“Smells amazing in here. I wasn’t going to come in, but my nose wouldn’t let me stay away. I need to hire a cook or something,” Emmet said as he made his way to the table. His pronounced limp was too natural—too practiced—to be new. When she thought of the pain Niko had been in only a couple of hours ago, it made her wonder how severe the man’s injury had been for him not to have healed fully.
Luca huffed but kept his mouth shut.
“You don’t need to hire a cook. All you—” Niko said.
“Don’t,” Emmet warned, his warm amber eyes going as cold as ice. “I had Luca harping on me all fucking evening last night. I don’t need to hear it again.”
Niko stared at Emmet, then shrugged. “Your loss, man. Where is everyone?”
“Jaxon is at home with his mate. He’ll be by in an hour.”
Niko groaned, and Rylee grinned. He hadn’t disguised the lust in his eyes earlier. She half suspected he planned to whisk her back upstairs the second his bowl was empty. As much as she wanted that, too, she wanted him to have more time to heal.
“Cole and Styx are here on the property. Cameron and his crew are out in the forest, looking for the cougar. Bonnie and Len are in town.” The last was more growl than words.
“It’s just as good as it smelled. I’m Emmet, by the way,” the man said as he reached for a roll.
“Better,” Niko agreed.
“Tastes like more,” Luca added as he stood and made his way to the stove for seconds.
“Thank you. I’m glad you’re enjoying it. I’m Rylee.” Who could blame her if her voice was a little breathless? She never cooked for others. Her insides fluttered harder under their praise than while being hunted by the vampire.
Glancing around the table, she could almost see herself as part of this family unit. Even though she had yet to meet most of the pack, she suspected the others were included in that fold, too. Did she want that for herself? Of course, who wouldn’t? The question was, should she want it? What if her next job brought even more danger to Dexter? What if someone got hurt, or worse, killed? The men wouldn’t look at her the same. The gentle acceptance—maybe even budding affection—in their eyes would turn cold. Her heart stuttered, and the spoon she hadn’t even realized she was still holding clinked as it hit the bottom of her now empty bowl.
Her gaze shot to Niko. His eyebrows knitted together, the worry in his eyes making her heart pound that much harder. “Everything okay?”
She sucked in a breath to ease the ache in her chest. Being cast aside after having had a taste of belonging was unimaginable. Now, she knew what she’d be missing, and after only one day. How bad would it hurt after a week? A year? It would break her.
She swallowed hard and pushed her chair back. “I’d like to have a quick shower before your Alpha comes, if you don’t mind,” she said, not bothering to wait for a response before she dashed from the room and ran up the stairs.
Thirteen
What the fuck? One second, Rylee was grinning at the compliments she’d received—and rightly so, the food was fucking unbelievable—and the next, she had shut down. Emmet had asked her a question, but she didn’t hear him, or if she did, she ignored him. She’d eaten her stew on autopilot, not stopping until she’d emptied her bowl, and when she’d finally snapped out of it, the look in her eyes would have taken Niko to his knees had he not already been sitting.
“Give her a few minutes,” Emmet suggested when Niko pushed his chair back, ready to follow.
He couldn’t do it. As sound as the advice was, he needed to see her—talk to her. It hadn’t just been pain he’d witnessed in her eyes, though that was at the forefront. It was something so much worse. Something he couldn’t face—wouldn’t accept. She was leaving.
He rapped softly at the bathroom door, not wanting to startle her.
To his surprise, it opened right away. Rylee stood there, her eyes bright and her chin jutting out. “I’m sorry for being so weird down there.”
He wasn’t sure what he’d expected coming up to the bedroom, but this hadn’t been it. It was like a veil had come down, shuttering the woman he knew her to be inside and presenting him with a stranger.
“You okay?” he asked, reaching for her.
“Fine.” Rylee sidestepped and turned her back on him to rifle through the bags she’d yet to unpack. “I’m going to head out. I appreciate everything you’ve done for me so far, but I think I’ll do better on my own.”
The air exploded from his lungs in a whoosh. He’d seen the goodbye in her eyes, but he hadn’t expected it to come so soon. “Why?”
“It’s just for the best if I go.” Her shoulders drooped a little, but she didn’t face him.
Bullshit. He crossed the room and turned her toward him. If she was going to rip his fucking heart out of his chest, she could damned well look him in the eye to do it.
***
Rylee had expected Niko’s protest when she told him she was leaving. What she hadn’t counted on was the pain those few words would cause. Her back was to him, but she didn’t need to see to know she’d hurt him.
His sharp exhale, followed by a sound that came from deep inside, like the grunt a man might make when sucker-punched in the gut told her what her eyes could not.
“Why?” he’d
