“No,” she said, blushing beautifully.
“Will you eat a sandwich, precious?” Ben asked, giving her breast a squeeze.
She hesitated for a moment and I held my breath. She’d barely eaten dinner and hadn’t had anything today.
“Actually, is there any chance I could have some mac and cheese? Like just from the box is fine,” she added hurriedly.
“My beautiful, precious, sunshine omega darling, I would love to make you mac and cheese,” Ben said, leaping up from the couch. “And it’s not going to be from a fucking box,” he threw over his shoulder before skipping to the kitchen.
I snorted at Ben’s antics, and Josie giggled, her body soft and relaxed against mine. Damn, if I didn’t grow hard at the sound of her laugh.
“Thank you,” I said, caressing her face.
“For what?” she asked.
“For giving him something to do. For making him so happy.” I couldn’t resist brushing a kiss against her forehead. I needed to keep touching her, to feel that she washereand safe.
She snuggled against me, snaking one hand under my shirt and stroking my bare skin. I groaned, shifting my hand to her ass and cupping it. I wasn’t going to start anything sexual, especially after last night, but I couldn’t help if everything Josie did oozed sex.
Josie made a contented noise, continuing to trace one hand across my skin and keeping her other on Theo. I could feel through the bond that Theo was awake, but he was pretending to sleep. He didn’t “wake up” until lunch was served. He sat next to Josie, always touching her in some way but barely speaking a word. Josie kept casting him worried looks and I wanted to reassure her, but I didn’t know what to say. Theo’s anxiety could suck him down a deep hole, and it was almost impossible to drag him back out.
We all cuddled back on the sectional after lunch, and Josie turned on some British TV show I’d never heard of. I grabbed my knitting and went to sit next to her when she nudged me.
“Will you sit in front of me?” she asked. “I want to play with your hair.”
My insides danced with joy. This was everything I wanted. I kept my cool, simply sliding to the floor with my knitting, but I knew my scent was giving away my excitement. She sat with her legs on either side of my shoulders and started working her fingers through my hair.
Fuck. Me.
It was like her fingers were stroking up and down my cock. The pleasure was so good, her touch so tender, it almost brought tears to my eyes. After a while, I gave up the pretense of knitting, sinking more deeply into my spot on the floor and grasping her calves, which were still slung over my shoulders. Josie moved down to my neck, teasing out all the tension.
I groaned. “Feels so good, sweetheart.”
“Can I give you a braid?” she asked.
“You can do whatever the fuck you want.”
I felt the gentle tugs on my hair as she braided it and then used the hair tie on her wrist to secure the end.
“All set.” She leaned over, wrapping her arms around my chest and kissing me on the cheek.
“Thanks, baby girl,” I said, caressing her arms.
“Sounds like you got a text, precious,” Ben said, reaching over to snag Josie’s phone from the side table.
I didn’t want to let her untangle herself from me, but I reluctantly let go of her arms as she took the phone from Ben. I tensed. If it was anyone from her fucking family…
“Oh my gosh,” Josie exclaimed. “Sam and Gerald have a last-minute work assignment in the city tomorrow.”
Josie’s eyes were bright and she smiled widely. The relief it brought me to see her smile was instantaneous, my chest loosening even further as her scent sweetened to its usual cupcake vanilla.
“They’re asking if they can stay here. Is that okay?” she asked, looking between the three of us hopefully.
A zing of uncertainty and possessiveness rocked through the bond. I couldn’t refuse Josie anything that made her this happy, but the thought of having other alphas in the house right now set me on edge. Alphas had hurt our omega, and we needed to protect her.
I shifted to face the couch, still keeping my hands on Josie’s calves. I met Ben’s gaze and he nodded, signaling his agreement. Theo would be the greater challenge.
“Are we sure it’s safe to have them here?” Theo asked, speaking for the first time in hours.
