Chapter 14
“Take your time and think.” His breath fanned against my face, making me shiver. “Ready to get cleaned up?”
I nodded and got out of bed. Trey stayed close, not touching, but I could feel the warmth of his body. When we made it to the bathroom, he turned on the shower, then helped me wash. With the water pouring down and his hands on me, I thought I’d get hard. But his touch was soothing, comforting, and full of care. Not sensual in the least. His care took everything to another level and I had to fight tears. It was stupid, crying, but I couldn’t help it. Though I closed my eyes and turned my face in the spray, trying to hide, Trey must have noticed. He didn’t say anything, but he wrapped his arms around my chest from behind, cradling my body to his, and placed a kiss on my temple. It helped, for whatever reason, and I pulled myself together.
The shower was quick and just about getting clean, and when it was over, he dried me first with a big fluffy towel, then himself. Back in the hall, I turned toward the room I’d stayed in the previous night, but Trey’s gentle touch on my arm steered me back to his room. He nudged me onto the mattress, turned out the light, then got in behind me. Without hesitation, he wrapped me in his arms.
My thoughts were a mess, and I had too much to think about. But held in Trey’s embrace, I drifted off to sleep.
* * * *
I woke to an empty bed. That was fine with me. Thinking about last night and everything Trey had said filled me with an anxious energy, so instead of doing as I’d been instructed and thinking about it, I pushed it away.
I didn’t want to think about it. Not right now.
I scurried back to my room, threw on clean clothes, and went in search of breakfast. Before I even got to the stairs, I heard a bright peal of laughter and the padding of feet, both which clearly belonged to a child. A moment later, an answering deep rumble that definitely wasn’t Trey reached my ears. I couldn’t make out the words. At this distance and with how softly the person spoke, there was no hope for it. But I somehow wasn’t surprised when I found Duncan sitting in the living room.
The two children were a surprise, though.
The little girl was about five or six. Her long dark hair cascaded down her back in fat ringlets, and she was wearing a pink dress with a blue tulle skirt. She had Duncan’s light blue-gray eyes and his infectious warm smile. She skidded to a halt when she saw me, then ran over.
“Who are you?”
“Nora,” Duncan chastised mildly. “This is Uncle Trey’s guest, Asher, that I told you about.”
Her eyes went wide and her mouth dropped open. Then she gave a delighted squeal of glee. “You’re a bear?”
I cleared my throat, ignoring the way the innocent question panged in my chest. “Uh. Sorta.”
“Sorta?” This came from the boy of about ten lounging with lanky grace on one of the recliners. He never took his gaze off whatever handheld game had his attention, but he made a disbelieving sound before continuing. “What does that even mean?”
“Manners, Charlie,” Duncan snapped. Charlie looked up then, right at his father.
“Sorry, Daddy.”
Duncan nodded his acceptance, and only then did Charlie turn his attention back to his game. Duncan stood and smiled at me as he crossed the room. “How about some breakfast?”
I smiled back. “I can get it.”
Duncan waved that away. “I already made pancakes for the kids. Plenty of batter left. I figured you’d be hungry. Let me throw some on the griddle for you.”
I followed Duncan into the kitchen where there was indeed a bowl of batter sitting next to the stove. I watched him for a long moment as he turned on the burner, then reached into a nearby cupboard and pulled out a mug. Without a word, he filled it with coffee and brought it to me.
“Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” Duncan ladled out four perfectly round pancakes, then picked up a spatula. “Sorry about the kids. They have the day off. School’s closed for a superintendent’s day.”
I latched on to the easy subject. “They go to school in Mariot?” I asked, mentioning the nearby town.
Duncan nodded. “Trey wants to start a school here on pack lands, but right now, we have only a couple of dozen kids, so it doesn’t make sense. He has it in his long-term plans, though, as the pack continues to grow.”
And that drew attention to the elephant in the room. “Uh. Where is Trey?”
“He got called in to work.” Duncan shot me a smile before turning his attention to the pancakes and flipping them over. “He didn’t want you to wake up alone, and since I was home because of the kids, he asked me to hang out here.”
If he didn’t want me to wake up alone, he should have been here. Or woken me before he left. I tried not to be hurt by the fact that he wasn’t. Trey was the pack alpha, he was busy and important. And apparently had a job.