Use me? I have no idea what he’s talking about.
Before I can ask, Olly pounds on Auryn’s door with his other hand. “Auryn? Auryn!”
The door flings open, and Auryn’s scowling face appears. “Quiet! Em’s sleeping.”
Olly shoves me between Auryn and himself. “He can keep guard. I need you to come with me to the lab.”
Auryn growls, and I put my hands up in self defense. “Hey,mi amor, I was just walking down the hall. But if Olly says it’s important, then I trust him.” She relaxes a bit, and I bow to her. “If it pleasesmi princesa, I will stand guard over Emmett while she is away. No harm shall come to him under my watch.”
That seems to reassure her. She reaches up on her toes and kisses my cheek before following Olly down the hall.
I owe Olly a favor for this. Finally I can have a moment with Em. Express my gratitude.
I can also tell him he’s an idiot for risking his life for me.
When I enter Auryn’s room, the air is thick with burnt cherries and …Dios! He does smell a bit like vanilla.
I creep to the bed, where Em lies sleeping. Careful not to jostle the mattress too much, I crawl in next to him. To my surprise, he’s still fully dressed. I would have expected him and Auryn to–Well, I expected nudity.
For the first few minutes, I just hold him gently, stroking his hair and breathing in his scent. The new sweet omega odor blends nicely with his normal fruity smell. I understand Auryn’s sudden need to guard and protect him. He smells like omega, and it brings out my protective side, too. I curl my body around his, becoming the big spoon while he sleeps.
After a while, Em stirs. At first, he snuggles into my embrace, but it doesn’t take him long to realize that I am not, in fact, Auryn.
“D-diego?”
“Sí, hermano.”
“Why are you hugging me, dude?”
A low chuckle rumbles in my chest. “Because I missed you. This place is far too quiet without you.”
Em barks out a bitter laugh. “Come on. You guys would have been fine without me. Probably should’ve let me die down there.”
I grip him tighter. Just the thought of losing him like that …
“Look, you squeeze me any harder, and we’re going to have a mess on our hands. I have to pee.”
“Okay, then. We’ll go pee.”
He rolls over to glare at me. “What do you mean ‘we’?”
I give him a shrug. “I told our sweet mate that I’d guard you. So, where you go, I go.”
“Diego–”
“No exceptions,” I quip, helping him off the bed. “Let’s go.”
With my help, Em makes it to the bathroom, though he grumbles the whole way. When I refuse to turn my back on him, he rolls his eyes at me.
“Do you want to hold it for me, too?” he snaps.
“Do you need me to hold it?” I ask, undeterred. “Because I will. I owe you my life,hermano, and I’ll do whatever you need from now on.”
He angles his back to me, hiding himself as he empties. That’s odd for Em. He’s never been bashful before. A grimace crosses his face as he positions himself, and I wonder if maybe hedoesneed me to hold it.
“Emmett?”
I reach for his hand to offer assistance, and he slaps my hand away. “Fucking leave me alone, man! I can fucking take a piss by myself.”
