Phoenix stood just inside the doorway with one hand pressed firmly over his eyes. His jaw was tight. But even beneath the tan of his skin I could see colour rising in his cheeks and spreading outward. He looked, in this particular moment, completely and genuinely mortified. All that authority, undone by one accidental entrance.
A giggle escaped me before I could catch it. Small and entirely involuntary. Phoenix stiffened at the sound as though it had caught him somewhere unguarded. Kate glanced between us with the expression of someone quietly amused and choosing not to show it fully.
"Alpha, since you are here, there are several things I need to discuss with you about Nova."
She helped me back into my top and leggings while she spoke, then told him it was safe to look. He turned back with a set jaw and deliberate composure, though the embarrassment had not fully cleared yet. Alpha or not, some things could not simply be commanded away.
