“I’m sorry you were with someone who made you feel you couldn’t be yourself.”
I take off my sunglasses and smile at him. “Thanks, I think it was all for the best, anyway.”
“I mean, I won’t lie and say her loss is definitely my gain.”
“What about you and Shyla?”
“We’ve been together for almost two years. She was actually my lawyer. That’s how we met.”
“Holy shit, what did you do?”
“I went a little crazy: fast cars, girls, drugs after my parents died. I was supposed to be in DC for a wedding. We were on the Potomac river. The amount of coke on board was obscene. We got caught on the Virginia side of the river. I heard Shyla was the best, so I hired her to defend me.”
“Holy shit, did you guys start fucking before your case was over?”
He grins at me. “If she ever asks, you tell her I never told you, but yeah. We held back for a while. The attraction was really strong, but neither of us could resist.”
“I don’t blame you. Not to pry, but I don’t see a bond mark. Any reason why?”
“What everyone is doing these days, finding their completed pack before they bond.”
“Hate to say it, but I’m a fan of the trend.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“Yeah, it helps people feel like they are all on an even playing field, regardless of when they joined the relationship or their designation. I think it’s kind of romantic.”
“That’s what Shyla says.”
“Oh, you want her to bond with you?”
“I wanted her to bond with me the moment she touched me for the first time.”
“I don’t blame you,” I say, with complete honesty. Shyla is an all-consuming type of Alpha, so I can see why he would want that.
“Yeah, I won’t lie, though. I might be a Beta, but I always knew pack life was for me. Having been raised in such a big pack, it’s always something that I wanted.”
“My parents were both Betas, so I didn’t grow up around it, but I’ve always known pack life was for me, too.”
“You should have everything you want,” he says, his sunglasses off, his eyes honest and endearing.
My phone blares with a calendar notification, and I look down and groan. “Shit, I have therapy in a half hour. I really wanted to mess around a little.”
Emmett groans and rakes his hand through his hair. “You can’t say things like that, sugar. What time should I come by tomorrow?”
“Noon sounds good, I almost forgot. Cameron will be here too. He’s Dom’s Omega.”
His eyebrow arches, and he nods his head. “Sounds like a good time.” He leans down, his arms framing my face as he gives me a searing kiss so hot I can barely breathe. He breaks away from the kiss, our eyes locking as he smiles. “See you tomorrow, sugar.”
“Yeah, tomorrow.”
Robin’s office is cool as hell. It’s cozy and small. I always feel safe when I come here. She never makes me feel embarrassed about bringing my blanket, either. Listen, I know I’m twenty-three and no, I don’t sleep with my blankie every night, but there’s something comforting about the ratty piece of pink yarn clutched in my hands. I sit on her navy suede couch and she sits on the matching armchair. The lights are dim and it always smells neutral in here. I’m not sure how she does it. But Robin is very good at what she does. She specializes in Omega psychology and pack dynamics.
As much as I love how much she has done for me, Robin also has a built in lie detector and I know she is going to smell my bullshit from a mile away.
“How are you doing today, Kelsey?”
“Really good.”