“If you’re going to let me out of the apartment, I’d rather go to class than shopping.”
Naturally, she disagreed. It took a considerable amount of strength to hold back my smile. Why was her stubbornness so amusing to me?
“And you will. Tomorrow.” I informed her casually, knowing that I was telling her exactly what she wanted.
Flora’s face lit up, and she sat straighter. “Are you serious?”
I nodded. “I'm not completely unreasonable. We’re going to take a few steps today to make sure you’re well protected, and one of us is going to follow you to class.”
“Oh, so you’re justmoderatelyunreasonable, then?” she asked.
Usually, comebacks and smart-ass replies would have infuriated me, but there was something about the way Flora said it that made me bite back a smile.
“Exactly.” I grinned. “Now, come on. I’m hungry.”
She scrambled off the bed. “Wait, where are we getting lunch?” she asked, grabbing her bag. “I don’t want to eat health food trash!”
I strode out of the room, Flora hot on my heels. She really was allergic to eating anything healthy, wasn't she? “I was thinking tacos.”
Behind me, she made a small, excited squeaking noise. “I like tacos,” she whispered.
“Then, I guess you’d better get in the car so we can go eat.”
“Sir, yes, sir!” She jokingly saluted me as she practically ran into the elevator. We rode it down to the basement in calm silence.
Once we were in the car, I handed Flora my phone, open on the music app. “Pick something to play,” I said gruffly as she settled into the seat.
“You’re trusting me?” she asked dubiously.
“Yes.”
A small, evil smile spread across her face. “Okay!” she smiled brightly, and three seconds later, what I could only describe as bright-pink bubble-gum pop started playing through the speakers.
There was no way she actually liked that kind of music; she was purely doing it to fuck with me.
Fuck my life.
The nesting supply superstore was overwhelming, to say the least. We had parked outside while Flora looked dubiously at the entrance.
“Come on, princess, let’s go get some fluffy things.”
“Princess?” she asked, sliding out of her seat and joining me. Due to adifference in height, she had to walk a lot faster than me to keep pace.
“It just sounded right,” I said with a shrug. I didn’t know where the nickname came from, but it had slipped out of my mouth, and I was going with it.
I wanted Flora to like me.
IneededFlora to like me.
If I were being honest with myself, she and Bear weren’t the only ones with the connection. Flora had somehow managed to worm her way into all our brains. Still, as the automatic doors opened and we stepped into what I could only describe as blanket nirvana, I had to keep in the back of my mind how important not screwing this up was.
This omega needed to be treated with utmost care. I was used to doing whatever it took to protect someone, but this was different.
I kept telling myself this was just another job. Something I was doing pro bono. The reality was; it had never been a job. I had needed to protect Flora from the first moment I had noticed her stalker. Then I got to know her, and walking away was impossible.
“Go wild,” I said, gesturing to the walls of blankets and bins filled with pillows. The store was set up to be easily navigated. There were several nests dotted around the space, displaying some of the featured products.
Flora shot me a withering glare before walking toward the back of the store.
