Page 73 of All Packed Up

Then he lay there, mind racing.

That hadn’t just happened. There was no way.

Frustration burned up the arousal that had been flooding his veins. It sizzled away in a flash of heat that matched the still flickering embers in the pit, and Nic rolled to find his balance. Once he was on his feet, he dusted off his clothes and faced Griffith.

The alpha had a stupid happy grin on his face, and all Nic could do was stare. What the fuck was he so happy about?

Nic blew out a frustrated breath, and caught Griffith’s attention.

“I know Wendy is nearing her heat, and her pheromones are everywhere, so I understand why you did that. But just… don’t.”

A soft growl reverberated through the night, and Nic lifted his gaze to the alpha.

An alpha who looked pissed.

“You think I kissed you just because some omega’s heat cycle has got my blood running hot?”

Nic’s lips parted on an answer that wouldn’t come.

“Fuck you, Nic.” Grif stepped forward and jabbed a finger into Nic’s chest.

Yes, it hurt.

“I missed you,” Griffith hissed, low and dangerous. His gaze unwavering as he stared at Nic. “I missed you. That’s why I had to kiss you.”

Unable to accept it, Nic shook his head and backed away. “No, it’s fine. That’s just what you think, but Wendy is—”

“In heat, I know. And it doesn’t matter. I missed you even before my phone rang. And I’ve wanted to kiss you for longer.”

Nic could do nothing but stare at the alpha, the flicker of flames the only light in the privacy of the night.

Nic thought of what they were. What they’d been and how it ended. He’d left Griffith standing all alone on the sidewalk. Nic had fucked up, irreparably. His heart sank into the tide of guilt that washed through him.

“We can’t,” he said, engraving finality into his tone.

Not after what he’d done. Not after he was here asking Griffith for a favor even though he had no right. Not when Nic was sharing a room with the omega, helping her through her heat right beneath his nose. It wasn’t even two hours ago that he had been inside her, that she’d come for him to the thought of the very alpha in front of Nic.

And Nic had just made out with him. Could still taste him on his lips.

Talk about complicated.

“It just doesn’t… feel right anymore,” Nic lied. Nothing felt righter than when he was with Griffith.

“Nic—”

“We don’t need to make this more complicated than it already is,” Nic said, voice soft but firm. “So please… don’t.”

Nic didn’t see Griffith’s face fall because he turned toward the house, his back to the fire and the alpha.

Griffith was better off without him. With this beautiful home he had, the self-sufficient land he worked on, happy go lucky Daisy… Griffith was doing good. Better than Nic could have ever hoped for him.

So this was for the best. Nic would help Wendy through her heat. Figure out what she wanted from there, and Griffith could go back to his peaceful life absent of drama and chaos.

They couldn’t complicate things by reigniting the simmer of attraction from their early twenties.

At least that was what Nic told himself as the front door shut behind him.

Because the real reason was so damning he didn’t even want to admit it.