And once that happened, the university would come crawling, begging her to return.
Cassidy felt lighter as she molded the dough into a round loaf, slapped it on a sheet, and slid it into the oven. Now she had a plan. A good one. One that didn't relegate her to playing pretend or hiding in the shadows.
She even managed a genuine smile when Samson came through the door a few minutes later. Whatever he'd been doing out there that morning, it'd been hard work. Beads of sweat dotted his temples and forehead.
He sniffed the air before peeling off his damp shirt. Cassidy drew in a sharp breath as the sun streaming through the windows lit his broad, bare chest.
Damn, would she ever get used to seeing that beautiful sight? She certainly hoped not.
"You're making bread?" he asked, his brows pulling together, almost as if the idea confused him.
"Yeah.” She leaned against the counter, openly staring at his half-naked body. "I wanted to feel useful."
"You know how to bake?"
"I own a toothbrush too," she shot back with a laugh.
A smile teased his lips. He stepped toward her.
"You owned one," he reminded her. "We'll have to order you a new one from Evander's."
She stuck her tongue out at him, but his smile only grew. He wrapped one arm around her waist and pulled her close.
Pressed against his massive body, Cassidy felt small. Protected. Safe. She leaned her head against his chest and drew in a deep breath.
"What were you doing out there all morning?" she asked.
"The usual morning routine," he said, offering no more explanation.
Cassidy could guess. She'd interviewed a lot of alphas and learned a surprising amount about how they spent their days and survived in a non-beta economy.
They timbered and milled their own wood. They also kept game, distilled spirits, tapped the springs for water. Some created their own leather and wood goods. There was plenty of trading between alpha brothers and a few trusted beta merchants.
"I'd love to follow along with you some morning," she said.
"For research?" he asked, his tone teasing.
"Well, actually…" Cassidy pulled back from his embrace just far enough to look up into his eyes. "While you were out working, I had some time to think. I've decided to keep going with my research."
Samson nodded. "Good."
Cassidy let out a sigh of relief. For some reason, she'd feared that he wouldn't be supportive. That he'd want her to throw all the pieces of her old life away.
"Wonderful," she said with a smile. "Because if you don't mind, I want to publish a paper about our relationship, and really dive into the possible reasons for our nature-based anomalies."
With every word, Cassidy felt Samson's body stiffen under her touch. By the end, he was standing as straight and rigid as a steel beam. And the look in his eye was just as unforgiving.
"I mind," he said through gritted teeth.
"What?" She blinked, confused. "I thought you just said you wanted me to continue my research."
"Your research, yes," he said. "But I won't allow you to share the details of our private life."
"Why not?"
"Because it's our life," he said, breaking away from her. "Yours and mine. It's no one's business."
He stormed over to the sink, drew water into the basin, and started scrubbing the dirt from his hands. Even from across the room, Cassidy could feel the tension crackling in the air around him.
"I won't use our real names," she tried to reassure him. "It would be totally anonymous."
Samson went still, the muscles of his shoulders rigid. "We are not your newest research project. This isn't some game, Cassidy."
"No, shit," she said. As if she didn't know that. A hell of a lot more than he did.
He spun around, piercing her with a glower that would have withered her yesterday…but not this morning.
Something had shifted inside her. Something that made her truly believe that she had every right, not just to meet Samson's gaze, but to tell him exactly how she felt.
"I woke up this morning with my old life in tatters. Everything I'd ever worked for, everything thing I ever dreamed about accomplishing, gone. Just like that," she said, snapping her fingers. "Yes, I have you now, and that's great, but…"
"But what?"
"But now I have to find my place in this new life."
Samson crossed his arms. "And being by my side isn't enough? You want to parade the intimate details of our life in front of the beta world for what—a sense of validation?"
Frustration surged inside Cassidy. How could someone be so wonderful and so maddening at the same time?
"I don't want to parade anything," she shouted. "I want to share. Don't you see what a huge deal this is? No one has ever documented an alpha/beta relationship. We might be the first."
"I don't give a shit about that." His voice rose, shaking the stack of cups at his side.
"Well, I do," she said, undeterred by his show of anger. "This is who I am, Samson. You got to leave the cabin this morning and go about your normal routine. You got to be you. I love you like nothing else in this world, but I can't stop being myself just so I can sleep in your bed."
Samson growled. The rumble shook the air between them—deeper and lower than any Cassidy had ever heard before. Without thinking, she stumbled back a step and held herself up against the kitchen counter.
A part of her waited for the worst. For Samson to rage and tear the house apart. Hell, maybe tear her apart.
But he didn't. Instead, he pushed away from the sink and stormed out the front door without another word, leaving Cassidy shocked and trembling.
And wondering if she'd finally gone too far this time.
* * *
She loved him.
She'd said the words. Unbidden. Without hesitation or shame. More importantly, she'd meant them. He could sense the depth of her feelings, and they were every bit as strong as her passion.
He shouldn't have been surprised. They'd been growing
