Chapter 12

It was one thing to wake up hard. It was an entirely different thing to wake up hard after your dreams starred a redheaded Omega you wanted to drag underneath you and pleasure until she lost her voice.

I shifted, noting the heaviness of my body. Man, I must have slept hard to feel like this. Wait.

Sweet and deep floral scent that was too strong for where said Omega was sleeping. Suddenly, I was fully awake. My body wasn’t heavy.

One peek was all I needed to grin like a damn fool. Isolde was on top of me. One leg slung over my hips, head on my chest, hand curled around my ribs. The pillow wall she’d so diligently put together was a mess.

This felt incredible. This felt right.

Her leg was so close to touching my cock, I was tempted to shift her just enough. But I didn’t. All I did was lift my arm and hold her closer. The story she told last night broke me. The pain in her voice? I didn’t see myself getting through all three of these weeks without laying hands on her ex.

I stroked my hand gently up and down her spine, which made her cuddle closer. Fuck, she was cute. I wanted her cute. I wanted her sexy. I wanted her mine.

Her lungs expanded beneath my hand, and she moved. I felt the moment she realized where she was. Her whole body froze, moving her head to look up at me, horror in her eyes. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered.

“I’m not.”

“But—”

I moved, rolling us together away from my packmates and into her pillows. Now I could feel her beneath me. So fucking soft. I barely held my hips in check from rocking and my groan from escaping.

“Isolde.” My voice was a breath of a breath so we didn’t wake anyone else. “I am in no way upset by waking up with a beautiful Omega draped over me. Actually, it ranks pretty high in my favorite mornings.”

Her pale skin flushed. This close, I could see the gentle freckles sprinkled over her nose and cheeks.

We moved together, pulled like magnets, but I held myself in check. We weren’t in public, and as much as I wanted to kiss the hell out of my Omega, I wasn’t going to do something to push her away. I was already on top of her. If she wanted to kiss me, she needed to be the one to close the distance.

“You guys are so good at this,” she whispered.

“Good at what?”

“Pretending. Making me feel like someone worth… anything. I can see why you’re the best.”

I looked down at her, unable to keep my gaze off her lips. In the morning light, her hair was a delicious shade of red spread across the pillows. Hopefully soon I’d see it messier. And I could make her see her own worth, because it was all I could see. “What makes you think we’re pretending?”

Isolde’s breath caught, an expression somewhere between arousal and fear on her face. “Because that’s your job?”

“Our job isn’t to pretend shit.” I leaned down and whispered the words into her neck before dragging my mouth up to her ear. “Our job is to make you realize exactly how incredible you are. To show you that you’re worth so much more than what that asshole made you believe. I have pretended with others, yes. But Isolde Allen, I am not pretending with you.”

Pulling back, I saw her doubt. The little wrinkle on her forehead that betrayed her confusion. I could hang Beau up by his balls for the damage he’d done to this woman. She believed they were happy, and he threw her out like trash.

Something told me there was more to the story, and I fully intended on finding out. But this moment was about my Omega, and I wasn’t letting her leave this bed with doubt, even if she didn’t yet know the truth. So I took the risk and shifted my body higher, lining our hips up perfectly so she could feel all of me.

Just my sweats and her skimpy pajamas between us. “Does this feel pretend to you?”

She blushed as bright as her hair and wiggled out from under me. I let her go, noticing the shadow of hard nipples through the silky pajama top.

“We need to get ready for breakfast,” she said. Her voice was a little rough.

She disappeared into the closet and Cade turned over. “You need to be careful.”

“There’s being careful and there’s being too careful. We agreed not to lie to her, so I’m not fucking lying to her. I want her to figure it out. I want her to realize this isn’t a game.”

“I want that too. Just don’t push too hard too fast.”

Fair point.

We got ready, Isolde managing to hide from us until we were ready to go. The black, flowing dress she wore looked incredible, but the color didn’t suit her. Last night in the green she practically glowed. Now, while beautiful, the spark was missing.

