An Alpha's Choice (Talon Pack #2)(37)

She reached up into the cabinet and pulled out two tumblers and a bottle of whiskey. If she was going to drink, she might as well do it well and with the man in the living room. He might not stay beyond that drink, but at least she could say she tried. It felt as if an odd weight lifted off her shoulders but remained on her chest. She didn’t know what would happen next, but she couldn’t back away. Not anymore.

She padded into the living room, ignoring the twinge of the few cuts and scrapes she hadn’t cleaned yet. Not smart, but she wasn’t firing on all cylinders.

Finn stood in the living room, his hands on his hips as he breathed in and out. She loved watching him shirtless. The way his muscles bunched as he flexed made her mouth water. He had his back to her and she wanted to lick up his spine to lap up the salty taste of him. He was the epitome of strength and dominance, but he’d also let her lead earlier that evening. And he’d thrown his body on top of hers when the tree had fallen. He was a dichotomy of a more dominant male wolf, who was learning how to deal with a very dominant female wolf. He wasn’t failing at it, but it wasn’t as if they’d truly explored the opportunities because of what they weren’t saying.

She’d told him that he was her mate, and he hadn’t been able to articulate a complete sentence.

It wasn’t fair to hate him for that as she’d had a year to wallow over the idea, and he’d only had a few seconds before the world literally rained ash.

“Drink?” Her voice held firm, surprising her.

Finn turned around and she about swallowed her tongue. The hard ridges of his abdomen stood out, glistening and so f*cking lickable. The lines on his hips that led to his cock were deep grooves that begged her fingers to explore.

Not that she was going to do anything like that.

Her wolf pushed at her, sated from the run but still wanting more than just a glimpse of succulent flesh.

“You’re bleeding.” Finn’s wolf wasn’t in his words—honestly, she wasn’t sure she’d ever heard his wolf in his words like so many others. But the edge of growl that laced his tone told her he hadn’t settled from their earlier run. Good, because she was far from settled.

She looked down at the cut on her arm and the other on her stomach and frowned. “They aren’t deep.”

Finn shook his head and moved closer as if to touch her. She took a step back. They both froze.

“I…don’t touch me. Not yet.” Her voice didn’t break, but damn it was close. She shook the bottle of whiskey in her hand. “Drink?” she asked again.

Finn studied her face, his brows lowered. “I need to clean you up first.”

“You don’t need to clean me up. I’m fine. They’re shallow and will heal on their own in a couple of hours.”

He let out a shaky breath of his own. “I need to clean you up.”

Confused, she let him pass and watched him walk toward her kitchen where she kept a first aid kit. She hadn’t told him it was there, but he could probably scent the antiseptic in the cabinet.

He came back with the kit in his hand and gestured toward the couch. “Sit and pour. I’ll clean you up.”

She raised a brow but did as he ordered. Normally, she’d bite back at his tone, but they were in such an odd place right then, that she wanted to be careful as to when to push back. She wouldn’t be taking many more snapping orders, but she’d do this because at least he was talking to her. That was progress.

“You’re hurt, too,” she said softly as he sat on the coffee table in front of her. The piece was a large hunk of wood that could handle her brothers’ weight so it didn’t even creak when Finn had sat down. Her place wasn’t the most feminine, but she couldn’t really keep it that way with her family in and out of the rooms so often.

“I’m fine.”

That was enough. She set the tumblers down, aware if she slammed them down as she wanted to, she’d shatter the glass and give Finn something else to patch up. She twisted open the whiskey and took a swig directly from the bottle, the burn down her throat helping. Finn raised his brows at her, but she didn’t give him the bottle. She needed the burn to help her deal with a dominant wolf with the equivalent of a thorn in his paw.

She poured them each two fingers then handed him the glass. “Drink.”

“You’re still bleeding.”

“Yeah, and I’ll continue to until you f*cking take the drink, Finn. Don’t mess with me right now.”

Finn growled low in his throat but took the glass before knocking it back. She took her shot as well and set her glass next to his on the table.

“Feel better now?” he asked, clearly annoyed.

Well, f*ck him. She had been sweet and accommodating, but damn it, it wasn’t like her to roll over all the time.

“No, I don’t. But please continue to clean up the wounds that will take care of themselves later.”

He gripped her arm and growled. “I need to do this, Brynn. I don’t understand why I need to so badly right now, but I do. Understand?”

She froze, letting him wipe down her cuts. “No, I don’t understand,” she whispered.

He frowned and finished up cleaning the scrapes before setting everything to the side. “I’m your mate.”

She swallowed hard. “Yes. At least that’s what my wolf tells me.”