"We should really get to work," she said, tearing herself away and starting to pull at the tangled branches.
"You sure about that?" Cade's voice was lazy and deep, a husky invitation. She'd seen the lust simmering in his eyes before she turned away. "It's still early. There's a lot of daylight left…time to do all kinds of things."
A rush of liquid heat pooled deep in Emily's belly. "I'm sure there is," she stammered before returning to her task.
She knew her deliberate misunderstanding wouldn't fool Cade for a second. Still, she was counting on the promise he'd given her to keep him silent about it.
Because the truth was that she'd never been more uncertain of anything in her life.
Chapter Nine
Cade watched Emily work out of the corner of his eye as he dragged the heaviest branches from where they'd lodged in the muddy stream bottom.
It was torture, he decided, to have to see the thin, almost transparent wet fabric of Emily's shirt clinging to her body, outlining her breasts, showcasing her hard nipples as she moved. Her feet were planted shoulder-width apart as she tried to keep her balance in the current. From between her legs, he caught the scent of slick, betraying a desire that was quickly washed away by the running water.
Emily wanted him.
The knowledge made Cade want to heave the log he held up onto the bank with a howl that would echo through the entire valley, marking this omega as his own. He wanted to press her chilled body to his and dip his fingers into the source of that precious slick and show her how much it turned him on.
This wasn't just her omega instincts at work anymore.
Yes, Emily's omega nature reacted to the sight of his alpha body…but that didn't explain the way her eyes darkened to navy blue, the tiny vulnerability she was allowing him to see.
The question of how Emily felt about him was no longer open for interpretation or debate—her need was real and primal. But it was the possibility of something more—something real—that made Cade's already hard cock ache with want.
But there was a problem—more than a few, actually—but the one he was currently focused on was just how slight Emily's physical arousal was. It was real, there was no doubt about that—the way she'd wetted her lips, her embarrassment when he caught her staring, the tension crackling in the air between them—but that slow drip of slick was far too muted.
It didn't take a genius to guess why. The fear and confusion of the last twenty-four hours didn't help. A sudden switch of alphas was probably playing havoc with her hormones, too. But Cade had a feeling that something even more insidious was at work inside Emily.
He was willing to bet that it had taken a while for Sloan to break her spirit. Which meant that Cade had to expect it to take a while to heal it.
It would be all too easy to grab Emily, throw her down on the mossy bank, and give her body the attention it clearly craved. Cade was sure that all it would take was a few strokes of his fingers, a few well-placed swipes of his tongue between those sweet rounded thighs, and he could kick her flow into high gear and unleash the wild desire that Sloan had crushed and stunted with his cruelty.
But Cade held back. He wouldn't force things to progress—not yet, at least. Not until she begged him to. He had given her that promise, and he meant to keep it.
Besides…he had a feeling that it wouldn't be long.
Cade turned away to hide his smirk, unable to suppress his alpha pride and satisfaction at knowing this omega wanted him.
Most people—betas, anyway—reviled alphas for their territorial nature, somehow equating it with brutality. But they didn't get it. There was nothing more satisfying for an alpha than looking around at his property, the home he'd built with his own hands and protected with an impenetrable defense.
And when it came to his omega—that sense of proud territorialism increased tenfold. A beta looked at his woman and could only hope she wanted him, that he could make her feel protected and safe. An alpha made damn fucking sure of it.
And that was why he would take his time.
He might even enjoy it. The agony of waiting was tempered with the promise of its reward. It had taken less than a day for Emily to drop her guard enough to follow him into the woods. Only a little longer for her to feel comfortable enough with him to joke and play in the water. By any measure, considering how wounded she'd been, Emily was quickly learning to trust him.
So quickly, it was nothing short of astonishing.
It made Cade think there had to be some sort of strange magic at work, and not just because the woman who had stared woodenly through the windshield, who'd flinched at his smallest movement, who'd been sure he meant her harm, was now humming as she worked a few feet away from him.
No: the real magic wasn't that Emily had let down her defenses—but that Cade had, too.
He wasn't that guy. Cade knew exactly how people saw him—quick-tempered, humorless, always looking for a fight—and he didn't bother fighting it, because it was true. He couldn't remember the last time he'd joked around with anyone, let alone played.
He'd been a colicky baby, according to his mother, and a difficult toddler. As a kid, he was the one who was always sent to detention, suspended, or expelled. Once his nature had shown, that urge to brawl had only grown.
And yet here he was laughing and playing around like a rowdy pup.
For some reason, Emily had brought out a side of him that Cade barely recognized. When she'd surprised him by teasing him, his first reaction hadn't been anger or annoyance, but delight.
Nothing about this omega—and what she did to him—was predictable. Cade had threatened her alpha and risked his life and reputation after knowing her only moments. He wanted her more than he'd ever wanted any woman, but he'd been able to summon the strength to hold back his lustful urges when he was around her.
Maybe it was like this for all alphas and their omegas…or maybe Emily was exceptional.
Cade realized that he'd stopped working so he could watch her, bent over with that sweet, ripe ass wiggling invitingly as she pulled with all her might on a branch that was far too heavy for her. It took a hell of an omega to jump into a task like this without hesitation. In fact, Cade couldn't imagine any of the omegas living in the settlement doing what she was doing now.
She was special. No one could convince him otherwise.
Few people could survive everything that Emily had been through. Cade didn't wish that kind of suffering on any woman, omega or otherwise. Still, the resilience he saw in Emily's eyes was nothing short of amazing.
He'd known right away that she was a survivor, that the scars and bruises she was trying to hide under her shirt hadn't stopped her from getting up each day and trying again.
But what he hadn't appreciated until now was that despite living through hell, Emily's spark hadn't been entirely extinguished—and she could still draw a laugh from a mean son of a bitch like him.
So no, Emily wasn't just some ordinary omega. She was the most amazing omega who had ever crossed Cade's path.
But he really had to stop staring. Cade cleared his throat, glad that the water hid his raging erection, and waded to her side.
"Here," he said, taking the branch from her. "I'll steady it while you clear the smaller debris out from around it."