Page 34 of Home With Holden

This wasn’t going to end on an apology. Not this time.

I lifted him further onto the desk, papers forgotten beneath us, the rest of the world falling away. This wasn’t just desire—it was everything. Hope, possibility—all tangled together in the space between us.

He looked up at me, breathless, and for the first time, I saw it. Not just the vulnerability. The want. The same ache that had been gnawing at me from the second I scented him.

And I’d be damned if I didn’t give him exactly what he needed.

I was his mate—it was my duty and my pleasure.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

MYLO

I just wantedto make things right with Holden—nothing more. I walked over to his office, cookies in hand, rehearsing my apology the whole way there. It was supposed to be simple. Just a little peace offering to smooth things over. After all, I owed him that much after everything I’d said when I got majorly wasted. But as I stood there in his office, the cookies still warm in my hands and my nerves getting the best of me, my stomach flipped in ways that said my breakfast was threatening to make an appearance.

What if this made things worse?

I’d walked into that room with my heart still pounding. I had no idea why I was so nervous—this was just an apology. Maybe it was because this was Holden. He was an alpha, he was my boss, and oh yeah—someone who could rip this new life I’d somehow stumbled into, and definitely didn’t want to lose, away with two words:You’re fired.

So I definitely hadn’t seen any of this coming. The kiss… and more!

But deep down, I’d hoped.

The world tilted beneath me as he kissed me, the heat of his body pressed between my legs where he had me balanced on thedesk. It was all so much—too much—and somehow not enough. His hands roamed up my back, fingers pressing into my skin like he was scared I’d disappear if he let go.

I wasn’t sure who was making all the little sounds—him or me—but it didn’t matter. All that mattered was him, here, now.

I couldn’t believe it. After all the hot-and-cold, after the way he kept pulling away like he couldn’t stand to be near me, we were finally here. And he was kissing me like his life depended on it.

And maybe mine did too—or at least the part that hoped for more than just surviving.

My hands were lost in his hair—that thick, wild hair that always looked perfectly styled. I’d wondered what it would feel like, and now I knew—soft, but not too soft, and something I could hold onto when my world felt like it was spinning. I tugged a little, and the growl that rumbled out of him was enough to send a shiver straight down my spine.

“Holden,” I whispered against his mouth, feeling the heat of his breath mingle with mine.

He pulled back just enough to look at me, his eyes dark and filled with something I couldn’t quite name. “What is it?” His voice was hoarse, the words catching like they didn’t quite want to come out.

I swallowed, feeling my heart pound in my chest, and tried to get my bearings. “I still don’t understand... all this time, you kept pushing me away, like I was some kind of?—”

“Mistake?” His voice cracked, and something raw flashed across his eyes before he closed them, exhaling hard. “You have no idea how hard I’ve tried to do the right thing, Mylo. I didn’t want you hurt because of me.”

“I don’t need protecting,” I said, sharper than I meant to, but damn it, he needed to hear it. I wasn’t fragile—not in the way he thought, at least. Sure, I’d been through some stuff, and maybe Ihad scars from it. But that didn’t mean I couldn’t decide what I wanted for myself. “I’m not some kid who needs saving.”

Holden’s eyes snapped open, and for a heartbeat, I thought I’d ruined the moment, said too much. But then, he smiled—this slow, almost reverent smile that made my stomach flip. He leaned in, forehead pressing against mine, his breath ghosting over my lips.

“I know, but that doesn’t mean you don’t need to be protected,” he whispered, his voice cracking just enough that I could feel how real this was for him. “But it’s not just that, Mylo. You’re not like anyone I’ve ever known. You make me want things I’m not sure I deserve.”

I blinked, my heart stuttering in my chest, and suddenly everything felt too raw—like he was peeling me open and showing me something too vulnerable.

“You deserve whatever you want, Holden. You’re a good guy... better than most.”

He pulled back, looking at me like he wasn’t quite sure if he believed me. I took a deep breath, deciding that maybe I needed to be the brave one here. I cupped his face, brushing my thumb over the scruff of his jaw.

“You want me, right? Because... I want you too.”

There. I’d said it.

Holden closed his eyes, letting out a shuddering breath before opening them again, and when he did, there was nothing held back in those beautiful brown depths.