Hired to Breed (The Hired Series Book 3)

by Leann Ryans

  Liam lifted a hand to cup her cheek again, his eyes softening as he stared up at her. The frown smoothed away though she had the feeling he was still disturbed by her reaction.

  “It’s okay not to know and to feel confused. It’ll work out.”

  His words were a surprise, striking something deep inside. Chest clenching, fresh tears rose and spilled over her cheeks.

  Liam pulled her down, large hand pressing her head to his chest. A soft rumble unlike any other she’d heard vibrated beneath her cheek, bringing a feeling of comfort. Closing her eyes, she soaked it in, telling herself she’d sit up in a moment once the tears had passed and she could go to her room.

  Dragging in a breath filled with the scent of him, she felt her muscles slowly relaxing as the noise continued, seeping into her bones. Fingers toyed with her hair, sending her drifting off before she even noticed she was falling asleep.

  ***

  When she woke the next morning, she was surprised to find herself still within the circle of Liam’s arms. He’d turned to the side and she was plastered against him with her head pillowed on his bicep. She’d tossed a leg over his hip, and she could feel his erection resting along her thigh.

  Trying to pull away without waking him, she gasped when he clutched her tighter before his eyes popped open. Annalise froze, not sure what to do until he lifted his arm and leaned back.

  “S-Sorry. I… need to go to the bathroom.”

  She wiggled away from him, his pale eyes watching her as she stood. Noticing her dress and bra, she didn’t take the time to search for her panties as she snatched them up and backed toward the door.

  “I’ll leave you to get ready for work.”

  Liam blinked at her but remained silent. Taking the chance to escape, she rushed from his room and into her own, stopping to press her back to the door when it closed behind her. Her heart was racing, but she didn’t know why she’d panicked over waking in his bed.

  Taking gulping breaths, she shook her head and made her way to the shower. Just the scent of him on her was causing her belly to clench as if she hadn’t gotten what she’d needed the night before.

  She had no idea where to start untangling the mess in her head, so instead, she shoved it away. Liam would leave for work shortly, and she had her own to focus on, so there was no need for her to face whatever was going on in her brain.

  Obviously he’d worn her out the night before, so naturally she’d fallen asleep. The tears were probably just hormones, and she wouldn’t even name what happened after that, because she couldn’t accept that the first person to ever do that for her was an Alpha she’d hired to knock her up.

  No.

  She’d imagined the sound as she fell asleep. There was no reason for Liam to purr for her.

  31. Liam

  It took a moment for his brain to catch up once his eyes opened, but it was clear to see Annalise was surprised to wake up next to him. The panic in her eyes was confusing, but he bit his tongue and let her escape. She’d have to work out whatever issue it was herself.

  Glancing at the clock, he realized he was going to be late if he didn’t get moving, so he rolled from the bed. As much as he hated washing her scent from him, he couldn’t go to work with a bunch of other Alphas smelling like omega slick without causing issues. Austin was mated, but the rest of the men were from camps who hadn’t seen females up close until they came to Eden, and there weren’t enough of the fairer sex around for them not to be affected.

  Showering and dressing for the day, he almost ran into Annalise as she stepped out of her room. His chest tightened when her deep blue eyes turned up to him and he searched for something to say.

  “Sorry, I’m running a little late.”

  She swallowed and gave a nod, pressing against the wall so he could pass her. That wasn’t what he wanted, but he was left with no excuse not to peel his eyes away and continue down the hall.

  Stopping in the kitchen, he tossed a couple bottles of water into his bag. Since Alpha-camps were required to feed the Alphas there, everyone from the site had lunch in the cafeteria, so the water would have to get him through till then.

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t think to make breakfast.”

  He could see the concern in Annalise’s eyes when he glanced back at her. Her hands were clutched in front of her stomach, the tenseness in her shoulders giving away her anxiety.

  “It’s fine,” he replied.

  Shaking her head, Annalise rushed to the cabinet and dug through it before passing him a handful of granola bars. He raised a brow as he glanced down at them, but he couldn’t help feeling pleased that she felt the need to feed him.

  He smirked but she avoided his gaze, her cheeks flushed a light pink as she went back to her stiff position. She’d always tried to remain standoffish, and this was the first time he was sure there was something deeper lurking.

  Rumbling his thanks, he stuffed the bars into his bag with the water and headed for the door. With a last glance at the little omega, he left for work.

  ***

  The day passed in a blur with most of his thoughts centered on the sudden change in Annalise. Was it sudden, or had he not paid enough attention to notice the shift?

  The horn signaling the end of the day pulled him out of his thoughts. He finished securing the drywall before shaking off the dust and taking a step back to survey his work. It was the last piece in this section, and he was glad to have finished it before the day was through.

  Trudging back to where he’d left his bag, he couldn’t help hoping Annalise was giving up her schedule and there was a chance he could have her in his bed again. Every time he had a taste of her it only made him want more.

  When he reached his things, he grabbed the bag to pull the strap over his shoulder only to drop it when a screech came from inside. Leaning over, he used one finger to cautiously spread the opening wider, a hiss reaching his ears before a dirty paw slipped out of the shadowed interior to bat at his fingers.

