But when I look up and meet her eyes, something shifts in the air between us. The steam and heat and close proximity all combine into something charged, something that makes my breath catch and my heart race.
Before I can think better of it, before I can remember all the reasons why this is a terrible idea, I lean in and kiss her. The contact is electric, her lips soft and warm against mine. She tastes like sleep and heat and something sweet that's purely her. I deepen the kiss immediately, one hand coming up to cup the back of her head while the other wraps around her waist.
Solana responds with enthusiasm, her arms winding around my neck and pulling me closer. Her mouth opens for me, allowing my tongue to sweep inside and taste her properly. The kiss becomes hungry quickly, both of us chasing something we can't quite name.
When I finally pull back, we're both breathing hard. Reality crashes back in and I realize what I've just done. I kissed Kade and Dustin's Omega without permission, took something that wasn't mine to take.
"I know I'm not supposed to do that but fuck, sorry," I say quickly, the words tumbling out in a rush. "I shouldn't have—"
Solana looks like she might combust, her face flushed and her pupils blown wide. She's swaying slightly, caught between leaning in for more and freaking out about what just happened. I can see the war playing out on her face, desire battling with uncertainty and probably some amount of guilt.
The bathroom door slides open slowly, the sound making both of us freeze. Kade steps inside, fully dressed in sweatpants and a t-shirt, his dark eyes taking in the scene before him. Steam fills the bathroom, obscuring everything in a hazy fog, but there's no mistaking what he's seeing. Solana and I, naked in the shower together, both of us flushed and breathing hard and obviously having just been kissing.
Heat bubbles up in my chest immediately, shame and fear mixing together into something overwhelming. I've been caught. Kade is going to be furious, is going to throw me out or worse. I've overstepped in the worst possible way, taking liberties with his Omega that I had no right to take.
But Kade just grins, the expression full of understanding rather than anger. "Seems like we all had the same kind of idea."
He moves closer to the shower, completely unbothered by the steam or the fact that he's still fully clothed. His presence fills the space, that commanding Alpha energy that makes me want to submit and bare my throat. It's completely different from Stefan's energy, which is protective and fierce. Kade's is pure dominance, the kind that brooks no argument and expects obedience.
Kade steps right up to the shower entrance, his eyes moving between Solana and me with obvious appreciation. "Watching you together is like a whole ass painting," he says, his voice carrying heat that makes my stomach flip. "Now, let's get you both cleaned up and fed, for real this time."
I step back immediately, putting distance between myself and Solana. The separation feels wrong, my body protesting the loss of contact, but I need to show respect for Kade's claim. Need to demonstrate that I understand my place here.
Kade meets my eyes, his intense gaze focused solely on me for a brief moment. "I think we can both focus on Solana a bit, don't you?"
The statement is phrased as a question but it's clearly a command. An invitation to participate rather than retreat. My brain struggles to process that, to understand what he's offering.
"Yes, sir," I hear myself say, the words automatic. Years of training under my father's expectations making submission to authority second nature. "I didn't mean to..."
Kade cuts me off, his voice firm but not unkind. "If I thought you were intruding, you would not have woken up in Solana's nest."
The words hit me like a physical blow, stealing my breath. He knew. He knew I was there, knew what happened, and he allowed it. More than allowed it. Hewelcomedit. The implications of that make my head spin, possibilities I don't dare examine too closely unfurling in my mind.
My scent spikes before I can control it, sweetening with arousal and submission. The lavender intensifies, mixing with the vanilla and orchid and cedar already permeating the steamy bathroom. I try to rein it back in, embarrassed by my body's uncontrolled response, but it's too late. Both Kade and Solana have noticed.
Kade's eyes darken further, his nostrils flaring as he scents the air. "Solana," he says, his voice dropping an octave into something that makes my knees weak. "Tell him what you want while I get you clean, hmmm?"
The question hangs in the steamy air. Solana is quiet for several seconds, her eyes moving between me and Kade. I can see her processing, working through what she wants versus what she thinks she should want. The conflict is clear on her face, years of conditioning from Harmony House warring with genuine desire.
Then she turns to face me fully, her dark eyes meeting mine with surprising steadiness. "Can you kiss me again?"
The request is simple but weighted with everything unsaid. She's asking for more, asking to continue what we started, asking for something that should probably terrify me but just makes my chest ache with want.
I meet Kade's eyes, silently asking for permission even though Solana already gave her request. I need to know that he's truly okay with this, that I'm not overstepping or taking something I shouldn't.
Kade nods once, his expression giving nothing away except approval. "Go ahead."
I step back up to Solana, my hands coming up to frame her face. Her skin is warm and damp beneath my palms, water still running over both of us from the shower. She looks up at me with those beautiful dark eyes, her lips parted and her breathing shallow with anticipation.
Then I kiss her again, losing myself in the tangle of our scents.
Chapter forty-five
Kade
Solana is sprawled on the couch with her head resting on Ashton's thigh, her hand absently stroking Moo-Shu's fuzzy head where the cow has settled on the floor beside them. The scene is so domestic, so peaceful, that it's hard to believe we're in the middle of a crisis that could tear everything apart.
Getting Solana to eat breakfast was a battle I barely won. She wanted to skip food entirely and go straight to cuddling with her cow, completely ignoring the fact that she's barely eaten anything substantial in days. I had to physically block her path to the living room, holding a plate of pancakes between us like a shield while she glared at me with those beautiful dark eyes.
