“I wouldn’t say that.”Chase stole the words from Lucky’s lips, stood and walked around to the end of the bath.“You’re gentle enough when it’s needed.”
He had a feeling those words were about more than just Lucky’s hair, but he said nothing.He liked seeing them like this, how careful they were, and the affection he could feel seeping through their fragile bond.
He hadn’t noticed how new and weak the bond had become since he’d been given the OX until it flared back to life at full strength.Sitting there, he had hope that this incident with Lincoln could be put behind them, shoved into the past where it belonged.
Lucky wouldn’t pretend it hadn’t happened, but he refused to live his life in fear when he had two attentive mates to help him regain his strength, prepared to put aside their own doubts to trust him.He wouldn’t lie, a part of him was terrified that it wouldn’t work because they were strangers, but he needed to try.Omha had given him back his life, just as Ford was about to take it away.He had to honour the time She’d given him to embrace this life, the chance to accept and experience the love of his mates.
No matter how scared he was, he wouldn’t do anything to jeopardise this bond.
* * * *
“This has been nice.”Lucky closed his eyes to the feel of the brush sweeping through his hair.
“What?Being pampered or havingtwoalphas catering to your every whim?”Chase teased, the lightness of his voice a gift.
“Both.”
Ford perched on the end of the bed, opened a small lotion bottle, then shuffled closer to lift Lucky’s foot onto his thigh.“You look better.Got a better colour, and you don’t seem so tense.”He rubbed Lucky’s feet, though he hadn’t asked to be pampered.
Were they worried or was this just what happened during a first heat?In theory, first heats were extended to two weeks to make it easier for the alpha and omega to strengthen their bond.Natural instinct drove an alpha to care for their omega—bathing, touching their hair, tending aches, feeding them.Just as Chase and Ford had done today.Lucky hadn’t expected to have the chance to experience that, after what Lincoln had done.
Overwhelmed to realise neither alpha intended to reject or fight the bond, Lucky reached out to catch Chase’s hand, stopping the steady brushstrokes.“Thank you.For accepting me.Accepting Ford.”
“I didn’t do anything.”Chase genuinely looked confused.“You’re the one strong enough to trust Omha, to make sense of what’s going on.In your shoes, we would have danced around a three-way bond, afraid that if we mentioned it you’d feel you had no choice but to accept us.”
Ford raised an eyebrow at Lucky.“I wouldn’ta danced round nothing.I’da snogged your face off the first time I saw you if I didn’t have nowhere better to be.”
Though Lucky laughed, delighted by the compliment, Chase ignored Ford, as if he’d grown used to his flirtations already.“You want a braid?”
“Please.”Lucky waited, but when neither seemed in a rush to fill the silence, he took the opportunity to learn more about his mates and wriggled his toes in Ford’s hand.“We haven’t had much chance to get to talk.Wanna play ten secrets?”
“You shoulda stuck with the original five.”Lucky’s confusion must have shown, because Ford laughed, though there was something pensive and cautious in his demeanour, lurking behind the mask of amusement.“I had a bug on you.Slipped it into your pocket one day while tailing Lincoln, in case you had info I could use against him.”Ford went back to gently rubbing his feet, unashamed of his sneaky tricks.
“You could have said something sooner.”
“Where’s the fun in that?”Ford seemed happy with his teasing, giving a wink that Lucky suspected was for Chase.“Besides, my first secret is a really good one.”
“Oh yeah?”Chase’s voice was muffled, which Lucky presumed meant he probably had strands of Lucky’s hair between his lips as he carefully braided it.
Ford hummed, leaning in close, full of mischief.“We almost met before, twice.”He waited a moment, as if to give Lucky time to protest, but he was so shocked by the implication that he was speechless.“The first day you two met and went for noodles, I was in my truck across the road, watching Lincoln.I’d already put a tracker and a bug on you, so I’d heard every word you’d said for weeks.”
Lucky opened his mouth, but no words escaped, his mind whirling with suspicions and worry about what he’d said, not knowing that Ford?not just an ORTa, but his future mate?might have heard.
Chase laughed, like he loved the idea, which only made it more irritating.“You must have heard some fun stuff,” he said, giving Lucky’s braid a teasing tug.
“I certainly did.Like this one telling Lincoln not to get ideas about them being mates, because Lucky had a list of twelve potential alphas he would consider before ever tarnishing their ‘friendship’ with a mate bond,” Ford revealed, which was such a shockingly accurate recollection of that conversation that Lucky couldn’t even argue.
“Twelve?”Chase practically choked on the word, then whispered in Lucky’s ear, the tone so heated and attractive that he nearly turned to steal a kiss.“And just who are these alphas?”
“They’re not important anymore,” he admitted, glancing over his shoulder to see that Chase seemed to like that absent confession.“And, in case you’re wondering, you were on the list.”
Ford grinned, clearly pleased.“Course he was.He’s the hottest alpha on campus.”He winked at Chase, who had the grace to be embarrassed, shaking his head as he focused on Lucky’s braid.
“When was the second time?”Chase asked the question Lucky hadn’t the heart to ask.
“When Lincoln tried to buy drugs from me.”Ford cocked his head at Lucky, eyes narrowing with curiosity.“He said he’d taken you to a doctor’s appointment.He rushed back to meet me, was short on money, and I made him tell you to stand at a distance so you wouldn’t see my face.”
Lucky’s mouth opened, remembering that annoying day.Lincoln had been pissing him off all morning, all because Lucky’s blood pressure and white cell count had been wonky.That day he’d been told it had probably just been a viral infection because they were back to normal.Lucky hadn’t admitted it to Lincoln, but he suspected the real culprit was stress.
