“Shower?” I murmur against them. His smile makes my lips twist and my pulse race.
“Don’t you remember we had one before we slept? You even triple checked my wound wasn’t bleeding and the gauze was okay after our tryst. Besides, I can’t think of a better blessing for our new home than our omega walking around with barely anything more than our claim and marks on while she explores,” he replies.
“Another of your traditions?” I tease him.
“I’m all for starting new traditions,” Puck says. His lips have barely left my throat; his hands haven’t stopped taking their fill. “She should only ever wear my jersey.”
“Slightly impractical, pup,” Koz growls as he spins away and walks out.
“And she only gets to wear pants when we leave the house,” Talon suggests. A carefree laugh follows his slightly impractical suggestion.
“She is right here,” I offer sassily.
“I know, let the best morning of my life extend a little further. See, right now, I’m visualising you laughing and talking with the girls in your zone of the house, only wearing my clothes with my come leaking from your pussy.”
I laugh, shoving him out of the bed. Of course, he rolls over and thuds down onto the floor. “Ow, babe, that was my good arm, too.”
He pops back up, the most breathtaking smile on his face. His blue eyes are vibrant and alive. Puck jumps to his feet, towering over me. “Hey, before you get out of bed, I have to tell you something.”
My eyes flare immediately. “What?”
Puck looks at me, his eyes locked on mine. They’re not searching though; they’re filling up with colour, matching the depth of his emotion. He draws out the moment before he grins like a demon and winks. “I fucking love you.”
He leaves me with a tight chest and needing a minute to breathe through a rush of emotions.
“It’s our bond,” I insist to anyone listening, blinking away the pricking of tears.
“No, it’s not. You’re in love, and you’re allowed to be, Raney. But Puck’s right, I need to tell you the same thing.” Hayes throws his leg over mine, rolling his body to squish me down in case I decide to float away in my ooey-gooey happiness. “I have loved you for a very long time, and this thing between you and me is only getting started. I promise while I’m a struggling artist, tattooing the days away, that you will be my muse and inspiration.” He dips down and kisses me slowly, all tongue and all-consuming intention.
Then he climbs off the bed and leaves, and the only one left in the room is Talon. He stands at the foot of our gigantic bed dressed in a pair of sweats, his eyes full of all the starry, sweet things that used to be there when we were kids. He crooks his finger, and like a warlock, he summons me to him.
“You look a dream, Lolli, wearing my bite on your throat,” he says quietly. I don’t need to look too hard to see how reflective he’s feeling; our fresh bond means I’m there with him. Where I belong.
Pulling me up to kneeling, he wraps his arms around my waist and rests his head against my chest. “I wish none of us suffered and went through the bullshit we did, but I know I wasn’t the person I needed to be for you. I know I don’t need to explain how special you are to me, but it doesn’t mean I’m not going to, okay? Because I have to say the words I had to keep locked away from the world. I love you, Lolli. I need you more than I want to admit. Us packing makes me stupid happy.”
He lifts me up and carries me out of the room, stopping at the door they all left from. “Close your eyes and wait until I tell you to open them. I want to see your face when you see everything for the first time.”
And you know, I feel completely fine standing in front of them, with my eyes closed as naked as the day I was born. I must look a mess, and despite my shower, I reek of sex, but I don’t care one bit.
But with my eyes closed, I get a sense of how amplified our connection is now we are pack. I’d be able to point where they are by their presence alone, it’s like four very different phantom touches would guide me back to four very different alphas. I can also scent them in a way that would make a bloodhound jealous, and they smell even more mouth-watering. But best of all, they smell like mine.
Hayes moves closer. “Arms out. He was joking about letting you walk naked. I mean, by all means you go right ahead so I get to admire those gorgeous new dips and curves of yours. Except your delivery from Birdie arrived earlier.”
“Wow, that was fast,” I say, stretching up for a kiss.
Our kiss is over way too soon, but Hayes keeps helping me dress. “Not really, we travelled for some of the first, then you slept like a zombie since.”
“And I don’t stink?” I ask them all.
“You smell fucking divine. Now stop taunting your alphas, put some fucking clothes on, and let us show you around,” Koz snaps.
Hayes continues to turn me slowly, threading my arms into the softest, silkiest gown I’ve legitimately ever felt. Even without looking, I know it’s the deep chocolate coloured one from Birdie. As soon as I saw it, I put it straight in my cart, completely enamoured by the colour, which reminded me of Hayes’s eyes.
Like Emmalina promised, the glide of the mulga silk against my skin brings a soft rush of tingles that race over every inch of me, from top to bottom.
While I’m having an omega moment, it seems my alphas are having one of their own. I get assaulted by a collective noisy inhale and low growls of appreciation before I get teased by them. A soft purr from Hayes, Talon swoops in for a quick kiss before I hear him do the same to Hayes, while Puck groans and Koz growls before he snaps, “I’m changing the dates for our guests to come visit. We’re going into lockdown until every fucking thing is unpacked, micina. Look how responsive and fucking delectable you are.”
I stay facing away from my new house and smile at him. “I don’t have a problem with any of that.”