I took her hand as she led us out the veranda doors instead of through the house. On one of the lawns extending down to the beach, a white, open-sided tent rested, a long table underneath already filled with people.

There was enough space for us, but I noticed as we approached, Beau and Angela sat with the group. “What are they doing here?”

“He’s the best man,” Isolde reminded me. “He’ll be here the whole time. Well, at least when the rest of the wedding party is.”

“Perfect,” I growled.

“I know, I’m sorry. Protecting me from him is going to get old.”

I pulled her to a stop and glanced at Cade. He read my mind and stepped in behind her. We were close enough for people to see, but not hear. “I don’t give a shit if I have to protect you from him every second of every day, Isolde. I wish he weren’t here for your sake. He doesn’t make you feel safe, and I hate that. This is your home. You deserve to feel comfortable.”

Her mouth popped open in shock. I could so easily lean in and bite that lower lip. Pull her into a kiss that would make her believe me. Every time I had to pull myself back from kissing her, it got harder.

Lifting my hand like a man possessed, I ran my thumb along her lower lip. Isolde’s pupils dilated, and a wave of sweet perfume swirled around the three of us. Cade’s eyes closed as it hit him. I needed to step away before I did anything more.

“Oh,” was all Isolde said.

“We are here for you,” I told her. “What you need. Not him and not anyone else, okay?”

“Okay.” A shy smile.

“Morning,” Mrs. Allen called from down the table as we approached.

Isolde waved, and I pulled out a chair for her a few seats down from being directly across from Beau and Angela. Joel and Rowan took those a little too gleefully.

“Morning, Isolde,” Beau said.

“Good morning.” She froze for a second, covering it well as she made herself comfortable in her chair. “That bracelet is lovely, Angela.”

The other redhead looked up like she was startled that Isolde even spoke to her, and Beau watched the two of them like a snake. Vicious. Dangerous. “Oh. Thank you. Beau gave it to me. He’s thoughtful that way.” She leaned into the man, bumping his arm with hers. He barely looked at her, his eyes focused on Isolde.

I sat down beside Isolde and looked at the bracelet. A simple silver chain with what looked like a purple stone graced Angela’s wrist.

“You like the bracelet, baby girl?” I hadn’t used the term in bed this morning because I thought it might have overwhelmed her too much. But here? Here I wanted to remind her.

She sucked in a breath and reached for her glass of water. “It’s mine.”

“I’m sorry, what?”

“Remember I said I only took what I couldn’t live without? The bracelet is mine. He must have taken it from the jewelry I left and given it to her.”

I moved to stand and her hand landed on my arm. “Don’t. It’s just a bracelet.”

“It’s fucking disrespectful is what it is.”

“Please.” She moved her hand to grip mine. “Don’t. But thank you for wanting to.”

I lifted her hand and kissed the back of it, never looking away. “That’s not something you have to thank me for.”

“We’re leaving after breakfast for the fittings, Iz,” her sister called from the other end of the table. “You good with that?”

“Sure.”

Warren, her fiancé, looked at the rest of us. “We have fittings as well, but after, we’ll find something for the rest of us to do. I’m sure Mr. Allen wants a chance to interrogate you.”

We laughed, and Rowan lifted a glass. “I think we can handle that.”

Conversation ebbed and flowed, but I heard none of it. I was too focused on the way Beau stared at Isolde. For someone who’d tossed her aside, he certainly seemed invested. And now that I saw him like this, the way he approached me and Rowan last night seemed strange. Like he was trying to get us to abandon her too.

What was his deal?

“Hawk?”

Startling, I looked over at Isolde. She stood next to me, hand on my shoulder.

“You okay?”

I placed a hand over hers. “I’m good.”

“We’re going to the dress fitting. I’ll see you later.”

Winking, I kissed her hand again. “Have fun, baby girl.”

The shade of pink on her cheeks was my new favorite color. I wanted to paint whole rooms with it just to show her how gorgeous it was. She glanced back once as she followed her mother, sister, and the other bridesmaids.

And for the first time, the look on her face was something like hope.