for it.”
“Not if I end up homeless,” she sighed in defeat, putting her now empty plate on the table between us and taking a sip of her soda.
“That’ll never happen to you, Tori. You always have me now,” I said softly, pulling her into my lap. She tensed for a moment before snuggling into me. Even though I knew she was scared and holding herself back, I seemed to be doing these things on instinct alone. At least she wasn’t kicking me out for it.
“I know, but I want to do this myself.”
Her easy admission that she had me, had my chest tightening. It felt like she was finally starting to give in to me.
It may not be perfect and she may not be giving Warren a chance yet, but I had no doubt in my mind that if she slowlystarted warming up to the idea of a pack, she might see how great we could all be together.
Warren was not the monster she seemed to think he was. In fact, it hurt my soul that she thought that way at all. Warren was my brother and I’d do anything to protect him, and he’d do the same for me.
Her idea of alphas being terrible was embedded in trauma and abuse. She had no idea what a true alpha was like. One who wasn’t twisted by greed and status.
I also knew that Warren was strong enough to handle Tori pushing him away. He may be stubborn, but when I told him she needed time, he gave it to her. Maybe it was reluctant, but he did it all the same.
Yet he couldn’t hold it together forever. He’d lost sleep and his job over this. Moving to Lockwood had helped in some ways, but was torture in others.
He knew she was close but he couldn’t go to her. For an alpha, one that knew his mate was struggling, it was pure torment.
Warren threw himself into helping me do work in the flower shop. It was just remodeled, but I needed to make my own. He’d always been good with his hands, from building me a new counter to painting the walls with meticulous care.
I shook myself out of my head. Right now I should be focused on my mate.
“What was your degree in?” I asked, “or would it have been, rather?”
Her cheeks turned pink again, something I was quickly loving. But I also hated that she felt embarrassed by something that clearly had made her happy at one time.
“It’s stupid,” she muttered.
“No, it’s not. Not if you care about it.”
She met my eyes, and I tried to put everything into my gaze, telling her that I saw her, that I didn’t want her to hide from me.
“It was business and hospitality,” she admitted. “I’ve always had this dream of running an elaborate bed and breakfast, somewhere people could come and feel cared for, escape the world around them. Maybe it was my way of knowing that I needed that escape, but it’s something I’ve always wanted to do.”
“Until he ruined it,” I finished for her when she trailed off. Tori nodded and I saw the tears glistening in her eyes again.