  Tipping the bag so light could spill inside, he found narrowed blue eyes glaring back at him from a mostly white face, another hiss flying from the little puff of fur. Chuckling at the kitten’s ferocity, he reached in to grab it by its scruff but noticed its long hair was stuck in the Velcro on his extra toolbelt.

  “Aww, poor kitty,” he purred, dropping into a crouch so he could reach inside the bag easier.

  Pulling out both kitten and belt, he pressed the spitting ball of fluff to his chest as he worked to free the caught hair without causing it pain. By the time he’d managed to loosen it the kitten had settled down and was purring in return as it pressed its face into his shirt.

  “There you go little one. Now, where did you come from?”

  He held it up to inspect it, the kitten returning his curious gaze. While he could tell it was a pure white cat, the fur of its legs and belly were stained brown with bits of dirt and burrs from the grass stuck in it. A quick peek showed it was a girl, but there was no collar or anything to show who she belonged to.

  Glancing around, the other men had already left the site and there was no one for him to ask. Not sure what else to do, he stood and slung his bag over his shoulder before tucking the kitten into the crook of his arm. For something that had attacked him on sight, she now seemed content to let him carry her around.

  It was small enough to fit in one hand so was certainly too young to be out alone, but as far as he knew there wasn’t an animal shelter for him to take it to. With no other idea of where to go, he headed for the Admin Building, thinking someone there would know what to do.

  The man at the reception desk was just as lost as Liam was, not knowing who to reach out to or where to take the kitten.

  “I can call Sandra…”

  He trailed off as Liam shook his head.

  “No, don’t bother them at home. I’ll figure something out for the night and talk to them tomorrow.”

  He left the building and looked down at the little animal on his arm. She se
emed to be sleeping, face tucked into his shirt again and a light thrum vibrating his arm on each exhale. When he reached over to scratch her back she dug her nails into his arm, but he was more concerned by the ribs he could feel beneath her coat.

  Sighing, he shook his head as he made up his mind. He had a feeling Annalise wasn’t going to be happy about it, but there was no way he was leaving the poor thing on its own.

  He stopped at the store on his way to the apartment, grabbing the basics the kitten would need for the night. Satisfied he had everything, he walked toward the building with one arm loaded with bags while the other held the sleeping kitty.

  Liam tried to ignore the growing sense of unease as he entered the elevator and pressed the button for the top floor. Annalise had finally started to show a hint of something besides aloofness toward him, and he was about to test it by bringing an animal into her home without discussing it first.

  Pausing outside the door, he sucked in a deep breath and tried to prepare.

  32. Annalise

  Annalise paced back and forth across the kitchen. She tried not to look at the clock, but it was like trying not to breath.

  Liam was an hour late, and while she was sure there were plenty of reasons, it was hard not to think it was because of her. Because of the way she’d acted.

  Bad enough she’d cried and fallen asleep on him, bolting from the room as soon as she woke made it worse. She didn’t want him to think she hated him, but her emotions were all over the place and she didn’t know how to feel.

  The imbalance scared her.

  Noise at the door caused her to spin around, her heart tripping over itself as her muscles tensed to run. Should she go to the counter and pretend she’d just finished cooking? Should she run to her room, so he didn’t have to see her? She’d made a nice dinner to apologize for her awkward behavior that morning, but it had grown cold as she waited for him, and the two plates would prove she hadn’t already eaten.

  She was still trapped in indecision when the door opened, and Liam stepped in. Caught standing in the middle of the floor between the kitchen and dining table, she was distracted by the bags slung over his arm as he turned to close the door. He usually let her know before he went shopping since she did the majority of it.

  Instead of walking though to his room to put away his work supplies like usual, Liam stayed in the entryway. He stood at an odd angle, as if he was hiding something, and Annalise had to bite her lip to keep from questioning him.

  “Uh, sorry I’m late. I had a… situation.”

  Concern flooded through her and she took an unconscious step toward the Alpha. He seemed fine, but she couldn’t see his other arm. The thought that he’d been hurt had her gut clenching.

  “Are you hurt?”

  Her words came out breathy, but she couldn’t find a reason to care.

  “Oh, no. It’s nothing like that. I, uh, found a kitten.”

  He finally turned to face her, a patch of pale fur resting on his arm against his side. Her brows drew together, and she could feel a frown tugging down her lips. Her back went stiff as her eyes moved from it back to his face.

  “A kitten? Why did you bring it here?”

  She watched his expression close off as his other hand moved to cover the little body tucked against him. An irrational surge of jealousy flooded through her, forcing her to suck in a deep breath. She let it out slowly as she shoved the feeling aside.

  “I tried to find out where to take it to see if it was lost, but everyone had already gone home, and I didn’t want to disturb them. I figured I could take care of it tonight and ask Austin tomorrow if he knew of anyone looking for a lost pet.”

  Liam moved closer as he spoke. When he lifted his hand from its back, the kitten raised its head and blinked sleepy eyes at her.

  “You’re not allergic, are you?” Liam asked, turning away from her again before she could get a good look at it.

