“About what?” I asked, trying to sound as nonchalant as usual.
“You’re upset,” she said softly. “I know I upset you.”
“What? No, you didn’t.”
To my horror, Josie’s eyes grew glassy with tears. “I know I did. You’ve been quiet ever since the other night. You won’t look at me. You won’t talk to me.”
Fuck. I had been so absorbed in my dark, swirling abyss of emotions. I hadn’t been caring properly for my mate.
“Angel, I’m not upset with you. I could never be upset with you.”
Josie shook her head, not believing me.
“I shouldn’t have told you what happened,” she said, her voice tight. “You see me differently now.”
“No,” I growled fiercely, lifting her chin to ensure her eyes were on me. “I don’t see you differently, except I know even more deeply what a survivor you are. I just… fuck, you don’t need to hear about my problems.”
“But I do, Theo. I want to know what you’re feeling. Please don’t shut me out. I love you.” Several tears spilled over, trailing down her soft, round cheeks. I ran my thumb across them, soothing the tears away.
Shit, I needed to be honest.
“I can’t handle it when I feel out of control,” I confessed. “I know logically that I can’t control everything, but it doesn’t stop the anxiety from overtaking me. It started when my family moved to North Woods. It was like my whole life was stolen from me. The freedoms I’d enjoyed in London, that my sisters had enjoyed, everything was taken away. It felt like my parents had been abducted by fucking aliens, and not the nice ones in the books you read about.”
Josie blushed and I couldn’t resist pulling her in for a soft kiss.
“You still need to read them,” she mumbled.
A smile tugged at the corner of my lips. This girl. I couldn’t believe how happy she made me.
“I will, promise. Things got better once Cam, Ben, and I became pack, but I still get anxiety attacks and shut down when I can’t control what’s happening around me. Having you in our lives makes me the fucking happiest I’ve ever been, but it also scares the shit out of me. Hearing how you’ve already been hurt, beentortured, I just… I don’t know what to do with that. I’m angry at myself for not protecting you. I’m fucking terrified I won’t be able to keep you safe going forward. I don’t know if you understand how much I love you, how it would kill me if anything ever happened to you.”
Josie crushed her body to mine and purred the softest omega purr. A lump formed in my throat. I wrapped my arms around her waist and reveled in her softness and the vibration of her purr, finally easing the weight of anxiety I’d been carrying.
“I love that you want to protect me,” Josie said. “I’ve never had a lot of people who cared about me and wanted me safe. And now I have you three, and I’m so grateful. But I can’t just hide away for the rest of my life.”
“Don’t see why not,” I grumbled, threading my fingers through her wavy hair.
“Now you sound like Cam,” she said, a smile on her lips.
“Yeah, well, the bastard has a point every once in a while.”
I traced my fingers down her jaw and pulled her in for a kiss. I needed to taste her, feel her, and reassure myself she was okay. She relaxed into my touch, nipping at my lip and sucking lightly on my tongue. I cupped her ass tightly, causing her to gasp into the kiss. I thrust my hard cock against her core, cursing the clothing getting in my way. All I wanted was her.
“Need you,” I gasped as I stood up, keeping her pressed against me. Josie’s scent was rich and sweet with arousal.
“Yes,” she moaned.
Her gasps turned into little whimpers as she unzipped my pants and pulled out my cock. I almost came as she ran her hands down my hard length. I pushed her hand away before pulling down her leggings. I growled when I found she was wearing underwear.
“I thought I told you no underwear at home,” I murmured into her ear, walking her back until we were against a wall. “That was very naughty.”
I ripped the lace off her, putting the scraps in my pocket. Josie’s eyes were glazed over with lust, her breaths coming quicker. I ran my finger through her slit. She was dripping.
“You think Cam’s the only one who can spank your ass?” I kept my words soft, aware of how close we were to the others, unsure how much Josie was comfortable with them overhearing. I couldn’t hold back from fucking her, though. I was going to make my omega scream.
She whimpered as she arched her back, trying to create friction against my hand.
“It would be no hardship to redden this amazing ass. Then I would take you from behind, spanking you as I thrust into that tight pussy of yours. Bringing you so close to coming over and over again and then leaving you dripping and wanting.”
