Page 61 of Rugged Hearts: Part One
“Did someone tell him these were my favorite?” There are nos and head shakes all around. I must have mentioned them at some point, but he heard and remembered. That alpha is beyond frustrating and confusing.
Deciding to put that whole situation out of my head for now, I continue enjoying the food. The guys talk a little, but I kind of tune them out. I still feel super tired. Once I finish, I look to Keelan questioningly. He knows, of course. Sighing from where he sits at the end of the bed, he fills me in on what happened.
I’m so angry that happened in the middle of us having sex for the first time since we bonded and after that talk, and for Gods’ sake I told him I love him. Way to ruin the moment, Thea. My anger must travel down the bond because I see Keelan actually flinch as I ruminate on my anger. “I’m so sorry Keelan, I didn’t mean to ruin our night together.”
Confusion then quickly anger of his own floods the bond. “You have nothing to be sorry about, we knew a mini heat could happen at any moment. It did and we took care of you. We have time for everything else, remember?” he reassures.
I push my love down the bond and feel his in return. Lookingaround, Liam, Eli, and Ben are to my right and Parker and Jake are to my left. “Are you all staying up here tonight?” I ask.
“If you’re okay with that we will,” Jake responds. Smiling, I nod.
Looking at the positions, I clap my hands and say, “Okay swap out.” They have no idea what I mean. Rolling my eyes, I say again, “Swap positions. Parker and Liam were next to me when I woke up so the rest of the night should be Eli and Jake’s turn.”
Eli is grinning from ear to ear. Ben is even smiling softly at that as he says, “You heard the boss, get a move on.” I laugh. Parker pouts a little but it’s just his way to get an extra long hug. As if I won’t see him in a few hours. Keelan doesn’t say anything but I have a feeling he was also cuddled into me, since his scent and Parker’s are the strongest on my shirt. I lie back down this time, facing to my left, Jake. Eli wastes no time in spooning me from behind. His scent and the joy it brings feels so comforting after all the heaviness of tonight. Jake is kinda far, so I scoot a little closer, Eli following me. “Is this okay?” I whisper to Jake.
He looks like he’s really thinking about it before he answers, “More than okay.” Then he leans over and kisses me so softly I’d second guess if he did it. “Please don’t ever scare me like that again,” he adds.
“I’ll try,” I say since that’s all I can do. If my mini heats are this bad, Liam is definitely right to be worried about when my actual heat hits. Problem for future Thea, present me has enough to worry about at the moment.
When I wake next everyone is still asleep from what I can see. Based on the light streaming in from the massive floor to ceiling windows taking up the wall opposite the bed, it’s very early in the morning. The sun is just starting to rise. The sky has that beautiful blend of oranges, pinks, and purples as the moon sets and the sun rises. Very slowly, I climb out of the massive bed and tangle oflimbs. I’m going to assume this skill is one I’ll acquire over time. Walking over to the windows, I gaze at the sky. This view really is amazing, the lake glistening in this light and the frost that accumulated overnight clinging to the grass in the backyard.
I look back at the bed, noticing that Liam is missing. Maybe he gets up earlier in order to be at the office by a certain time? Even though I’ve lived here for a few weeks I still haven’t figured out their day-to-day schedules. Deciding to go looking for him, especially after last night, I quietly leave the room and go down to the main floor of the house. Coffee is where most of these men begin their mornings so it’s a safe bet the kitchen is a good place to check. As I get closer there’s music playing. It’s instrumental, very ambient. It makes me think of a magical forest. This grumpy doctor continues to surprise me.
Rounding the corner into the kitchen I see him there in a white t-shirt and sweats, sitting at the kitchen island on his laptop. I try to sneak up on him but being so sensitive to scents can make that nearly impossible. As I approach him he turns his head, likely picking up my scent. “Are you feeling okay?” he asked worriedly.
“I’m fine, just woke up and saw you were gone. I searched all over the house, even the basement, it’s spooky down there,” I say theatrically, wondering if he’ll take the bait.
He raises an eyebrow. “You know the basement is a walk out and gets a ton of natural light, right? Doesn’t scream dark and scary.”
“You could play along to the bit just once.” I lean into his side. His laptop has some research articles about omega heats. He’s up at the crack of dawn researching about my medical issues. He may be a little prickly but he’s sweet where it counts. “C’mon, you need a break,” I say as I close his laptop.
“Thea, you can’t?—”
“Work isn’t everything and you’ve researched everything possible that relates to my heat. Let’s just enjoy this ridiculously early morning and the quiet of the house,” I say pleadingly.
Sighing, he gets up from his seat, grabbing my hand and walking me away from the island to a more open area of the kitchen. Placing his other hand on my lower back, he pulls me in close. Is he? Holy shit, he begins to sway and move us with the music. The biggest smile spreads across my face. Liam is dancing with me. He moves us around the kitchen at one point twirling me, making me laugh as he does. His smile joins mine. He has such a nice one, I want to see it more. He’s always so serious. There’s nothing wrong with that but smiling every now and then is important. His green eyes are alight with happiness. I rest my head against his chest as we slow to a gentle swaying. A light purr begins in his chest, I feel it vibrate against where my head is resting. I feel so relaxed and at peace in this moment with him. I hope Connor is watching this—he was secretly a sap for romantic moments. He’d probably be mad he didn’t think to do it.
“Sweetheart?”
“Mhm?”
“Do you want to go out with me this week?”
I tilt my head back to look up at him. He looks nervous. I’m starting to understand my grumpy doctor’s emotional communication skills are a bit rusty. I actually like his ways. I tighten my arms that are already around him, smiling, I say, “Yeah I’d like that,” before resting my head back on his chest and swaying to the music as the sky melts from pink to orange to blue.
47
JAKE
“Are you ready?” I ask Parker as I walk into his office.
“Yes, you need to relax. Your anxiety is giving me anxiety,” he says, not taking his eyes off his computer.
He’s not wrong. I’ve barely spent any time with Thea since I threw myself into working to find her stalker. Then the other night with that mini heat scare…The only positive of that night was being able to sleep next to her and finally getting the nerve to kiss her. Having her scent wrapped around me, even for the few hours we slept, resulted in the best night’s sleep of my life. Which is saying a lot considering by the time I left the FBI, my insomnia was at its worst and it took probably six months of being up here to help regulate some kind of sleep schedule.
Clutching the multiple folders in my hand, I impatiently wait for Parker. Thankfully it isn’t long until he’s closing his laptop, bringing it with him as we leave his office. Everyone is in the dining room tonight. We had dinner over an hour ago so hopefully this won’t sour anyone’s stomach. Thea is sitting in between Ben and Eli tonight. Liam, Keelan, and Micah sit opposite them, leaving the head of the table empty for me and Parker to present our findings. I can feel myself reverting back to my professionalism as if I’m debriefing a superior on a case.I shake that off, noone needs to see that version of me. That person was miserable and burnt out. I hope I never see that version of myself again, let alone Thea.
“So I gathered everyone here to update you on what Parker and I have found regarding Thea’s stalker.” I notice her stiffen and feel bad instantly but there’s no way around this. We have to talk through what we found to narrow it down and we need her input. “First we read through the letters he sent you, Parker scanned them so we have digital copies as well.” It took me a long time to get through those letters. The feral rage that wanted to consume me knowing he wrote them to my omega, and that last letter where he admits to killing Connor. I can’t imagine her reading that after losing the one person she’s loved for years.