Page 17 of All Packed Up

She dimmed the lights, let the afternoon sunshine cut in through the half closed blinds, and opened the door.

Wendy bounced across the room and dove into her nest. The big tee she was wearing got stuck under her hips, so she wiggled until she could get some leeway and lay down comfortably.

By the time she was settled, she heard footsteps in the hallway.

Her heart pounded in her chest, and the orgasms she’d been chasing all morning seemed for naught, because the moment she saw Nic in the doorway, she wanted.

A beta was perfect to help her through this heat. The fact that she’d stumbled upon the nicest beta in Upton was just… too good to be true.

She was glad the sisters were smiling down upon her kindly. Wendy could have found anyone in that gym, or on the street, or anywhere between the moment she’d left and hadn’t looked back.

But she’d found him.

And now she was about to have him.

* * *

Wendy was sprawled out in her nest, curled up with a pillow that had a black cat embroidered on the front. Because Nic was adorable and he’d clearly thought of her when he’d seen the pillow and she tried not to let her heart trip over itself.

Heat stirred in her belly.

She felt comfortable. Relaxed.

“Hey,” Nic said, pausing by the doorway.

“You can come in,” Wendy called out, sitting up.

He wasn’t meeting her gaze when he spoke. “Before I do… I just want to make sure that this isn’t… I’m not taking advantage of you,” he declared, and then sounded a whole lot less sure of himself. “Right? I mean… you’re on the run from your pack. You’re in heat. You’re literally at your most vulnerable and it doesn’t feel right to…”

Wendy’s lips twitched. She was an omega, not a child. She could make her own decisions, even with her heat approaching.

And for the first time, Wendy wasn’t under the watchful eyes of a clueless father or a pack of assholes.

This beta was the most refreshing person she’d met in years. Was it so wrong for her to want him to help with her heat?

I’m horny, not helpless.

“You’re allowed to change your mind, is all I’m trying to say,” Nic finished.

Any reservations she might have had about the situation dissipated in the empty air left by his admission. She doubted anything would change her mind.

New confidence bubbled under the surface as Wendy slid from the bed, stripped off her shirt, and silently crossed the room. Nic was leaning against the doorjamb, staring resolutely at the floor, eyes closed, square jaw clenched. He was freshly showered, and his lovely scent filled her senses, a spring day, pink petals fluttering under a gentle breeze.

His head snapped to the right, nostrils flaring.

Emboldened by the darkening of his gaze, she grabbed his wrist and pulled him into the room.

“Jesus,” he whispered as he followed her, finally seeing her choice of wardrobe.

Wendy couldn’t help the way her lips curled.

“I’ve already made up my mind, Knockout,” she told him, pulling him toward the bed. “Have you?”

His gaze leapt from studying her curves to her eyes, and the heat he promised made her pulse jump.

“Yeah… I think I have,” he murmured, voice deeper and more decadent than the finest desserts.

Suddenly the dynamic shifted. He was herding her toward the bed, instead of her leading him.