Nash’s face falls for a second before brightening. “You can just swim naked,” he whispers loudly. “That’s what my daddy does.”
Despite the tension preceding their arrival, Lucien and Max snicker at my expense as my cheeks flame red. Ava coughs politely, but I catch a small smile behind her fist.
“Nash,” I grit out. “I brought my trunks.”
Ava’s face twitches. “No skinny dipping today, then?” I cringe a little, shaking my head ruefully as I eye my angelic-looking child, who absolutely will be jumping in buck naked.
“Just Nash. Sorry,” I apologize. “He’s a child of the forest. Can’t be tamed.”
Nash crows, letting loose another ‘Grey pack roar’ and beating his chest as I close my eyes in embarrassment. This is not going well.
A hint of vanilla reaches me, and I open my eyes to see Ava standing right in front of me, her eyes crinkled with amusement as she looks up at my face.
“I’d like to go to the lake with you,” she says, her eyes on me. “Will you wait for me to change into something?” I swallow and nod as Nash cheers, a bit stunned as she heads back into her room. Lucien follows her, and Max slides a look at me before he snorts with laughter.
I swipe my hands over my face. “I swear I used to be smooth,” I grumble. Max snickers at me.
“This will be good for her. She needs to relax a bit after today.” His mouth tightens at the edges, a similar look to Luc’s entering his eyes.
“I’ll look after her,” I promise. Max stares at me, his eyes sad. “I know.”
Clapping me on the back, he pulls open the stained glass door and exits. I watch him out of the window as he walks down the path, hands in his pockets and shoulders slumped.
Nash dances around me with excitement as I lean against the wall. It only takes a few minutes for Ava to reappear, her small frame clothed in a t-shirt that falls almost to her knees and slightly strains against her growing belly. A possessive feeling clenches in my stomach as I eye her smooth bare legs underneathmyt-shirt.
Lucien smirks at me, and I push the feelings back as he kisses her gently on the lips. “I’ll see you later,” he promises in a low voice, ruffling Nash’s hair and nudging me as he walks past, following Max’s path.
I look to Ava and Nash. “Shall we go?”
Nash shrieks with excitement as he grabs Ava’s hand and tows her along, making her laugh as I scold him to slow down. I follow after them with the picnic basket, trying and failing to stop my gaze from wandering to her legs. She turns around and catches me, a faint blush coloring her cheeks before she turns back as I hastily snap my gaze up, silently cursing myself.
She doesn’t need you making her uncomfortable, Nikolai. She’s been through enough.
The thought sobers me, and I keep my eyes up for the rest of our walk.
ChapterForty-Three
Ava
Iwatch from the shore as Nikolai and Nash splash in the lake. Well, Nash splashes. Nikolai is incredibly patient with him, coaxing him to use his arms properly and teaching him to swim. It’s adorable to watch.
Lying back on the blanket with a sigh, I stare up at the cloudless blue sky and let my thoughts wander.
Harper is alive.
My breath leaves me in a whoosh at the memory of her voice on the phone, moisture building up behind my eyes. I’m going to see her tomorrow.
I really thought she was dead. And it was my fault.
Because of Jason.
I cringe as memories assault me.
His meaty hands curling around the bars on my cell at the compound. The small light flickering off the eyes of the omega who’d been placed in Harper’s cell as she watched us with her hands over her ears, curled up in the corner as I screamed and begged.
The sound of his bark as he forced me to open my legs for him. The burning acidic scent of lemons, scorching the back of my throat in its intensity.
The smell of his hand, stale and hot as it wrapped around my mouth, gripping my cheeks and bruising the skin. The crushing weight of his body as he lay on top of me afterwards, breathing wetly into my neck as I lay there, staring at the ceiling.
