by Lola Glass
I nuzzled Roman’s neck and he chuckled.
“You’re one sexy pink wolf, Hen.” He murmured.
I growled sleepily and his chest rumbled.
“Red.” He corrected.
With a satisfied snort, I fell back asleep.
Roman must’ve grabbed my clothes from the naked bush because he handed them to me when we reached my room. Mostly asleep, I pulled on the panties but shot the bra and leggings a death glare.
“Give me your shirt.” I mumbled.
Roman pulled it off without hesitation and watched me pull it on.
“You’re shameless.” I muttered, collapsing in the guest bed. Jamie was still in the one in the living room. Plus, I’d rather sleep on the floor with Roman than let him sleep in a bed that smelled like another woman’s scent. Even if she was mated and one of my only friends.
“Your body is a masterpiece, and it’s going to be mine to worship for the rest of our lives. It’d be shameful not to look at you.” He pulled the duvet out from underneath my legs and tugged it over the top of me before kicking off his shoes.
“Cocky asshole.” I muttered.
“Yup.” He shot me a grin.
“You’re wearing jeans.” I opened one eye to watch him strip out of them. He never wore anything but joggers or basketball shorts.
“Had a meeting.” He settled on the bed next to me in black boxer briefs. “I usually wear jeans for that.” If I wasn’t so tired, I would’ve been completely turned on by his lack of clothing.
Scratch that—it was the plethora of skin that’d turn me on, not the lack of clothing.
“Hmm.” I shut my eyes, expecting him to move the blankets again and slip under them. He remained on top of the blankets, plumping the pillow behind his head. My eyes opened and narrowed. “What are you doing?”
Roman’s eyes clouded.
“You want me to go? I should’ve asked.” The second part, he mumbled to himself as he stood and grabbed his jeans.
“I meant what are you doing on top of the blankets.” I corrected myself. “You—” The world’s biggest yawn interrupted me. “Forgot what I was going to say.” Heavy eyes closed and refused to open.
“I assumed you wouldn’t want me in your bed.” He pulled the blankets aside and slipped underneath. I snorted.
“You smell like heaven and make me feel safe. Plus, you keep my nightmares away.”
Roman’s arms wrapped around me and rolled me onto his chest. I lifted my leg over his pelvis and fell asleep in about a quarter of a second.
His lips on my forehead accompanied me into another blessedly dreamless sleep.
I woke up tangled with Roman and absolutely soaked in sweat. The scent coming off the sweat was clearly mine.
Freaking hangover sweats.
At least the worst of it seemed to be over. My headache was nearly gone and I hadn’t puked in ages.
Pulling my head off his neck, I found Roman’s eyes caressing my figure, giant hands on my back. Since I’d gone to bed in just his t-shirt and some panties, he had plenty to see.
“How long have you been awake?” I made a face at the gross taste in my mouth.
“A while.” His lips stretched in a wolfish grin. “The view’s great.”
My lips tilted upward as I fought back a smile.
“Sorry I sweat all over you. Gross, I know.”
Peeling my limbs off him was a real struggle.
“It’s not gross. Wearing your scent like this has me calmer than I’ve been in months. You can sweat all over me any time you want.”
“Shut up.” I pushed his face away even though my cheeks flushed a bit at the compliment. “I need a shower.”
“I’m happy to join you.”
“In your dreams.” I rolled my eyes and scooted to the edge of my bed.
He chuckled and sat up, cradling the back of my neck as he pressed a kiss to my forehead.
“Definitely.” He grabbed his jeans and put them back on. “Can I have my shirt back?”
I lifted it to my nose to see if it still smelled like him. Since it didn’t, I pulled it off and handed it over. I’d forgotten I wasn’t wearing a bra and glanced down when his eyes dropped to my boobs. Spinning toward the bathroom, I headed for the shower.
“You can borrow my clothes any time you want.” He called after me.
