“I just worried that I was making you all sleep out here, that you’re all uncomfortable because of me. And probably that I was snuggling too much.” I cringe as I say it. It sounds even more pathetic out loud.
“Not one bit of that is true,” she says, stroking the long hair trailing along my back and side. Then she tightens her arm around me, pulling me impossibly closer. “I’ve loved every second of tonight. Having you in my arms. Hearing your cutegasps and giggles during the movie. Feeding you. All of it. Understand?” Her voice is quiet but strong, leaving no room for me to doubt her sincerity.
“I understand.”
“Good. Now, do you want to stay here, or would you like to go up to bed? Yours, mine, Riley’s? I bet Brooks wouldn’t mind if we used his, either. Your pick.”
I smile at the thought of stealing Brooks’ bed while he snores down here, but no. I don’t want to move. My omega is far too content right here.
“I’d like to stay here, if that’s okay.”
“It absolutely is. We’ll stay.”
She squeezes me tighter, closing her eyes with a soft, contended sigh. So I rest my head back against the crook of her shoulder and snuggle into my warm, safe little cocoon, surrounded by her warm, woodsy scent as I drift back to sleep.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Sage
I wake up to the smell of coffee wafting into the living room and attempt to wiggle out of Vee’s arms so I can make breakfast for everyone, but Vee immediately tightens her hold on me.
“Where do you think you’re going?” she whispers, ruffling the hair along my neck.
I shiver and bite my lip, all too aware of how every inch of my body is pressed against hers.
“I was going to make you breakfast,” I whisper back.
“Hmm.” She nuzzles the top of my head, scent marking me, and my perfume spikes, swirling into the air around us.
“Do you want to make us breakfast?” she asks.
“I—” I frown. Does it matter?
“Sage,” Vee says, sensing the shift in my demeanor. She angles herself above me on one elbow, looking down at me as she strokes the hair back from my face. “Why are you offering to make breakfast?”
“Because it’s what I’m supposed to… do…” I trail off at the look on her face. “Or… Um.”
My scent starts to flatten, muddying with my confusion and resulting stress. If I can’t do the very basic things and omega is supposed to do, then what am I even here for? What good am I?
“From now on,” Vee says, her tone gentle but hard with command. “You’re only going to do things that you actually want to do.”
My breathing picks up as my fists clench, my chest tightening so I can only take shallow breaths.
“Hey,” Vee says, softening her voice even more. “What is it? What’s wrong?”
“What if…” I stop, feeling absolutely pathetic.
Vee bends down and presses a kiss to the top of my head, then scoops me into her side as she settles next to me again, tucking my head under her chin. Her purr takes me by surprise, but immediately my muscles loosen, and I melt into her.
“What if, what?”
“What if I don’t know what I want?” I whisper, glad I don’t have to face her for it.
“Then we’ll help you figure it out,” she says, so matter of fact it takes me by surprise. “And until then, no more cooking for you. If you decide you want to cook for fun, have at it, but for now, let us take care of you, okay?”
That’s… impossible to imagine.
But I’m not yet brave enough to say no to an alpha, so I nod my head against her chest. She squeezes me to her, purr rumbling through us, and we stay like that until Riley saunters in with a plate of toast and eggs for each of us.
