Chapter <b>42 </b>
** Parker’s POV **
“I want you to kiss me now, Parker.”
The words knock the air from my lungs.
I don’t move right away. I’m not sure I can. She’s looking up at me like I’m something she wants, and I’ve spent days trying to bury just how badly I want her too.
“Are you sure?” I manage, my voice low, husky with restraint.
She nods, lips parted, eyes wide but steady. “I’ve never been more sure.”
That’s all I need<b>. </b>
I cup her face gently, letting my thumbs brush over the soft skin of her cheeks before I kiss her slowly. She leans into it, her hands gripping my shirt, and it’s all I can do not to lose control right then. I don’t want to rush this. I want to savour it. Every second, every breath, every flicker of emotion in her kiss.
Her lips are soft, warm, eager, and when I deepen the kiss, I feel her melt into me like she’s
been waiting for this too.
A low growl rumbles in my chest. Not threatening, just need. For her. For more.
I lift her easily, gripping her waist as I guide her back onto the kitchen ind. She gasps, but her legs wrap around my hips without hesitation, pulling me closer, anchoring me to her.
My hands settle on her thighs, then trace slowly upward, palms pressing against warm skin beneath the hem of her top. She kisses me deeper, harder, and I match her intensity with everything I’ve been holding back.
The taste of her undoes me, and still, I manage to keep one part of my mind clear. This can’t
just lust. Not with her. Not with what she’s been through. She deserves more.
be
So I kiss her like it means something. Because it does.
Eventually, we slow. Her breathes in short, shallow pulls. Mine aren’t much better. I rest.
my forehead against hers, trying to calm myself.
“I could stay right here all night,” I whisper.
<Chapter 42
“Maybe you should,” she says with a soft smile.
I don’t think she realises how dangerous an offer that is. It’s one I’d love to take her up on, but I don’t push it. Instead, I kiss her one more time, sweet and slow, before gently helping her down
We don’t talk much after that. She heads into the living room to grab herptop, curling up on the couch with a mug of reheated tea while I clean up the kitchen, trying to shake the heat from my blood, but I can’t stop watching her through the open doorway.
She looks peaceful now, typing away with furrowed brows, and her bottom lip caught between her teeth. There’s a tiny crease on her forehead when she’s concentrating; I could study that for hours. I want tomit all of her faint freckles to my memory.
I lean against the counter, arms folded, and let the silence settle over me. She’s here, she kissed me, she let me in. And Goddess help me, I want more of her every second.
The weightes creeping in then, slow and suffocating
Ryder and Callen.
What the hell am I going to say to them?
It’s not like I
I’ve done anything wrong. The bond is there. It’s real, but we have never talked about what would happen if we all ended up fated to the same woman. I don’t think any of us really believed it could happen, so it’s not a conversation that ever came up.
Then there’s Remy. I haven’t seen my twin all day. He’s still out patrolling with the northern. scouts. Still volunteering for shifts that conveniently keep him far away from here.
He’s avoiding her, avoiding Callen and maybe even me.
I can’t even me him. He doesn’t know how to handle this. He doesn’t know how to act around her and Ryder. We had agreed to wait until Callen was home to tell them, but it’s bing hard to keep a distance from her when Ryder is around.
Now I’ve kissed her. Touched her. imed a part of her I’ve been aching for since the moment we met. It’s going to be even harder. And my brother is going to know I’ve kissed her the moment he walks back through that door. He’s my twin, he will sense the change in me.
I scrub a hand down my face, and exhale.
Paige nces up then, her eyes meeting mine. “You okay?<b>” </b>
5
< Chapter 42
I nod. Lie. “Yeah. Just thinking.”
She smiles, the kind of soft, sleepy smile that settles something deep inside me. “Don’t think
too hard.”
“Trying not to.”
I move into the room to sit across from her, but this time I’m different. We’re different.
When she goes back to her work, unaware of the storm building inside me, I promise myself I’ll handle it. All of it. Ryder, Callen and Remy, because Paige is worth it and I don’t want her stressing over any of it. So whatever it takes, I’ll make it happen.
