“Yeah, I know. You keep saying it, and I keep distracting you by shoving my tongue into your mouth. This is the second set of ice packs that we’ve gone through.” Patrick chuckles. “Luckily, we have Cormac to help out.Ifhe would ever get his slow ass over here.” His words push me into action, and I take the last few steps to the bed, climbing on. “She’s burning up. I gave her fever reducers about an hour ago. I busted out the ice packs after that because I didn’t know what else to do. She’s not whining or begging. Isn’t that what they said during our alpha and omegas dynamics class? That we would know what to do based on what an omega begs for?”
Patrick never sounds scared, and that alone sends a shock of panic through my system.
“You’re not feeling good?” I ask, brushing my fingers over Charlotte’s cheek.
She shakes her head. “No, and it doesn’t help that your brother is torturing me.”
“You say I’m torturing you. I say I’m trying to help bring your fever down.” Patrick rolls his eyes. “They aren’t joking when they say omegas get moody during waves of heat.” He grabs the ice packs and climbs off her before dropping them on the nightstand and lying down at her side. “You try taking over.”
Charlotte twists her head to face me. Her eyes are glassy, and her cheeks are pink. Not to mention her sweaty hairline. They’re all physical signs of going into heat, or that’s what they taught us in school. With her pheromones being so thick they have to qualify as a perfume, it seems likely this is a heat spike caused by going too long without her suppressants.
“We should get you settled in the nest,” I say on autopilot. “Being in a more confined space might help settle your system.”
“What I really need is my pills,” she whimpers, leaning up until her hands meet my hips. She doesn’t hesitate to give me a solid tug, and I carefully move to lie next to her rather than falling on top of her. I don’t think she wants me to squish her. “Until they get here. I need your scent. Both of you. Cuddle me.”
Okay, maybe she did want me lying directly on top of her like Patrick was doing.
“I texted Keegan to get more ice packs,” Patrick says. “And I’m texting the household staff now to ask them to freshen up the nest.”
“If it smells like another omega, I really don’t want to go anywhere near it,” Charlotte says, brushing her fingers over my cheek.
“No one has been in the nest in years. We don’t use the pack bedroom at all,” I tell her, nuzzling my nose to hers. “Don’t worry. The pills will be here soon, and we’ll take care of you in the meantime.”
“You know what?” Patrick chuckles. “The housekeepers are more thorough than I realized. Apparently they’ve been cleaning the pack bedroom weekly since forever.” He rolls off the edge of the bed and starts grabbing a bunch of bags. “Collect the omega. We’re relocating.”
“I can’t leave this room. It’s right next to Lucky’s,” Charlotte croaks.
“Yeah, see, your perfume saturating the place is one thing, but you’re probably going to want some privacy until your system settles down.” Patrick chuckles. “Whoever keeps an eye on Lucky will be most comfortable in this room. Right now the maids can swap the bedding, and the space is good to go. If you soak the mattress in your slick, that’s a whole different level of cleanup.”
“That is…” Charlotte’s eyes narrow, but she finally nods. “A good point.”
Okay.
I guess we’re swapping rooms.
The pack bedroom is even more spacious than the room Charlotte was in originally, but the bed is a four-poster style that allows the curtains to be dropped or tied back as needed.
It also has a TV screen that pops out of the table at the end of the bed. I make a mental note to log in for Charlotte so she can watch the cameras in Lucky’s room.
After a small battle with Patrick over not wanting to have her temperature taken, she finally gives in when he threatens to break out the ice packs. The screen turns red, beeping obnoxiously, and that seems like a bad sign.
“The ice packs and soaking up my pheromones haven’t done much,” Patrick says, rolling over to put the thermometer down after removing the cover. “All right. Snuggle my brother so you can get some of his pheromones. Maybe mine are broken.”
I don’t think pheromones can malfunction. At least not in that way, but it would be inappropriate to say aloud what I think she needs.
She rolls toward me, but not on top of me. “Can you take off your shirt?”
I nod, pushing myself up using my forearms. Once that’s tossed aside, I lie back down. “You’re more than welcome to snuggle right on top of me. I’ll do whatever I can to help bring your fever down. I want you to feel better.”
“Thank you.” She whimpers, scooting close to my side before rolling on top of me. It leaves part of her side on the bed, but most of her front on mine. She brings a hand up to cradle my cheek, and I wish I could focus on that, but she is alarmingly hot.
“Be right back.” Patrick climbs off the bed, and I almost growl at him to stay.
I don’t know what the hell I’m doing.
My hand flies to Charlotte’s back as she burrows her face between my arm and my chest. She ends up nose deep in my armpit, and I pray my after-torture shower left me smelling fresh, because I’m fairly sure I didn’t stop to reapply my deodorant. Checking on her felt like the priority, but now I’m questioning my life choices.
“What can I do to help?” I ask, brushing my fingers down her warm skin.
