Forty-Five
SIMONA
Dominic’s tension was what pulled me from sleep. I’d felt his see-sawing emotions through our bond—along with theirs. I lingered in the sweet spot where you’re waking up but you’re still snuggly and sleepy until I needed to see them.
The aroma in the kitchen is heavy with herbs and spices. If I closed my eyes, I’d say we were in an Italian restaurant. As I walk towards the scent, my pack steals my focus instead. Each inhale is full of thunderstorm, paper and ink, sweetened by honey straight from the hive. There’s no question in my mind: I’m addicted to the scent of my pack. It evokes a thousand feelings at once, makes me feel powerful beyond belief and I chase the smallest taste of it like a dog does a bone.
All around me are other reminders of my pack, confirming on a different level that I’m where I should be. Ryder’s voice floats through the apartment, working on something new by the sounds. It’s good and I already know his fans are going to love it. As soon as that thought enters my mind, my heart gallops knowing I’ll be one of the luckypeople who get to hear his beautiful music before anyone else. Forever.
I lean against the wall in the kitchen, watching Ryder and Hendrix together. Like with Ryder’s music, it hits a chord, seeing how relaxed and open they are. In our home there’s no denying the love they share, and when they both twist to look at me, it’s clear I’m a part of that love. Someday soon, I want to be pressed between them exactly how they are now.
Now though, it’s Dominic who holds my focus. The shadows did a good job hiding him from me, but even if it was pitch black, I’d be able to find him. Tonight, his tension calls like a siren’s song, flaming my growing need to comfort him however I can.
His scent, like always, reaches a place inside my soul. A very private place that I’ve never shared with anyone but my pack. Even now his scent contains sharp notes of disappointment. I understand why. I’m not going to be dismissive of how he feels but I still don’t like my Alpha torturing himself.
Scouring my nails down his open thighs, I sink to my knees. Laughing under my breath, because I must look like a goose as I fall, it’s not gracious or sultry at all. But this Alpha has that power over me.
“Dom, let me look after you. Please?” I ask, not even attempting to fight through my need to comfort him.
He stares me down. Challenge makes the colour of his eyes deepen as he searches mine, looking for any signs of distress. He won’t find anything like that, but I understand we all see and cope different, so I wait patiently until he finds the answers he’s looking for.
As soon as I see the slightest give in his angst, I rise to my feet hoping to drag him away. He surges up before I can step out the way I’m in his arms, the squeak of surprise temporarily drowning out Ryder singing about villains having fairytales coming true.
Laying my head against Dom’s chest, I offer a finger wave at the others as he walks us away. I know where I want him to take us, but I let him decide where we go.
He slows before he enters the door to my nest, as if to ask for permission. I cup his face, pulling his attention to mine. “I appreciate you checking, Dominic, but you are welcome in my nest anytime.”
I wiggle free, pulling him inside before I give him a playful shove in the back. Before he can turn around, I leapfrog onto his back and we fall together in my nest.
There’s a pause and in the silence, I wonder if I went too far. My stomach plummets, and my pulse explodes, but when Dominic lifts his face out of the sea of pillows, his smile chases my worries away.
I lean down to kiss the back of his neck. “Stay there.”
Not waiting, I race to the wall where everything an Omega would ever want is stocked. Of course, there’s more than a few types of massage oil, and I have to smell a few of them before settling on a pear and geranium perfume, knowing it will enhance his scent. And then I grab a sheet to lay under him.
He rolls side to side as I strip his shirt off him and arrange the sheet. I wait until he’s watching me so he can see me slide my arms back in his shirt. It smells so good even with his disappointment tainting it.
The last of his sour mood drains away in a loud swoosh when I straddle his legs and sit down on the curve of his back. Before he can ask what I’m doing, I squirt a generous amount of oil in my hands. My hands are barely touching him, and he’s groaning.
“You know I go to water when you leave your sockies on, right?” I lean down to whisper against his ear.
His eyes pop open, laughter lighting them up, and before he can argue his way out of the cold hard fact, I press mythumbs down along his spine, punishing him a little for winding me up so much.
Then the intimacy we share becomes what I wanted it to be—full of peace. In a way it is a reminder that his hard work is a gift I can never repay, but I’ll be eternally grateful. And we did win. There will be repercussions, but after today the founding family will know I’m not messing around either.
By the time I’ve made my way down the back of Dominic’s body, to focus on the balls of his feet, he’s blissfully unaware. He is in acompletely relaxed state, which is what I was after. Climbing quietly to my feet, I pull the door shut and let him rest.
Walking back down the corridor away from our bedrooms, the mood is like day and night. There’s no longer that urgent push of dominance. The telltale sign of Ryder and Hendrix’s tangled scent flicks suggestively up my bare legs. The both of them are standing on the balcony outside, and they turn, shuffling apart to let me slide in between them.
I grip the balustrade, and my head floats in the aftermath of their pleasure. I’m not jealous, we have the rest of eternity to be together.
“Hungry?” Hendrix asks, brushing my hair off the side of my neck and dipping in to kiss behind my ear. I swear he can ignite my body in one touch.
My rumbling stomach answers.
“We can wait. Dom’s asleep,” I offer, finally noticing the view. It’s spectacular, like they said it was.
Ryder kisses my shoulder, “I honestly don’t know how you managed that.”