I try to read my book, but my mind keeps wandering, and I realise I’ve been reading the same page for about twenty minutes. Eventually, the sound of her typing slows. Then stops. I nce up and see Paige curled sideways on the couch, one hand still resting on herptop, the other tucked beneath her cheek. Her breathing has gone soft and even, she’s in a deep sleep.
The mug of tea she barely touched sits forgotten on the table beside her. The soft glow from theptop screen casts light across her face, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything as peaceful.
I I stand and cross the room quietly, reaching to slide theptop off herp and close it gently. She doesn’t stir<b>, </b>just shifts slightly, a soft sigh escaping her lips. She must have been exhausted.
I linger beside the couch, debating. She should sleep in a bed. She’d be morefortable, but waking her now feels wrong. The idea of just watching her sleep here doesn’t feel right either.
I lean over to brush a strand of hair from her cheek. She hums in response but doesn’t wake up. My arms ache to lift her. She wouldn’t mind. I know that, but where would I take her? I can’t take her into my bed or Ryder will go crazy when hees home. I can’t bear to leave her alone in Rye’s bed either.
She trusted me enough to fall asleep here, in my space, nothing.
With her guard down. That’s not
I run a hand down my face and sigh quietly. “Should I carry you to bed or let you stay say under my breath. “Because either w
I’m not leaving you alone.”
here?” I
A sudden creak from the front door breaks the silence. I turn quickly, every instinct alert, but
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then I hear familiar footsteps, and sense his presence. Remy.
He walks in, stripping off his damp hoodie as he steps into the hallway. He doesn’t look at <ol><li>me. His attention goes straight to the couch. Straight to her. </li></ol>
His whole body freezes, and he sucks in a breath as he stares like he’s seen a ghost. I don’t
move, and neither does he. His eyes scan over her sleeping form, and something shes across his face, pain, longing, maybe even regret. It’s gone just as fast, but I saw it.
He swallows hard, jaw working as he finally tears his gaze away and looks at me.
“Is she okay?” He asks through the mind link.
“Yeah,” I nod.
His eyes flick back toward her, even though he clearly doesn’t want them to. “She looks…
peaceful.”
I say nothing, I can feel him trying to push it down. The bond. The pull. Pretending it’s not there won’t make it go away. I know that better than anyone.
“She’s peaceful because she’s around her mates, Rem. She’s ours. You know that.”
His jaw clenches. “Yours, maybe.”
“Don’t do that.” I step closer. “You felt it. Just like I did, and I saw the way you looked at her
<b>just </b>now,”
“I don’t know what you saw,” he shakes his head, “but I’ve got no im. Not really.”
“You do, Remy. She’s your mate. You’re just too scared to give her a chance.”
His <b>eyes </b>flick away, jaw tight. “It doesn’t matter. She’s got enough going on. Thest thing she needs is meplicating it more.”
“It’s not about what she needs, it’s about what fate has already decided. You can’t outrun a
bond.”
“Maybe not,” he mutters. “But I can have her reject me, and then I can stay out of the way. Maybe with just three mates she has a fighting chance, so let me be the one to bow out.”
<b>I </b>shake my head, frustrated. “That’s not noble, it’s cowardly.”
His eyes snap to mine, fire burning behind them. “And what would you have me do, Parker? Walk in here and stake a im like it doesn’t change everything? Like it won’t mess her up
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more than she already is? She’s human, for f**k’s sake! Even a she–wolf would struggle to
manage four mates, and you expect this fragile little thing to do it?”
I don’t answer. Not because I don’t have one, but because he’s right. She is overwhelmed. She
is trying to figure this out, one step at a time. But hiding from her<b>, </b>hiding from this, doesn’t fix
anything.
He exhales <b>a </b>slow, pained breath, raking a hand through his hair. “I just came to grab a
shower and head back out. I didn’t know she’d be here.”
“She lives here now,” I say bluntly. “This is home for her.”
He doesn’t reply. Just nods once and disappears down the hall.
I turn back to Paige. She’s still sleeping soundly. I grab a throw nket from the back of the
couch and drape it over her. She stirs slightly, curling into herself with a soft murmur, then
stills again.
I sit beside her, close enough to protect her but not close enough to wake her. I’ll stay right
here. Just in case. She deserves more than chaos and confusion. She deserves to rest, and when she’s ready, when we’re all ready… we’ll deal with everything else together.