Reese (Pack of Misfits #2) - Raven Kennedy Page 0,56

mess—I refuse to call it a rat’s nest on principle—but it is crusty. My need for a shower hits an all time high.

I walk out to the living and kitchen area, finding Luca once again pulling things out of the bags and opening packages. He pulled on his boxers and jeans, which I’m thankful for. It may be stupid, given that we’ve just had crazy animal sex more times than I can even remember, but seeing him naked right now would just be too intimate.

“What are you doing?” I ask, coming over to the countertop.

“Grabbing you a snack. Here,” he says, handing me a water bottle. I take it gratefully, chugging the entire thing down. He frowns. “I should’ve made you drink more water.”

I swipe my mouth with the back of my hand and laugh. “You did give me water when you could. Besides, you were in a rut. You were kind of busy.”

“Still.”

I tilt my head at him. I can see that he’s honestly bothered by it, like he thinks he failed me. “You helped me, Luca. I felt like I was going to die if I didn’t get any relief. You don’t have to feel bad because I’m thirsty.”

He just replies with a noncommittal, “Hmm.”

I shake my head at him, but he pushes over a plate with a banana and a pile of cashews. “That’s the closest thing to breakfast that I could find.”

I smile and peel back the banana. “Thank you.”

As soon as I take my first bite, I realize how damn hungry I am. I chomp it down quickly, appreciating each bite. I catch Luca’s eye when I finish, finding him giving me a strange look. “What?”

He clears his throat and looks away, tipping back a package of nuts in his mouth. “Nothing,” he says.

Shrugging, I quickly devour my cashews next, and then Luca insists I drink another bottle of water. Afterward, my stomach feels like it’s so bloated I wouldn’t be able to wear pants even if I had any.

“Thanks. I needed that,” I tell him.

“You don’t need to thank me.”

We stand there, awkwardness once more filling the space between us. When neither of us says anything for a long time, I nibble on my lip nervously.

I haven’t been human for a long time. I haven’t had sex in even longer. What if he’s regretting it? What if he hates that I latched onto him and basically forced him into a rut? I don’t know how to ask him how he’s feeling, because even though we just had an intense few days, we’re basically strangers. All I know about him is that he’s left me treasures, wears lug nuts around his neck, and has a tower of tires for a nightstand.

“So—”

“Do you—”

We both start to talk at the same time, and we both cut off simultaneously, urging the other to talk. A laugh escapes me. “I’m gonna go,” I blurt out, suddenly needing to get the heck away.

“Go?”

I nod emphatically. “Yeah. It was really nice of you to...help me out. Really. I can’t thank you enough.”

He just stares at me while I slowly back up, like a prey too nervous to turn its back on the predator.

“Have a lovely day!”

I turn and walk to the front door as fast as I can. Have a lovely day?

I groan to myself as I hurry out of the house, closing the front door behind me. I realize that we just did horribly filthy things in there, desecrating someone else’s mate cabin. Whoops. I would go back and clean the place up and make sure to air it out too, but things are just way too awkward between us to stick around. I need to get away from Luca and sort things out in my head.

I walk away from the cabin, noting by the placement of the sun that it’s nearly midday. I spot the warehouses in the distance, so I walk along the dirt road that leads to them.

I don’t turn back to see if Luca is watching me, because I’m too embarrassed. Holey Swiss cheese, what if he doesn’t like me now? Maybe I crossed a line by latching onto him, and now, we won’t ever be able to be friends.

Or worse, what if he just views me as a piece of ass and won’t want anything else? I like sex—a fact which became abundantly clear during my heat—but I don’t want to be some side piece booty call. The thought of that makes my lips purse