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The drive was surprisingly short, their car eating up the distance with graceful ease. When we arrived at my modest apartment building, it looked even more run-down contrasted with their expensive car.
I stepped out onto the sidewalk, suddenly eager to retreat into my familiar little world away from their intensity.
“Thank you for the ride,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper.
Jaxon got out of the car and approached me. He took my hand gently in his, bringing it up to his lips for a brief kiss that sent shivers racing up my arm.
“Have a good night,” he said with a charming smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. “I'll contact you regarding that dinner date.”
Heat rushed to my cheeks at his gesture, a mixture of embarrassment and something else entirely that fluttered deep within me.
“Good night,” I replied softly before turning toward Colton who still sat in the car watching us closely.
“Good night, Delcy,” he said simply, yet his voice held layers that hinted at complexities beneath his calm exterior.
With one last nod to them both, I hurried up the steps to my apartment building and slipped inside, leaving behind two men who had somehow managed to weave themselves into the fabric of my life in just one evening—a thought both thrilling and deeply unsettling.
* * *
My hands trembled as I locked the door behind me, leaning back against it with a soft thud. I took deep breaths, trying to steady my racing heart. Every cell in my body was acutely aware of Jaxon and Colton’s presence lingering on me. The memory of their piercing gazes burned behind my eyelids, stirring an uncomfortable warmth within me.
I slid down to the floor, clutching the jacket wrapped around me.
Jacket? I glanced down and realized I still had Colton's suit jacket with me. I had forgotten to give it back to him when they dropped me off.
I dug my phone out of my purse, and with shaky fingers, I unlocked the screen and scrolled through my contacts. There they were, two new numbers added surreptitiously during the evening's events.
My fingers trembled slightly as I composed a text to him.
Hi, Colton, this is Delcy. I'm so sorry but I just realized I forgot to return your jacket. Please let me know when would be a good time to get it back to you.
I hit send before I could overthink it too much. Hopefully he wouldn't be upset that I had accidentally kept his expensive jacket overnight.
My phone dinged with his reply right away.
No problem at all, Delcy. You can return it when we pick you up for dinner.
I breathed a small sigh of relief and responded.
Okay. Sounds good. I'll bring it then. Have a good night!
Colton's response came quickly again.
Good night. Have a sweet dream, Delcy.
His words felt like a whisper against my ear, and I shook off the sensation as best I could. Time to change out of this dress that felt like someone else's skin.
Peeling off the fabric, I made my way to the bathroom for a much-needed shower. The hot water cascaded over me, but instead of washing away the night's events, it seemed to etch them deeper into my consciousness.
Colton and Jaxon haunted my thoughts unbidden—two forces of nature that had somehow entered my orbit and refused to be ignored. And one of them... One of them stirred a memory so old and so deeply buried that it should've been impossible to recall.
Seven years ago, an alpha had found me during a vulnerable moment in heat. The memory was foggy, details obscured by time and willful forgetfulness, but now fragments teased at the edge of my mind.
With one last rinse, I stepped out of the shower and wrapped myself in a towel. My reflection stared back at me from the fogged-up mirror, a woman caught between two worlds—one she'd known all her life and another that threatened to upend everything she thought she understood about herself.
Dragging myself away from my reflection, I headed straight for bed. My body hit the mattress with an oomph, sinking into the familiar comfort of worn sheets and fluffed pillows.
Sleep claimed me before I could think any further about alphas or past heats, a merciful darkness embracing me whole.
