Page 83 of The Gift
Bailey bites down on my escaping fingers, the sharp pain going straight to my dick. Around us the air thickens with her scent, with mine too.
“We told you this would happen. No medicine or chemical cocktail is going to be able to pull you back. You’re making changes in the way you think and act. And I know there’s a reason I should argue against it, but, fuck me, you’re pushing us all to go where we already want to be.”
Her eyes close as she suckles on my fingers, and with our searing connection temporarily broken, I see I’ve moved us to safety without even knowing. The both of us shielded from the passing traffic in a small alcove. We’re all running on instinct. We’re all past the point of being able to stop.
“You said it yourself; we’ve got stalkers to catch, omegas to find, packs to destroy, and the only thing you’re getting me to focus on is having you before I let my pack claim you. You’re not safe.”
Curling her tongue around my fingers, they fall out of her mouth, a smart-ass response poised to take their place, you can see it plain as day.
“Then you can watch me while I take their knots first.” Her voice drops octaves low, a deep husk adding even more impetus to it.
And then I get another dose of reality, a bitter fucking pill to swallow, when she sprints past me like her ass is on fire, laughing as free as a bird, bundling her dress up high enough to show her peach like ass cheeks before she climbs on the back of Koda’s bike.
Bailey Henderson is, and always will be, a survivor. She’s been doing this for so long; she’s better at knowing what’s going on in the world around than any of us. And I need to get that in my thick skull before I lose her.
Just before they take off she turns to face me. Her hair squished under the helmet he makes her wear. Nothing is more beautiful, she closes her eyes and a peace washes over her. The bike roars away, but her arm remains extended behind her, her fingers calling me to her.
I can’t help it. I bark out a laughter, so damn fucking loud that people over the other side of the road stop and stare. By the time Reno pulls up next to me on the corner, I’m wiping tears from my eyes, trying to pull it together so I can call the necessary alphas.
Pack Bailey are tapping out of responsibility and duty. Some other sucker can carry the duty for a few days while I take up the incredible offer the most complex and breathtaking woman I have ever met keeps waving in front of me.
Bailey
“Ithought I’d be more anxious doing this,” I murmur, holding the phone to my ear, Koda’s hands around my ankles squeezing encouragingly. He doesn’t answer or add anything to the one-sided conversation I’m having, but his touch tells me all I need to know, as does his scent; he’s content and kind of proud.
Leaving the city on the back of Koda’s bike gave me a chance to lock down the panic and filter out the noise. He didn’t say anything, he didn’t push me to talk, he just squashed a helmet on my head and wrapped my arms around him before shooting off in the night. And arriving back at their place, he’s maintained that quietness while he hovers protectively.
There’s still a lot to unpack after today, but one thing I most definitely know is that it’s time for me to clear everything off my plate to focus on what really matters, which is being with them.
Like a lot of people, I enjoy dressing up, but unlike a lot of people, I’ve done it too many times and the magic of dressing up in long flowing gowns has nearly disappeared. And since getting to know the A-team, I’ve developed an infatuation with men’s clothing; any of it, all of it. As long as they’ve worn it, I’m in that peaceful, happy place that I never allowed myself to dream of. But then, that correlates with my acceptance of other things too, that they’re also responsible for.
I stare at him; he’s not hard to miss, considering I’m sitting atop his desk and with his hands wrapped around my ankles, he’s made it impossible for me to run. I’d thought I’d made it clear the only place I was running to was anywhere with them.
“Hey, Len, sorry for the late call. Don’t call me back because we don’t need to talk about this. I’ve decided to do what you keep harassing me to do, which is take time off. I’ve left a message with Carmen, and another for Donnie, and by the time you listen to this, I’ll be on a flight. I’m going home to see Mom and Dad, and I’m not looking at my phone or emails until I get back. Sorry, not sorry. Anyway, I also sent you an email about a few things that are happening at Exposé and, yeah, yeah, you’re incredible, blah blah blah, but it’s time to relook at those offers from other studios. Can you give Carmen a buzz too, although she’ll probably call you. At this stage I’m mostly sure I’ll finish off The Gift, but, well I guess, let’s see what happens… anyway. Appreciate you. I’ll leave my career in your capable hands. Love you.”
Koda keeps tugging me closer to the edge as I leave my hurried message for my agent. By the time I throw my phone over the other side of this office, I’m on his lap, my feet dangling off the side of his office throne. His lordship looks regally smug.
“So, we’re doing this?” he says, though I’m not one hundred percent sure whether it was a question or a statement.
“I mean, if you guys aren’t keen, perhaps you can introduce me to a few packs…”
He growls, and the noise vibrates through him before he leans in so damn slowly, finally kissing me stupid. Keeping it pretty PG for Koda, his hand over the top of Reno’s track pants, not inside them. But then he stops, the realisation hitting him a bit slower than I thought it would. Koda leans close, taking a big purposeful, loud sniff.
“You’re not wearing your thick panties.”
I gasp, my eyes flaring wide in shock while I clutch my new necklace as if they were pearls. “I’m not? Dear god, what will happen next?”
He lifts me back up off his lap, perching me on the edge of his desk, his eyes black, his jaw gritting down hard.
“What?” I tease, running my left foot up his thigh, using my toes to massage over his large and ready cock.
“Bails, we’ll have a fucking car accident if you scent like an orchard before we get to the omega centre. You have to remember it’s a two-hour drive away.”
“I’m not putting them on again.” I wink at him, climbing back on his lap and leaning in super close so I can fill my lungs with his scent. Because while I’m going through massive changes, so are they, and Lord have mercy, he’s right, we need to leave right this second.
I go to climb off his lap, but his hand locks on mine, and he rolls the seat forward, effectively trapping me again. Tilting my head, I wait, because he’s clearly got things he needs to say.
“Never imagined this is where I’d be, let alone with my pack,” he says factually, although the simmering emotion is clear as day in his burnished brown eyes. Today, it’s like they’re deeper and more soulful than ever. “Some of what happens, Bails, isn’t going to be nice if what Regalo said is true. Other parts are going to be more than fucking amazing, but you’re not going to remember. A haze is going to take over when you’re in the middle of your heat. It will rob you of some of your memories, but I want you to know, even if you can’t remember the detail, I will. And I promise you, you have nothing to fear. Don’t for a second doubt how safe you are with me, and with them.”
