The joke fell flat as all four alphas scowled. “Too soon?” I said weakly, wishing they’d all get on board with me usinghumor todeflect from very real trauma.
“If we’re discussing anyone touching, hurting, or stealing you away from us,” Slade drawled, also twirling whiskey, though I hadn’t seen him take a drink yet, “then yes, Snow, it’s too fucking soon. There’s never going to be a time that’snot too soonin that situation.”
Fair enough.
I’d never be able to joke about Kellan almost dying, so I understood how they felt.
Reaching for the wine Florence left for me, I took a long sip of the Moscato, enjoying the cool, sweet taste on my tongue. My body relaxed as Kellan started talking about their game today, and how they’d absolutely destroyed the Silver City Cobras.
“It’s like they brought their backup players,” he said with a snort as he took a swig of beer. “I had to do random drills out there just to keep myself from zoning out.”
I hated that I’d missed the game. “I’m so sad I didn’t get to watch,” I admitted, pouting a little.
Finley smiled at me again, andgoddess be damnedhe needed to stop doing that. It was like getting randomly electrocuted. “You really didn’t miss much today. We destroyedthem eight to one. And that one was accidentally knocked in by our goalie.”
I glanced at Kellan to see if he was kidding, but apparently not. “Oh yeah, Coach almost reamed Carlson a new asshole. He was pissed, but in the end we got the W and that’s all that matters.”
“Fuck yeah it does,” Finley called as he held his beer up for Kellan toclinkfrom across the table.
I stared at the bear shifter and shook my head. “Has anyone done a DNA test to confirm he wasn’t body snatched?” As soon as I said, I immediately regretted it. “Fuck, sorry. Ignore me and my stupid questions. So, what’s for dinner?”
From the corner of my eye, I saw Finley lean closer, and I braced myself for his response. “It’s okay, Ice,” he started softly. “I promise this is me, and this version of Finley isn’t going anywhere.”
While his promises didn’t mean much yet, I was growing rather used to him speaking in kind tones to me. There was a softness I hadn’t realized existed, deep inside the grouchy bear. “Okay,” I replied, keeping my response simple. “That’s good to hear.”
Finley nodded, as if he understood everything I hadn’t voiced out loud. “I’ll back my words with actions, don’t you worry.”
We were interrupted as Florence hurried into the room, a massive silver tray perched on her shoulder. “Dinner’s ready,” she called, beaming. “It’s pizza night.”
She dropped the tray into the middle of the table, beside the plates waiting for us to use, and then added sides of garlic bread, breaded cheese sticks, and dipping sauces.
“Gerry and I spent all afternoon handcrafting these,” she said with a hint of pride, and I took in the delicious-looking variety of toppings, steam rising up from the melted cheese. “I expectyou all to eat everything. None of you have had a decent meal in days.”
My stomach chose that moment to perk up and agree by rumbling loudly. I was excited that after weeks of missing meals and running on empty, I could focus on fueling up and growing stronger.
Before the alphas got on my case about eating, I scooped up three of the pizzas, selecting the meatiest ones with lots of cheese and swirls of BBQ sauce. There was no sign of a vegetable, and I couldn’t be more pleased. I also grabbed two slices of garlic bread and a cheese stick to finish.
Food was literally spilling over the sides of my plate, and Hunter looked as satisfied as when he had his face buried in my?—
Yeah, now was definitely not the time for those thoughts.
“Good girl,” he murmured, taking another sip of his whiskey.
Ignoring him was the only mature response I could muster. I took a moment to inhale the cheese-meat aroma, already sure this was about to be a new favorite meal of mine.
It contained all the important food groups: meat, cheese, and bread.
The trifecta of nutrition.
When I took my first bite, I reminded myself that I could not moan, butdamn, this pizza was about to give sex a run for its money. Okay, maybe not, but damn it was good.
“Delicious,” I rasped, closing my eyes to savor the taste. “You all need to stop staring at me like I’m sprawled naked in the middle of the table and start eating these pizzas. The world won’t end if you join me before I’m finished.”
Hunter grunted, and I opened my eyes to find his were blazing gold. I stopped chewing as he reached out and brushed his thumb over my lip, swiping up a bit of sauce I missed. “Keep eating pizza like that, little omega,” he rumbled, “and you will benaked in the middle of the table. We will eat our meal right from your delectable body.”
My core clenched, and when I moaned it had nothing to do with food. Words failed me as I attempted to regulate my panting breaths, and somehow I managed to calm down enough to take another bite. When I finished my first pizza and started on my second, the alphas began to fill their plates, leaving plenty of the meat pizza on the tray of course.
For domineering assholes, they were so considerate that it broke me a little.