I flipped him off over my shoulder and the full belly-laugh that filled the air made me grin too.
A long, hot shower later, I strolled out to the kitchen fully-dressed and with my hair up in a tangled wet bun since I didn’t want to brush it. Jamie was long gone, her scent stale. She’d be back when she needed a break from her mate, but I hoped they’d bond or something so she didn’t feel like she needed a break from him. It was a long shot since they’d been together three years already, but a girl can dream.
Roman was whistling and tossing fruit into a blender while eggs fried on the stove, bowls of steaming oatmeal already set on the counter. I’d expected him to be either gone or mooching some of my cereal.
“This is health food.” I gestured to the stuff he had cooked and still was cooking. “I don’t buy health food. Do you buy health food? Where did this shit come from?”
Roman barked out a laugh.
“I own a gym, Henley. Of course I eat healthy food. Your fridge was empty so I went grocery shopping for you and brought the stuff in before I grabbed you from the fourth floor.”
“You own a gym?” I turned questioning eyes on him. “Since when?”
“Five years or so.” He plopped the eggs on plates and handed them to me so I could put them down beside the bowls of oatmeal. After a little blending, he was pouring the smoothie into cups.
“How did I not know that?”
His lips tilted upward.
“You’ve been trying not to develop feelings for me.”
He sat beside me, placing a cup of smoothie beside my plate.
“Well you’re not wrong.” I grabbed my fork and cut into the eggs. “But I just recently started working out, so if you make fun of my fitness level I’ll dump this on your head.” I gestured to the drink with my fork. Roman grinned.
“I won’t.”
“Then we won’t have a problem.”
Music played from the speaker on my counter, some rock music that borderlined on screamo but was turned down enough not to be annoying. It was surprisingly nice just to sit beside each other and share a meal. I’d never considered the way it would feel to eat with someone who meant something to me.
After I was done eating, I walked around the island and started cleaning up. My thoughts were focused on the man sitting a few feet away from me, still working on his much larger plate of food.
“You really feel confident enough in your feelings for me that you’d be willing to mate with me right now?” I looked up from the plate I was rinsing, sticking it in the dishwasher without looking.
“Yes.” Roman met my gaze with confidence. “Why don’t you?”
I shook my head.
“We haven’t known each other that long, and every other Alpha I’ve known has turned out to be a real douchebag. Plus I don’t know what a relationship is really supposed to be like; my mom’s mate wasn’t around and I moved around too much to see a stable couple.”
Roman sipped his drink. He didn’t respond immediately, but I appreciated that he took the time to think about what he was going to say rather than flipping out and getting all offended.
“Can I tell you why I became Alpha?” he finally asked.
“Sure.” I’d been wondering for a while, having only heard bits and pieces of the story from him and others.
“Lark was the old Alpha. He was the kind of guy who would’ve killed another pack to take you from them. Everyone assumed he mistreated his wife and daughter, but he was intimidating so no one asked questions. I was a sixteen-year-old kid with a crush on his daughter, Ella, so I asked her out. My hands were so sweaty when I knocked on her door to pick her up. Sh
e didn’t answer so after a few minutes, I was ready to take my broken heart home. That’s when I heard her scream.
“I saw red and busted the door down. Ella was bleeding, and the scent of her blood reminded me of the abuse Arla and I had been through. I challenged her dad for Alpha then and there. Although I was a football player, I wasn’t a fighter in any way. Lark nearly killed me a couple of times during the fight, and it’s a miracle I came out of it alive.” He watched my face for a sign of my emotions, but I didn’t let my feelings show.
“Did she survive?” I loaded another dish into the dishwasher.
“Ella? She lives on the eighteenth floor with her mother. Her mom gave Arla the Alpha Female position a few days after I killed Lark.”
“Why aren’t the two of you mated, then?”
