I titter nervously. “What’s there to tour? It’s a nest. Our nest.”
“Mmm.Say that again.” He tugs me closer and slings his arms around my waist, swaying with me even though there isn’t any music playing.
“Our nest,” I say again. Even I have to admit, I like the way it feels on my lips. The way Miles felt on my lips that day.
He keeps one arm around my waist, then digs into his pocket and pulls out his phone. He taps against the glass a few times, and soft piano fills the room.
“We had the entire room wired for sound as soon as we bought the place. It’s on its own HVAC too. And…” He taps his phone again to draw the blinds. And yet again to dim the lights. “It’s got the full smart house treatment. Now that you’ve added your special touch, we have the perfect nest for our perfect omega.”
“I’m not perfect,” I mutter and maybe even roll my eyes.
Miles flashes me a wolfish grin. “Hmm. Well, I have yet to see any evidence to the contrary.”
We sway for another few minutes. Miles’s heart beats a steady rhythm against my cheek as I relax into him.
This is nice. This I can do.
“Now how about that tour you promised?” he says a moment later, breaking the silence as he leads me over to the enormous mattress situated in the center of the room. “What’s this right over here?”
“Miles,” I scold. “You know what that is.”
He runs one hand through his shaggy blond hair, then jams the other in his pocket. “Do I? Why don’t you tell me? What’s it for?”
What happened to the dancing? I liked the dancing. It was safe and sweet and so much more my speed.
He sits and pats the spot beside him, bringing dormant parts of me back to life. Down, girl.
“You know I’ve come to expect this from Ben, but not you,” I say, trying to keep the mood fun, casual.
But my alpha has other ideas. He pulls me down onto the bed—no, not the bed, his lap. “Maybe it’s time to expect the unexpected.”
He flips me onto the bed and covers my body with his. Our mouths meet in a fervent clash of lips and tongues and hearts and souls.
It’s our second kiss. Every bit as hot as the first, but far too short. I’m left wanting so much more as Miles sighs and rises to his feet.
“Hey! What was that all about?” I call after him, writhing on the bed, both wanting him to return and not.
He lowers himself back onto me and brings his face to mine, keeping precious centimeters between us.
“Soon,” he whispers without making contact, sending a shiver right through me. “You’ll find out very, very soon.”
And then he’s gone.
Ialways thought it was Archer I had to look out for, that he would be the one who would bring me to my knees and tempt me into confessing all my secrets, into betraying myself.
If not Archer, then surely Noah, the alpha who’s both fiery and temperamental, exactly as the red in his beard would suggest. Or Ben, who’s thoughtful and intelligent, seeing far more than the others realize.
Surely it would be one of them who would break me. Or so I thought.
Somehow, though, it’s that sweet cinnamon roll Miles who sends me into a tailspin. First the hangar and now those stolen moments in the nest, all my encounters with him crack open my heart just a little bit more. Soon it will all crumble to dust, exposing me for all to see, for all to break, and harm.
Right now I am haunted by my one mistake—the fact that I got pregnant, that I allowed myself to get caught and allowed my mother to manage the situation without any input from me, even though I was dying to give it.
I thought I could live with all that, as long as I made sure it didn’t happen again, as long as I stayed away from babies and family and just spent my days teaching at the university.
I’ve even been entertaining a daydream where I find Duncan, where I return to him, and we live out the rest of our days together. We’d be two omegas against the world—not proper mates, but the very best of friends, friends who help each other through their heats and through life.
It could be okay. I could be okay.