Page 39 of Resisted

I turned to look at her. “Old? Not really. He’s a good guy, even if he’s doing a shit job of showing it. He’s a solid problem solver. He’s always kept us generally safe and doesn’t wield the alpha card often.”

“As much as I hear it, I would’ve thought it was his favorite phrase.” She deepened her voice to mock him while her brows pulled together. “I’m the alpha of this subpack, and what I say goes.”

“He doesn’t sound like that.” I laughed, because honestly, he really did.

“Does too!” She deepened her voice. “Boyce, you better not be in there talking to Bella.”

I smirked. “Guess I better leave then.”

I moved to sit up, and she reached out, pulling me back. “Don’t.”

I’m a sucker for those enormous eyes, a damn fool for the girl, even when I wasn’t supposed to be. “Okay.”

“Okay.” She sighed.

“Okay.”

Her body rolled into mine, her thigh over my own, and she fit absolutely, fucking perfectly against my side. What was I supposed to do when she left? Pretend like this girl wasn’t the only thing I’d ever wanted since the moment she kissed me at sixteen? Shit, I’d already done that for what felt like a lifetime. I could do it for a lifetime more, but I didn’t want to.

I tried not to relax my body under hers. Tried not to get too comfortable as she let out a content sigh. Tried not to wish for more as I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.

Chapter 16

BELLA

I openedmy eyes and blinked a few times. The room was still dark, but I knew it was morning. I hadn’t remembered falling asleep. I doubted I even set my alarm for work, but I knew I would make it on time. I stretched my arm, hitting a solid mass.

“What the fuck,” I muttered as the mass grumbled, “Fuck, my eye.”

My body jumped up so fast, you would have thought there was a fire under me. He hardly blinked. At least I didn’t think he did. His body posture was definitely one of little concern, though his hand was covering his eye. “You didn’t have to punch me in the eye, Bella. I would have moved. I think you did some damage, for real.”

This time, I punched him intentionally, right in the shoulder. “It was an accident.” He gave me a half-ass grunt, though I knew my punch didn’t hurt. “What are you doing in my bed?”

He sat up, his shirt skewed, displaying a delicious stripe of skin. “It’s a little blurry. I probably shouldn’t have had that last shot.”

You and me both, buddy. I looked down, thankful that all my clothes were on at least, though one of my boobs was precariously close to popping out of my tank. “I need to go to work.”

I moved to get out of the bed, and his arm wrapped around my waist before he pulled me close to him. His body heat engulfed me. “We only talked, Bella. Then fell asleep.”

I thought as much, but it was reassuring hearing him verbalize it. Still, after his reassurance, he didn’t move to let go of my waist. “Are you going to release me?”

He looked at his watch. “It’s four A.M. I was hoping to snuggle.”

Boyce? A snuggler? Who would have thought? “It’s four A.M. on a work day.”

He groaned. “Can you call in sick?”

I snorted. Besides the fact that shifters rarely get sick… “It would take a lot more of a good time than just sleeping next to you to get me to call in sick.”

He raised a brow. “Is that a challenge? If so, challenge accepted.”

His comment earned him another punch in the arm. “Seriously, I have to go.” I paused. “And so should you. If Silas found you in here…”

“Silas will be angry, regardless. I’ll sleep wherever the fuck I want.” He flopped back down again.

“You’re sounding like Vincent.”

He flopped an arm over his eyes. “Yeah well, that grumpy bastard is obviously on to something.”