“She was bleeding badly when the fight ended, unconscious on the floor. I was already in my wolf form and went to lick her wounds, to heal her. The human in me assumed we’d mate after everything. When my tongue touched her blood, I shifted immediately, the beast in me refusing her. Had to call another pack member to do it. We’re still friends, but there was never anything romantic between us.”
I focused on the cup I was loading into the dishwasher, giving it much more attention than it deserved. Neither of us addressed the elephant in the room. Namely, that Roman had healed me by licking my wounds.
“I’ve never met anyone the beast in me sees as my equal until you, and I’ve met most strong women from a good portion of the packs. You’re the reason for that. You’re it for me.”
A wet strand of escaped hair slapped me on the cheek as I leaned forward, arms resting on the sink.
“I like you, Roman. I do. But I never had an experience like that.”
“I’m not trying to convince you, Henley. I’m stating facts. Every Alpha you’ve met is a douchebag, but that’s the exact reason I became one. I can’t stand people who hurt others.” He took a long drink of his smoothie before setting it down. “And as far as real relationships go, I’m not convinced there’s one particular way to do things right. I’m just willing to do whatever it takes to be close to you.”
This conversation was getting to be too dramatic, so I changed the subject rapidly.
“So if I bite you, you’ll stop fighting every dude who wants to meet me?”
I saw the hesitation in his eyes.
“If we exchange bites, yes.”
“You don’t look happy about it.” I grabbed the blender to wash that too.
“Well I’d rather not give any of my males a chance to seduce you before I manage it.”
I laughed.
His phone buzzed and he glanced down at it.
“I have to go.” He leaned over the counter and cupped my face in his hands, pulling me in for a quick kiss. My lips parted as they met his, and the kiss went from zero to a hundred.
Roman’s hand found my lower back and pulled me up higher as he deepened the kiss. One of my knees slid into the sink while the other went to the side, giving me more traction. A low growl rumbled Roman’s chest and he tugged me even closer. My legs wrapped around his hips and he pinned me between him and the counter.
His phone buzzed again and he growled at it, pulling away to read the text.
“Damn.”
Roman pressed another quick kiss to my lips and nipped at my throat before striding to the doorway. The look he shot me over his shoulder told me he would be back sooner rather than later.
I couldn’t wait.
TWENTY-TWO
I didn’t have to work that night but was up late waiting for Roman. Grabbing my phone, I checked again for a text or call.
Nothing.
I threw on a pair of sleep shorts and a tank top. Should I call him? Would that be weird or desperate?
I was clueless.
I’m ashamed to admit that there was somewhere near ten minutes of pacing my kitchen before I finally growled,
“Screw it,” and called him.
The phone rang and rang but he didn’t pick up.
I chucked the thing into a pillow on my mattress—which was still on the floor. Just to give myself something to do, I stripped the sheets, pillowcases, and mattress protector and tossed them in the washer, replacing them with one of the extra sets in the hall closet.
“He’s not coming, Hen.” I muttered to myself, trying not to be disappointed. That was a hard-core fail. My heart had managed to slide right into my gut. “Go to sleep like a normal person.”
I was plugging my phone into the charger when a text came through.
ARLA: Go to Roman’s apartment. Don’t tell him I sent you.
I considered ignoring it but decided against it. Throwing on a high-necked bra and some leggings, I headed up to the floor above mine and down the hall to Roman’s apartment. The smell of blood had me pushing the door open. It was locked, so I slammed my fist into the wood.
“Roman!” I yelled.
He pulled it open, a tube of antibacterial ointment in one hand and an alcohol wipe in the other. His eyebrows lifted when he saw me.
“What are you doing here?”
“What happened?” I demanded, pushing past him and ignoring his question. My fists clenched as I saw the source of the blood. Roman had multiple deep wounds on his torso and a huge bite mark on his shoulder. His black sweats were pushed up over his left ankle which was wrapped in an ace bandage. The desire to kill whoever had hurt him hit me hard.
“Back to back Alpha challenges.”
Was that a black eye forming?
