Page 86 of Daisy

Daisy

I'm going to burn this place down.

Not the cabin. The cabin's innocent. But whatever I'm doing to this pasta? This can't be what it's supposed to look like.

"It's supposed to bubble," August says beside me. His voice carries that smile I'm starting to crave more than my next breath.

"Bubble?" I stare at the pot that's practically bouncing on the stove. "This looks like it's about to explode."

He laughs. Oh my goodness, that sound. His warm cedar scent flooding my senses, wrapping around me like the warmest, safest blanket. It's more muted than the alphas' scents. Softer, gentler, but still so much stronger than it should be for a beta.

"Turn it down." His hand covers mine on the dial. Gentle. Sure. The contact sends tingling warmth up my arm and settles somewhere low in my belly that makes me want to squirm.

His scent, his warmth, the way he's looking at me like I'm something precious instead of something to be managed. My body responds instantly. Heat pools between my thighs. Slick gathering, my body preparing itself in ways that make mesquirm. I wonder if this is what normal feels like. If this is what my body is supposed to do when I'm around someone I want.

"Better?" His voice has gone rough around the edges. Deeper. Like something is stirring beneath his careful control.

He can smell me. Without my blockers, there's nothing hiding my reaction from him. He knows exactly what he does to me. The knowledge should embarrass me, but instead it makes my nipples tighten against the soft fabric of my sweater.

"Much better." I look up, and something passes between us.Want. The kind of want that makes smart people do stupid things.

Three days in this cabin. Three days of feeling more like myself and less like Uncle's perfect little omega project. Yesterday I helped Hawk clean the van and got a little dirty. This morning I beat Dante at cards and did a victory dance that made everyone laugh until their sides hurt.

But this? Learning something real, something I actually want to know? This feels different. Like we're building something instead of just surviving.

"What made you want to learn?" August adds salt to the water like he was born knowing how to cook. Everything about him is competent in the most attractive way possible.

I think about it. "I was never allowed in kitchens before. Servants did everything. Theperfect omegawasn't supposed to know how to take care of herself."

"Can't have you being independent." There's an edge in his voice I don't hear often.

"Exactly." I lean against the counter, watching him move. He's graceful in a way that's purely him—gentle and scholarly but completely capable. He’s tall for a beta, most beta’s at the Omega House were much closer in height to the omegas.

"But I want to know how. I want to be able to feed myself. Feed the people I care about." I smile and the way he looks at me. Like I just said something wonderful instead of obvious.

"You already feed us, sunshine."

"With what? I can barely boil water."

He stops stirring. Turns to face me fully. "You make us better. Calmer. More ourselves than we've ever been."

My breath catches. "Really?"

"Really." His scent deepens, goes complex in ways that make my pulse skip. "You know what you've given us?"

I shake my head.

"Purpose. Family. A reason to be better men." He steps closer. Close enough that I'm drowning in something grounding and warm, like being wrapped in a wool blanket by a fire. "Cassian's had nightmares his whole life. Every single night. But since you've been sleeping near us? They stopped completely."

"They did?"

"They did. And Gunner's been carrying guilt about his sister for years. Watching you choose to trust him, watching you bloom under his protection… it's healing something that's been broken inside him since he was seventeen."

Oh my.My chest feels too tight. "I didn't know."

"Hawk's been running from anything real his whole life. Terrified of caring too much. And Dante's convinced he's too damaged to deserve good things." August is close enough now that I can feel his warmth. "But you see all of us. Really see us. Somehow that makes us worthy."

"You were already worthy."