“Alright. I wanted to make sure she wouldn’t try to stop me from saying this, but I want to be clear that I’m not trying to hide anything from her. You don’t need my permission to tell her every detail once we hang up. In fact, I expect you to.”
“Okay,” he says, sounding slightly less weirded out now.
“She’s avoiding her mom. She doesn’t want to talk about it, but she needs to. Probably with you or her brothers. I’m letting her have today because last night was stressful with everyone showering her with so much attention. However, there are a lot of other wedding-related events that she can’t avoid because her mom is being crappy. Hopefully, this is a one-time thing, but I want to make sure you’re paying attention and taking care of her,” I say quickly and quietly.
“I know. I’ll talk to her when she’s ready. Thank you for loving her.Almostas much as I do,” Val says, and I snort. I won’t tell him that I would bury his body while singing‘Goodbye Earl’for Stella. Though I imagine if the situation called for it, he would do the same to me. I’m guessing he’d sing a different song, however.
“What song…” I murmur accidentally and then shake my head when I realize I said it out loud. “I would bury bodies for her,” I tell him honestly. “Take care of my friend, or that body might be yours one day,” I warn, hanging up before he can respond.
I take a second to get myself slightly more put together before I head back into the room. Finding it empty, I decide to get dressed before I make my way downstairs to look for Nick. I find all three men in the kitchen, cooking breakfast.
They’re all shirtless, because of course they are, with low-hung sweatpants revealing way too much of their hips and happy trails…Why is that so sexy?
“Like what you see, Sweet Plum?” Kai purrs, and I narrow my eyes on him. Obviously. But he doesn’t need to be the one pointing it out.
“Stella isn’t coming over to decorate today,” I tell them, making Nick frown. “She’s going to stay in Kai’s apartment with Val for the day, maybe the whole week. I don’t know; they seem comfortable there.”
“I’m going to need a new bed…” Kai murmurs, wincing when Nick and Benson both punch his arm. “Honestly, rude,” he grunts.
“Do you ever shut up?” Nick asks with a glare.
“Only when he’s gagged,” Benson grumbles, making Kai grin.
“Hey now! I thought Plum was going to be giving out the punishments, not you two.”
“They’re my helpers. Sometimes they know what I need before I do.” I shrug. “Like when they gagged you for teasing me too much. I actually really enjoyed that, now that I think about it,” I add, challenging him with a pointed look.
Keep pushing me…
“I can think of better ways to gag someone,” Kai smirks, turning back to the bacon he’s cooking. “What about you, Plum? Can you think of better ways to be gagged that are more fun?”
“I can think of one way I’d like to gag you,” I growl, grabbing one of the unused pans off the countertop. I wouldn’t actually hit him with it if the alphas somehow failed to stop me. Or if Kai didn’t spin around at the last second, catching my wrist in his palm, jaw dropping open in shock.
“A frying pan? That's a wild response, Omega,” Kai purrs once again. Not like an alpha purrs, or in the way an omega does either. No, this is something unique to Kai. It gets my heart fucking racing. It reminds me of being a hormonal eighteen-year-old and not being able to keep my hands off the beta.
The way his brown eyes spark makes me think he’s having a little too much fun, until I feel the tremble in his hands. Is Kai provoking me on purpose?
“You want me to keep punishing you,” I whisper, eyes wide.
“Yes, badly.” He swallows thickly, breaking eye contact to glance up at the frying pan still clutched in my fist. “Not like that, though. I want to feelsomething…Just not a concussion.” Histeasing makes me smile, but I know he’s trying to hide from the tension his confession created.
“It’s not about what you want, Kai. It’s about what Plum wants. When she decides to punish you, she will,” Benson says firmly, pulling me back against his chest and wrapping his arms around me. The heat of his bare chest burns through the thin fabric of my Christmas pajamas. The candy cane print lounge shorts and crop top aren’t enough of a defense against this alpha’s charms.
“I don’t want topunishyou.” I trip over the word, nibbling my bottom lip, and Kai’s eyes go wide.
His cedar scent floods us with a hint of fear and anxiety. He looks unsure, like I’m about to kick him out or send him away. Maybe he’s scared I’ll let him stay, then refuse to give him what he thinks he needs, and it’ll be worse for him. Seeing me with Benson and Nick—watching me move on.
Would that be worse? Leaving him in limbo, never letting him back into my heart, but never letting him atone for the pain he caused?
“What I mean is, calling it a punishment makes me uncomfortable. Like you’re a disobedient pet, or something.” I shake my head.
“I can be your pet.” Kai grins, taking the pan from my hand and setting it back down.
“Kai.” I tip my chin down, giving him an unamused look.
“Sweet Plum,” he murmurs, flashing those damn dimples.
“Maybe theyshouldgag you,” I huff, turning away from him and looking up at Nick for some kind of guidance here, or maybe just reassurance that I haven’t lost my fucking mind.
