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I’m the deadbeat who doesn’t even know when she’s going to need us.
Meg can sense my shame. She huddles closer and kisses my jaw softly. “Archer thinks three weeks. It’s just an estimate, though. There are a lot of things that can influence it, I guess.”
Her uncertainty rouses my protective instincts. I gather her body into the side of mine, holding her properly while I purr for her.
It’s hard for me to imagine what she must have gone through, being alone in the world as an unbonded omega. Clearly no one ever helped her. In any way. Archer told me she went through her previous heats alone. In pain. Medicated to oblivion.
I stuff my self-loathing down, telling myself it won’t help her right now. She can sense the change in my emotions, though. Her soft purr melds with mine, instantly sinking into the knot twisting my stomach.
God, this girl.
She’s sexy and sweet and sassy.
Fucking perfect.
I swallow a swell of unfamiliar feelings and latch on to the one I know best—inadequacy.
My voice drops into a mumble. “If you don’t want me in there with you, I understand. I haven’t done anything to earn your trust. And you’ll be vulnerable.”
Meg’s purr stutters. She tucks herself down into my bare shoulder, shrinking. “If you don’t want to?—”
Without thinking, I roll to put myself on top of her, pressing my erection into her belly. “I want to,” I rumble, piercing her blue eyes with my own. “I want to be in that nest with you more than I’ve ever wanted any damn thing in my whole life. More than I want a winning season. More than I want the Championship ring. I’d walk away from everything to be there with you. But that doesn’t make me worthy, baby.”
Her brows arch as a shaky breath quivers out of her. “Are you sure about that? Because I’m pretty sure it does.”
A slash of longing lashes my middle. I drop my forehead to hers. “You’re the only one who can decide that. But I want you to know that whatever you choose won’t affect how I feel. I’m all in now, princess.”
I flash a grin. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’m a pretty stubborn asshole when there’s something I want.”
For one brilliant moment, she smiles back, but a shadow passes through her gaze. Her joyful expression wilts at the edges. “You didn’t want me,” she whispers, barely audible. “I—if you change your mind, I’m not sure I can take any more rejection.”
Fuck.
Physical pain grates my insides. “There wasn’t one single moment when I didn’t want you,” I tell her, staring hard into her eyes. “Not one. I hated having you at the facility because I was terrified of you getting hurt there. I just couldn’t understand the…viciousness of that instinct. It felt like hatred, but I’m pretty sure it was just love. All twisted up.”
A single tear dribbles over her temple. “W-what?”
I rub my forehead over hers, scent-marking her. “I love you, Meg. I think I knew the second I saw you. At least, my body did. I had a crazy-strong reaction to you. One that made no sense to me. I dealt with it the only way I knew how to—by getting pissed.” I give a rueful smirk and lean to her ear like I’m telling her a secret. “I’m sort of a dick.”
Meg’s laughter is watery but gorgeous. “I guess I can forgive you. I thought I hated you the first time we met, too. Well, my brain did. The rest of me was too busy melting into a puddle of slick.”
My dick kicks against her, desperate. Her evil little smile tells me she’s teasing me on purpose. Which only makes me harder.
I grind into her softness. “Mmm, baby. I love it when you’re mean.”
Our princess laughs in earnest. Her touch trails lightly over my forehead. “Does it still hurt?”
If it does, I can’t feel it. Right now, I can’t feel anything but her. “Not anymore.”
The air between us simmers and softens. The light in her eyes makes me breathless. I roll us onto our sides, pulling her back on top of me where I can purr for her some more.
We watch the shadows above us fade while sunlight fills the house. A familiar rush of awe and gratitude runs through me. I never thought I’d have a life like this. Money, security, a real home. A family.
It occurs to me that this girl probably never expected to live like this either.
I cup my hand around her head. “Theo told me. About your mom. And the group home you had to live in.”
When Meg sighs quietly, I know her thoughts are running parallel to mine. Even before she says, “All of this is crazy, right? I never imagined…”
