I can’t help but to grin. This woman is so weird and amazing and mine. I dart a glance at my beta, who has a damn twinkle in his eye while he softly smiles at Raven, like he just met his soulmate.
I waggle my brows at both Raven and Rhodes. “Make me the filling in your nerdy otter sandwich, I’ll make sure you don’t float away.”
A moment later, Raven snorts and everyone starts laughing. And man, does it feel good.
Once we’re all sweating like we just ran a marathon, I lead the way out of the sauna. I’ve barely stepped a footoutside when a snowball comes hurtling through the air and hits me square in the chest.
I search the area and find Foster with a subtle smirk that only lifts one side of his mouth. “How’s that for fun?”
I scoop up a handful of snow and throw it at him. Before I know it, we’re in an all-out snowball fight in our swimsuits. It’s the most fun I’ve had in a while until I notice Raven’s shivering. We all seem to notice at the same time, and she’s soon huddled between five warm bodies as we corral her toward the spa.
Ana and Harriett are just coming out of the locker rooms when we come in. They take in the state of us with horrified expressions. Ana scowls. Harriett gasps.
“You’re supposed to be cleaned up already. We’ve got a photoshoot,” Harriett says.
Another one? Man, this woman likes publicity. Poor Raven.
“I’m actually not feeling so well,” Raven says, huddling closer to her bodyguard. “I thought maybe I could go back to the hotel.”
“You’d probably feel fine if you weren’t horsing around in the snow with four alphas,” Ana mutters under her breath.
But all I can think about is my omega. “What’s wrong, birdie? Can we help? What do you need?”
Tanner elbows me in the ribs.
“Ow,” I grunt.
He glares at me. I search the bond, and ohhhh…. Raven’s feeling fine. Though there’s a touch of arousal that I’d very much like to explore. Yeah, she’s sick. Very sick. Yep.
And I’m gonna make her all better as soon as I can.
40
TANNER
This isn’t working. She doesn’t seem as pissed at us as she was, but she still clearly prefers that fucking bodyguard of hers. I mean, I get the appeal. The man is hot as fuck. But we’ll never be able to win her over before we all go home if she keeps this up.
We need to spend time with her, get to know her. There’s so much to learn and work out. Where does she even live now? How is this going to work? Does she even want to try?
But it’s hard to ask those questions when she keeps hiding behind Foster, and I don’t want to overwhelm her by throwing all of it at her at once. But my brain keeps running through logistics and possible plans, and I can’t seem to turn it off. Even though we spent the whole afternoon doing what most people would call relaxing, I’m wound as tight as a metal spring. I could really use some more coffee. Or a good fuck.
As we’re leaving the spa, I grab Raven’s hand and slowdown so we fall just a few steps behind. Foster gives me a narrow-eyed glare and stays at Raven’s side. Fine.
“Go out with us,” I blurt, ignoring Foster and focusing entirely on Raven. “One date with each of us. I know we did this all backwards, but we want to make up for it. We want to get to know you and show you that this can work.”
Foster makes a grumbling noise, but doesn’t intervene.
Raven squints up at me. “I’m not sure if I can. Harriett’s got everything planned out.”
“Tell her no.”
“I can’t just?—”
“She works for you, Raven. Not the other way around.”
“I’ve been trying to tell her that,” Foster says, surprising me with his agreement.
“Look, you’ll get sick if you’re not with us at least some of the day.” I try to keep my tone light and casual, though my feelings are anything but. “Since our schedule is more flexible, we can do the best we can to join your outings like we did today, but we need more than that. You’ve got to eat sometime. So, have dinner with us. There’s only a few days left of the Olympics, so give us each a day. That’s all I ask. One date for each of us, and if you still hate us by the end, we’ll leave you alone.”
