OLIVE
“I don’t understandthis Mafia guy at all. He makes Finn seem downright chipper.”
Easton’s hand ran up and down my side as I read my new book to him. I was sitting between his legs, curled up against his bare chest and breathing in his rich chocolate scent. It anchored me. The deep pit of despair I was so familiar with was still there, and I was still in it, but I hadn’t entirely vanished into the darkness like usual. My guys wouldn’t let me. And somehow, they weren’t upset when I lashed out or pushed them away. In fact, they just smiled, gave me a kiss, and forced more cuddles.
I couldn’t quite wrap my head around it all.
All weekend, they’d made sure one of them was always in my nest with me. I told them it was unnecessary, that they probably had better things to do, and was promptly ignored. I could just imagine Finn creating some sort of rotation schedule. Today was Sunday, so the guys weren’t working, but Lars and Finn had left the house mid-morning and told me to stay in my nest with Easton. Of course, that made me want to defy them and see what was responsible for the loud noises I kept hearing in the rest of the house. But Easton was an unwavering jailer, trapping me with cuddles and giving me smug little smirks.
Asshole.
Sorta.
Not really.
When my guys were in my nest, they’d all demanded I read my Mafia romance out loud to them and were gettingveryinvested.
“I do like the whole necklace tracker situation. I should definitely get you one of those,” Easton said.
“You should not,” I grumbled.
“I think I should. That way, I can chase you down whenever I want.” His voice was low and sent a shiver through me as I imagined being hunted by my alphas. How adrenaline would surge through me as I tried to get away, the thrill of being caught and thrown to the ground.
I’d had my fair share of hookups throughout the years, but I’d never trusted anyone enough to really embrace my kinks. But with my guys? I wanted it all.
“Maybe that would be okay,” I mumbled.
Easton groaned. His hard-on rubbed against my ass as he shifted to brush his cheek against the top of my head, scent-marking me. I hadn’t put on any deodorant this weekend, and my guys couldn’t keep their hands off me, even more than usual.
My reading was interrupted when the door to my room creaked open. Lars and Finn entered, looking excited.
“Everything ready?” Easton asked.
“What is everything? What have you been doing?” I huffed.
Lars chuckled and plucked me from Easton’s arms into his own, holding me bridal style. “You’ve been such a good, patient girl?—”
Easton snorted. “Who are you talking about?”
“And now we can show you your surprise,” Lars continued, ignoring Easton.
I crossed my arms. “Fine.”
God, I could hear myself being a bitch, but I couldn’t stop the words coming out of my mouth. Unreasonable irritation clawed at my chest that Lars and Finn had left my nest this morning, even though I told them I was fine on my own. I wasn’t in the moodfor surprises right now. I just wanted to be in a bad mood and they weren’t letting me.
My alpha just smiled and brushed his hand over the French braids that were still in my hair. He’d ended up braiding his own hair to match, and somehow it totally fit his whole fierce Viking vibe.
“Ready?” he asked before carrying me out of the room. The first thing I noticed was a massive mattress leaning against the wall.
“This is for your nest,” Finn explained. “Unless you’re particularly attached to the air mattress.”
I blinked. The air mattress made for a somewhat miserable sleeping experience when all of us were on it, and I honestly didn’t know how much time we had before it just popped under our weight.
“And once you’re feeling up to it, we’re going to go to Nest Wonderland to buy you whatever you want for your nest. It’s supposed to be the best store for omega stuff,” Easton said, rubbing his hands together.
My insides were a swirl of emotion. Did they not think I’d done a good job with my nest? And how could they possibly want to buy me stuff when I was so awful to them?
Finn moved close and cupped my face. “Come see the rest, sweet girl.”
