He stepped back and held out his hand. I took it, and he swiftly pulled me up to stand. He pecked my lips and then moved away.
“We need to have breakfast.”
For the first time, I heard the sounds coming from the kitchen. “Oh my god.” I covered my face in embarrassment.
I slid my hands down my face to find Chael giving me a curious look. “They heard us,” I whispered.
He shrugged as he put his head through one of his Henley shirts. “So.”
“So? That’s embarrassing.”
He was in my face in half a second, cupping it between his hands. “You’re embarrassed to be with me?”
“What?” I shook my head. “Of course not. That’s not what I meant.”
“Good.” He pecked my lips again. The taste of my orgasm still lingered on his lips. “Don’t ever be ashamed of what happens between us. The others will deal.” He snorted. “As much sex as I’ve had to listen to over the years.” He rolled his eyes and shook his head.
I wasn’t entirely convinced, but when my stomach growled and Chael eyed me, I quickly dressed and followed him to the kitchen.
Sure enough, it was full of women, men, and children coming in and out, preparing breakfast, finishing up, or getting ready to start their days. It still took some getting used to, but I liked that Chael’s home was a communal space for the entire pack. None of them found it odd to hang out at their alpha’s house. And there was always someone preparing food, watching something on the big TV screen in the living room, or tending to the greenhouse.
“Oh,” Ms. Elsie chirped as I entered the kitchen. “You must be starved after your early morning awakening.”
My eyes bulged, and if I were a few shades lighter, I swear my cheeks would’ve turned bright red.
“Sit, sit.” She took me by the arm and led me to my usual seat at the opposite end of the table. So far from Chael, who always sat at the head. “I got that special spread you said you liked,” Ms. Elsie continued. “Well, not me, but your alpha insisted that when Kane and his wife went into town again, they come back with that stuff.”
Confused, I looked from the table at Ms. Elsie, and she waved the container of Nutella in her hand.
I gasped and stood. “Oh my goodness. Yes!” I cheered.
Chael chuckled from his end of the table. I also caught a few strange looks from a few of the other shifters who came in and out, but I didn’t care. For some reason, it was hard to find any decent chocolate in this entire commune. Everyone had greenhouses and shared the foods they grew, and we didn’t live that far from a major city, so it wasn’t like we had limited access to any type of food that we desired.
However, it seemed like I was the only one concerned about the lack of chocolate around there. And I had finished the cocoa that Chael had brought from my place a few days earlier. I snatched the jar of Nutella out of Ms. Elsie’s hand while my stomach growled. She was right. Those two orgasms Chael gave me in the bedroom left my body hungrier than usual.
“Oh, let’s do a Nutella and banana bagel,” I hummed in excitement, recalling the delicious fresh bread one of the pack members brought over every morning. “Anyone want some?”
I waved the Nutella around, but there weren’t any takes. I only got more curious looks and a husky laugh from Chael.
“Suit yourselves.” I shrugged. They so obviously didn’t know what they were missing. I swiped a banana from the filled fruit bowl on the counter and commenced to make my sandwich after toasting one of the bagels.
I hummed in delight as I took my first bite. Henry cozied up to me out of nowhere, whimpering. I rolled my eyes playfully.
“Here.” I fed him a piece of the banana from my plate.
I felt eyes watching me and peered up from Henry to find Chael’s hungry gaze on me again, even though he was engaged in a conversation with someone else. The pulse of sexual tension from the bedroom followed us into the kitchen. I wondered if anyone else in the room felt it.
A few seconds later, Chael’s phone vibrated from its spot on the table. The room quieted when he held up his free hand.
“Ronan, what is it?”
A different kind of tension than seconds earlier permeated the atmosphere. I even spotted Ms. Elsie throw a worried glance in Chael’s direction.
“I was coming up already,” Chael continued. He listened and then pushed out a weighty breath, his face hardening into a mask of anger. “We’ll be there soon.”
He hung up the phone and stood. “I need my beta.”
A second after that declaration, Chance appeared in the kitchen’s entryway. He was dressed and looked ready to head out.