  “What? No. Well, I don’t know.”

  Annalise tried to remember ever being around a cat before, but her mother hated animals and had never allowed them in the house. Without friends to visit, and then busy building her career, she’d never been exposed.

  Liam gave her an odd look before moving where she could see the cat again. She assumed it was supposed to be white, but most of it was the tan color of dirt, matching Liam’s work boots. Its fur was longer than she’d expected, and she could see clumps of something stuck in its legs.

  “It’s dirty.”

  Liam grunted and held up the bags on his arm.

  “I stopped and got stuff to clean her up and get her through the night. She can stay in my room so she doesn’t get into anything.”

  Annalise was tempted to say she didn’t want it in the apartment because she didn’t know anything about cats, but the tiny thing looked harmless enough. Sighing, she nodded and moved out of the way.

  She was even more confused than before as she watched the Alpha stride down the hallway to his room. She’d been taught the only things Alphas wanted were to fight and fuck, yet everything about Liam proved that wrong. Many people would have passed by a stray cat, her included, but he’d gone out of his way to buy supplies for it to bring it home for a night so he wouldn’t have to bother anyone until morning.

  Shaking her head, she moved to the plates to put them in the oven to warm. She was glad it was nothing more complicated that delayed him, but it was a bit irritating that she’d fretted because he was worried about an animal.

  Pushing aside her feelings, she strove for the calm that was usually so natural to her. She was thrown off again when Liam came back into the kitchen with the kitten held to his chest, cooing at it like it was a baby.

  “What are you doing?”

  He advanced until he stood at the sink beside her, raising a brow as if her question didn’t make sense.

  “You said it was dirty. I need to give it a bath.”

  “In my kitchen?”

  Annalise had been called OCD on many occasions. Her kitchen was spotless. Sacred.

  And he wanted to bathe a kitten in her sink.

  Before she could open her mouth to protest, he already had it under the water. The cotton ball turned into a screeching demon, hell bent on getting as far as possible, no matter the obstacle.

  Liam had tried to scruff the tiny animal, but it turned on him, digging its claws into his forearm. The amount of noise coming from it was disproportionate to its size, and Annalise backed away until she bumped into the counter behind her.

  Liam continued, unfazed.

  Once the fluff was flattened to its body, Annalise realized how scrawny it was. A spark of anger entered her chest. If it was someone’s pet, it had either been missing for a while or had been neglected.

  Easing closer, she watched as he poured a dollop of soap onto its back and rubbed it in. Out from under the water the wailing ceased, but it continued to cling to Liam’s arm, and she could see the thin stripes of blood running from where the kitten held on.

  Pulling a kitchen towel from the drawer, she watched as he plunged the poor thing back under the water. He was working quickly, but the kitten was clearly unhappy about its impromptu bath.

  She waited for him to finish with the water so she could wrap the towel around his arm to stop the bleeding, but was surprised when he turned and plopped the soggy kitten into the cloth instead. She froze, unsure what to do with the yowling, struggling bundle.

  33. Liam

  He almost laughed at the look on her face when he put the kitten in the towel Annalise held. Taking pity on her as she went stiff, he grabbed the little beast, towel and all, before it managed to work free of the cloth.

  It was a moment before Annalise unfroze. Stepping back, she watched as he rubbed the kitten dry. It stopped fighting him once it was out of the water, though her fierce glare as he toweled her ears threatened that he wouldn’t be forgiven soon.

  He didn’t even realize he was bleeding until red bloomed on the white cloth that
brushed against his arm. The punctures didn’t hurt enough for him to notice, but he didn’t want to bleed all over the kitchen.

  Annalise had pulled out another towel, and once again he thrust the kitten at her before she could react and stop him.

  “Hold her while I clean up.”

  He kept the damp one to press against the cuts as he collected the pet shampoo to take back to his room. Annalise stammered something and tried to hand the kitten back to him, but he held up his arm.

  “I’m going to take care of this, and I’ll be right back.”

  He hid the smirk until he got into the hallway with his back to her. It was clear she didn’t have the first clue about handling an animal. It would be good for her to become familiar with it.

  It didn’t take long to dab ointment on the scratches and toss the shampoo under the bathroom sink. When he returned Annalise was still holding the kitten at arm’s length. It wasn’t struggling, but it certainly wasn’t comforted.

  As soon as she spotted him she rushed over and pushed it into his arms.

  “I need to grab our dinner.”

  The words came out a bit strangled and Liam choked back a laugh as Annalise backed away. Giving the kitten a pat, he watched as Annalise took their plates from the oven and moved them to the table.

  She may have accepted the kitten into the house, but as he took a step toward his seat, her expression turned mulish. Not wanting to push too much, he bent and tucked the little thing between his feet under the table. Annalise still looked like she wanted to protest but she remained silent as she took her seat.

  Digging into the meal, he hummed his approval as the flavors melted on his tongue. Despite being reheated, it was one of the best things he’d ever eaten.

  When he glanced up at Annalise he could see a soft flush on her cheeks, but he realized he hadn’t praised her food enough.