“I’m sorry if I caused a scene,” I say, once I’m more me again as I finally drag my eyes up to look at them both.
There’s little humor in Ronin’s gaze, and it steals the vibrancy from his hazel eyes. My stomach dips, and I start backtracking, wondering how badly I messed up.
Keegan intersects the silence between me and Ronin. “No harm done.”
I drop my eyes back to the flowing water. Perhaps Keegan’s right and there’s nothing to worry about, but at the same time, there’s a chance for lots of harm if I don’t deal with the wire still recording everything going on.
“Let me use the loo a second,” I whisper, not looking up.
Shutting the door, I move like my arse is on fire and dismantle the wire and flush it down the toilet. Waiting to triple-check it’s gone, I realize how easy it is for me to be that person. It’s like I have a personality switch, and now that the issue has been dealt with, I can flip it again and go back to where I was.
Opening the door, and taking a step away until my back’s up against the wall, I figure out something that was bothering me from when I looked at Ronin. “Why didn’t you say anything before, Ronin?”
I also watch Keegan as I speak. His eyes fall from mine, and he avoids looking at Ronin too. I have to rely on scent and scent alone. Ronin’s chocolate and pepper scent is always seductive to me. Same as Keegan’s cinnamon sweetness. Scent-wise, they complement each other as effortlessly as they work together. Today is no different.
Ronin eventually finds his words. “Tally girl, don’t take what I’m going to say as anything but a compliment.”
Which makes no sense, but he waits until I’m looking at him and acknowledging what he said. “Okay.”
“As a woman, you are fearless. You understand who you are, and your confidence is a fucking beautiful thing to witness and be a part of. As an Omega, you experience unease and discomfort, something I feel. That’s on me being your Alpha. I truly wish you held your Omega in a better light. Because she’s as exquisite, and as brave as you.”
His eyes, usually full of endless laughter, are deep as an ocean. It’s another side to Ronin O’Connor I haven’t seen a lot of. Like this, honest and direct, he’s as appealing as he is laughing and naked. I melt more for the Alpha, although I shrink at what he says.
“If you were confident in your designation, Tally, both Kee and I would have you knotted where you stand now. But you’re not there. You don’t trust that side of you as much as you do when you’re all woman. So, until then, we’ll care for you and sometimes protect you from yourself. I hope I’m making sense.”
And he is. I know where he’s coming from. I also understand the way he talks about the issue, explaining the way he sees me, with two separate parts sharing one body. I’ve been living that way for a long time, and I suspect anyone without a pack does.
“The day we make you properly ours, you’ll be embracing everything about being an Omega. Including those times when you get scent struck or you slip into a heat wave. I don’t want you ever thinking we’re taking advantage of you when you’re lost in your designation.” Ronin’s approach is gentle and understanding. He pauses, his eyes getting a different look to them. “Our wedding vows, though, are different. There’s no scope from us for you to get used to being an O’Connor anymore. We’re going to be together forever as man and wife, so don’t bethinking with us not rushing your Omega side that we’re not one hundred percent committed. There’s a huge fucking difference.”
Keegan moves closer, and his expression reads the same as Ronin’s words; reassurance and ownership, mixed with a reminder of the intimacy we’re building.
His eyes are sparkling like stars in the night sky. His mood isn’t as black and white as usual. But he’s not subtle in his directness. “I’m also going to say some things you need to remember while your brain ticks over. We want you next to us because you want to be there. We won’t be ending our vows, even if it takes you a hundred years to come to us as our Omega on your own acceptance. This vow of ours is based on trust as much as it is a deep need to be together.”
I think he’s going to kiss me, but he reaches for my hands, then leads me back to the tap, where the cold water hits my wrist again.
“You need us as much as we need you. Once you’re good, we will take you back to our place.”
“Rafferty’s heat, though.”
“We’ll deal with him,” Keegan assures me. “He won’t be left in any discomfort.”
“But…”
“He knew he was asking a lot when he invited you to his nest for his heat. Yeah, he’s going to be disappointed, but he’s not got a spiteful bone in his body.”
“I feel terrible, but…”
Ronin leans against the doorjamb, his gaze like a soft touch. “He’ll understand more than you know.”
This goddamn pack keeps proving over and over they’re more than what they seem. Dropping my gaze, then tucking my chin to chest, I close my eyes and say what I should have said the moment we crashed into each other's world for a fourth time.
“Why haven’t you said anything about Oscar?”
I feel the change in the air as their mood drops. I don’t push them. I stay with my wrists under the water, with my eyes closed, breathing through the fallout of my question.
Without opening my eyes, I feel Ronin closing the distance between us, physically and spiritually. His scent settles around me at the same time his body does.
“Probably much the same reason you haven’t brought your uncle up till now. It’s not something we can talk about quickly. And I know it’s a lot, seeing as I’m only skirting around answering, but I’d like us all to be in top form when we talk about him. Currently, I’ve got one Omega about to drop into his heat, and I’d like to make sure my beautiful, reluctant Omega is as safe as I can make her.” His touch confirms his words.
