TEMPORARY MATES PERMANENT CRAVINGS novel Chapter 312

Three hundred and twelve

Wesley POV

My pride and whatever self-control I had finally caught up with me as the adrenaline drained away, leaving nothing but a restless aftertaste.

The scent of grapes lingered inside the car as I wondered how she could run off like that.

She’d kissed me back. She’d wanted me as much as I wanted her, yet she’d bolted as though I’d done something unforgivable.

I tapped the steering wheel, trying to bleed off my frustration.

Worse still, I was irritated with myself. I’d followed her into the hallway, asked a woman who had arrived with another man to leave with me, and somehow I was the one left sitting alone in a parking lot wondering what had gone wrong.

I stayed in the car until I steadied myself, breathing the way we’d been taught af the Alpha Academy. By the time I checked my reflection in the rearview mirror and smoothed my hair back into place, the mask was back where it belonged. I locked the car

and headed inside.

Back at the booth, there was no sign of Emma, Charlie, or Barbara. Only Nina remained, sitting with one leg crossed over the other as she scrolled through her phone.

“Where’s everyone?” I asked, pouring myself another drink.

She looked up. “I thought they were with you.”

I settled into the booth. Out on the dance floor, Emma moved with the crowd. I took a sip of my whiskey. It did nothing.

Nina swirled what looked like a gin and tonic.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Shoot.”

She watched me over the rim of her glass. “Are you happy, Wes?”

“Depends what you mean. Happy I’ve survived another week of grueling work, or happy I’m already thinking about my bed?”

A faint smile crossed her face before fading.

“I mean… are you happy about marrying Barbara?”

I sighed. Why did everyone keep circling back to that?

“Why would you ask me that?”

She shrugged. “Because you carried yourself differently when Beatrice was alive.”

I raised a brow.

“I’m not comparing them,” she clarified. “I’m comparing you. Wesley then and Wesley now.”

Nina had known Beatrice. They’d all been part of the same circle before she’d left to study in the North.

“I know grief changes people,” she continued. “You’ve worn it like armor for years. I don’t see the same spark when you’re with Barbara.”

“I’m good, Nina. Really. It’s been a long week,” I said, refusing to let the conversation go any deeper.

She shrugged. “If you say so.”

I wondered whether Barbara’s comments earlier about Northern medical schools were still bothering Nina.

I held out my hand. “Come on, Let’s dance.”

She took it, and we disappeared into the crowd. Three songs later, I was done.

“This dance floor is trying to kill me. I’m tapping out.”

Nina laughed and waved me away.

“You’re getting old. I’m staying.”

“I prefer to be selectively energetic.”

I left her dancing and headed back to the booth, sweaty and no closer to clearing my head.

Emma was there now, dabbing at her face with a cleansing wipe.

“You good?” I asked, ruffling her hair.

She swatted my hand away. My gaze dropped to the drink in front of her.

“How many have you had? Your little bodyguard is still driving you home, right?”

She groaned.

“There he is. Future Alpha mode. I’m fine, Dad.”

She lifted her glass. “Besides, I might not even be going home alone. Some hotshot over there has been trying pretty hard to convince me to leave with him.”

I looked around, but she didn’t bother pointing him out.

“Since when do you do one-night stands?”

Emma took a slow sip through her straw.

“I mean, spontaneous sex has its appeal.” She shrugged. “Besides, he’s hot.”

Charlie snorted as he handed me a bottle of water. I hadn’t even noticed he’d come back.

“My condolences to him,” he said. “Poor guy doesn’t know what he signed up for.”

“Well, he already has better taste than you.” Emma snapped.

“Right. Charming as always. I’m sure he’ll love the whole princess-who-needs-saving-until-she-stabs-you routine.”

Emma glared at him.

“At least I have a personality. You’re just a jawline with a God complex hiding behind a security shirt.”

I looked between them, wondering how two people could argue with such frightening efficiency. I tried to cut in, but neither acknowledged me.

“You two fight like an old married couple,” I muttered.

“We practically have a sibling relationship.”

Emma’s head snapped toward him.

“Don’t you dare call me your sister. We are not related in any universe.”

Charlie smirked.

“Whatever you say, little sister.”

They kept arguing as my attention drifted across the room.

Warmth hit me as I stepped inside.

Anita was sprawled across the sofa in pajama pants, pointing accusingly at Mom.

“She’s acting proud now, but when I first started DJing, she looked at me like I’d announced I wanted to become a professional criminal. She kept saying it wasn’t exactly the career she’d imagined for an Alpha’s daughter.”

“That is not true,” Mom protested, laughing. “Don’t put words in my mouth. I never said you couldn’t be a DJ. I said you could chase your passion without abandoning your responsibilities. There’s a difference.”

Emma laughed.

“Anita only heard the part she wanted. Judgment.”

“That’s not my fault. I’ve always been proud of her for working hard, and now it’s paying off.”

“Stop giving her a hard time,” Charlie said to Anita, slipping an arm around Mom’s shoulders.

“There he is,” Mom said, spotting me. “My baby.”

She crossed the room before I could reach her.

I wrapped my arms around her, smiling despite myself. I was a head taller than she was, but somehow she’d never stopped making me feel like the safest place in the world was inside one of her hugs. When she stepped back, she searched my face before pressing the back of her hand against my forehead.

“I’m fine,” I said, leaning down to kiss her cheek.

“I know, baby. That’s why I brought you smoked mountain elk from Red Ridge Pack.”

She pointed toward several vacuum-sealed packages stacked neatly on the side table.

“What would I do without you?”

“Absolutely nothing ”

We talked until the conversation carried itself, then I slipped into the kitchen.

I wasn’t looking for another kiss. I needed to explain myself. Maybe she’d left thinking I saw her as an easy woman willing to climb into bed with me. I had to clear it up before it became something permanent in her mind.

I barely reached the hallway before Grandma Cassidy intercepted me.

“Can you send Isabella to me?”

She folded her arms.

“Not even a good evening? Where are your manners, boy?”

“I called before I came.”

She waved me off.

“Still doesn’t excuse you. Isabella is not here.”

“She stepped out?”

“No.” Grandma Cassidy shook her head. “She moved out yesterday to the staff lodge, I believe.”

I frowned.

“Why?”

She shrugged.

“I couldn’t tell you.” Then a knowing smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. “Though if I had to guess, the poor girl is trying to save herself from a certain young man.”