The men I’ve fallen for study me, and I squirm under their collective scrutiny. I’m feeling raw, and unsure. Not about them, just about… Well, everything.
Sawyer steps up beside Liam and brushes a strand of dark hair from my face, his gaze intent on mine. “You don’t sound so sure. Maybe that’s our fault. We’ve been wanting to talk to you about this for a while now, but it’s just never felt like the right time. Seems like this is the moment.”
My eyebrows scrunch together. “The moment for what?”
“We want to claim you,” Sawyer says softly, his voice filled with emotion. “We want to make you ours permanently and show the whole world that you belong to us and we belong to you.”
Tears prick the backs of my eyes and I suck in a deep breath. “You do?”
“Of course we do,” Wilder says. “Will you let us help you through your first heat when it hits and let us mark you? It’s just a formality as far as I’m concerned, because you’ve been ours since the moment Sawyer brought you home that first night.”
“What do you say, princess?” Liam runs his fingers through my hair. “Let us make it official?”
The smile that breaks out across my face is so big, it’s almost painful.
What do I say? As if there’s anything Icouldsay besides, “There’s nothing I want more.”
And with that, my future is sealed.
Chapter Thirty-One
OLIVIA
The guys are all sitting on the couch, resting, watching a show after a long day of work. Do they not see the faint coating of dust on the vents? Or the slight wrinkle in the rug? I fidget with my hands, trying to focus on the TV, but my gaze keeps straying around the room. So many things to fix.
“Are you okay?” Sawyer murmurs, nudging me with his elbow. “You seem...distracted.”
I sigh. “It’s a mess in here.”
His eyebrows lift. “The guys and I cleaned on Sunday.”
“There’s dust everywhere,” I grumble, popping off the couch and walking to the vent, gesturing to it. “See? Dust! And the rug, did any of you realize the corner was curling up? And when was the last time you cleaned the light switches?”
Liam pauses the show.
Hayes and Wilder give me the exact same look—wide-eyed, deer-caught-in-headlights-type expression.
Sawyer’s lips twitch. “I’m not sure we’ve ever cleaned the light switches.”
“Why are you laughing? Do you think particulate matter is funny? It can kill people, you know?”
Wilder’s brow wrinkles. “Is that a virus?”
“No, stupid,” Hayes grumbles. “She’s still talking about the dust.”
“Thank you!” I say with a scoff. “It’s no laughing matter.”
Wilder’s mouth forms an O.
“Babe, I swear.” Sawyer puts his hand over his heart. “I don’t think dust is funny.”
“It’s a little funny,” Wilder whispers.
Liam sends him a warning glare.
I release a long exhale, hands falling on my hips, agitation crawling over my skin like hundreds of ants. Those vents are in bad shape.
“Come relax,” Hayes says, holding out his hand.