“Did they challenge you because of me?” I demanded.
“Yes.” Roman gently took my tightly-clenched fists in his hands and unwound my grip, sliding his fingers between mine. “You’re worth it, Hen.” He stepped closer and tilted his head down, inhaling deeply with his nose to my hair.
“Give me those.” I snatched the ointment and the wipe from him, gesturing for him to sit down. He sat on the chair backward but didn’t lean against it, so I knew he was hurting bad.
I began on the biggest wound, the nasty bite on his shoulder. He tensed, jaw clenched as I cleaned it.
“What do I smell like to you?” I distracted him as I worked. “Other than sex on a stick.”
He’d told me before… something about a forest?
“Pink.”
I couldn’t hold back a snort. Definitely different than a forest. He was full of shit.
“You’re lying. Pink is not a smell.” I paused. “And my hair isn’t pink.”
“Keep telling yourself that.” He leaned his head against the chair. “What did you have for dinner?”
“Did you not eat?” I paused and frowned at him. “Stay here. I’ll make something.” I dropped the ointment on the table He eased off the chair instead, opening the fridge.
“You don’t need to cook for me.”
“You cooked for me this morning, so I’m repaying the favor.” I shooed him back to the chair he’d been sitting in. “
While I threw a couple sandwiches together, he pulled off his pants too. Turning a chair around, he sat with his chest to the back of it again. The injuries on his back were worse than those on his front.
“I don’t remember paying you to strip.” I commented, trying to lighten the mood. He looked absolutely exhausted. The words had my desired effect though.
“You don’t pay with money.” His smirk had me biting back a stupid grin as I assembled the sandwiches.
“Which Alphas?” I checked.
“New Mexico and Arizona. They flew in together; guess their packs have some sort of alliance. Doesn’t matter now that they’re dead.” He worked his shoulder in a half-circle, a tight grimace weighing down his lips.
“You beat Matt and Wayne on the same day?” I gaped open-mouthed at him. “They’re both gigantic.” A sweep of my eyes on Roman’s body had me correcting myself “Not as gigantic as you, but still.”
Roman’s lips quirked upward again.
“There’s more t
o fighting than your size.”
I brought him his sandwiches and scanned the injuries as he began eating.
“I think you need stitches on a few of these.” I chewed my lip, considering the other option. I’d avoided stitches thanks to Roman, so should I return the favor? What if my wolf side rejected him the way his rejected the old Alpha’s daughter?
He swallowed what he’d been chewing and said,
“I’ll be fine.”
Roman worked on the food I’d made him and I sat down beside him, thinking about the possibility of healing him. Honestly, I was kind of excited by it. Something about the thought that I could make him feel better made me all warm and fuzzy. When I got tired of keeping my thoughts to myself, I asked him.
“Do you want me to lick your wounds?”
He stopped with a sandwich halfway to his mouth.
“I didn’t think you’d be comfortable with that.”
“I’m trying to decide if I am. Was it weird when you did it to me?”
He put the sandwich down.
“No, but it was intimate.”
It went without saying that Roman wouldn’t expect me to do something so intimate. He’d stay silent unless I offered.
I went to pick up the kitchen. It was pretty much clean, but cleaning the kitchen was always a good opportunity to reflect on my thoughts while my hands kept busy.
The worst thing that could come from licking Roman’s wounds was finding out that my beast side didn’t want him—which was extremely unlikely given the way I’d wanted him the moment I’d caught his scent. But I’d survive that. There was also the chance the gesture might leave me more bound to him than I already was, but I felt pretty confident I’d mate with Roman eventually. It would take time, but he seemed fairly determined to wait me out.
So there really wasn’t a reason not to do it.
“I want to lick you.” I announced. When Roman’s laughter boomed, I realized how it sounded and made a face. “You know what I mean.”
He grabbed my hand and lifted it to his lips, his eyes light. I’d never seen anyone else make them look that way, and I liked that.