“Arms up.”
Off goes the shirt, and the rustling and movement behind me and underneath me tell me Nik is undressing as well.
As much as he can, that is. I’m still straddling his legs, so in lieu of removing his pants, he just unzips the fly and pulls his cock out. It bumps my ass, and a wet smear of precum dribbles down one cheek.
“Oh, fuck, Mags … You’re so perfect …”
An intrusive thought invades my mind at his words, but Nik is quick to correct my treacherous brain.
“It’s not a lie. You’re absolutely perfect just as you are.”
I open my mouth to argue, but he brushes my clit again with his thumb, and I forget what smart remark I was going to say.
The motion is soft, gentle, but so shocking that it takes my breath away. As an alpha with years of experience pleasing omegas, it shouldn’t surprise me that Nik can hit all the right spots on the first go. Hell, I’ve been sleeping with him off and on just as long. He knows my body better than anyone.
“While you were moping this morning,” he mutters into my neck, “I was on the phone with Clint Donnelly. They’re not going to sue, and they’re not going to tell anyone that you’re an omega.”
My body stiffens, and my eyes pop open. “What?”
“It seems you’re not the first omega guest they’ve had in their house, and you’re also not the first victim of Dave Donnelly’s med tampering. He’s on his last warning from the court, so one more accusation could get their chain-smoking alpha son locked up for years.” The whole time he talks, his hands and lips roam. If the call upset him, in any way, I can’t tell; the only emotions I’m picking up are extreme lust and arousal. “Your secret is safe.”
Well, that takes care of the grift situation, but not the bigger problem of me destroying a lifetime of friendship. The pack bond genie is out of the bottle, and I’ll never get it back in there now.
My heart pounds in my chest. If only I’d known about this before … but the call came after I fucked things up. I shouldn’t beat myself up over this, but I can’t help it.
Nik pauses in his pawing, and he switches to a chaste hug as concern radiates between us.
“You’re okay, Mags. Don’t panic. I’m telling you so you can rest easy about it.”
Except I can’t rest easy. I can’t rest at all, not until I fix things with Kip and Kaden. Nik lets out a frustrated groan, and the sensual mood from the bond snaps like a broken rubber band.
“We’re not having sex now, are we?” he says.
I try to send reassurance his way, the same way he sends me his feelings, but all I feel in return is disappointment. “Sorry. I have to go find them.”
He releases me, but not before kissing my mark again. “Later? Promise.”
“Later. I promise.”
It takes a few minutes to get a fresh set of clothes picked out, and by the time I’m dressed and decent again, Nik has already vacated my room. Before he shut the door, he sent a burst of encouragement through the bond. My mood improves significantly at that, though I still worry about the damage I’ve done to my relationship with the twins.
When I come out of my room in a clean tank top and some shorts, I’m surprised to see both twins still in the living room. Kip’s wearing a new outfit, too, and they both sit on the couch, heads hung, hands wringing in their laps.
It’s a surreal scene. Like seeing double, only not. Kaden never changed out of his pajamas from the night before, but Kip is wearing one of his better pairs of jeans—no holes or scuffs, and they look freshly pressed. His button-down shirt is also ironed, and it looks like he’s put some styling product in his dark hair.
Kip looks like he’s dressed for his first high school date, while Kaden looks like the poor, rejected student the next morning after said date tanked.
Their heads pop up when I walk in, and I’m met with two identical faces full of regret.
“Um … Hi.” I scratch the back of my neck and try to find the right words. Are there even words that would be right for this situation? “I, uh … yeah.”
Oh, this is going splendidly.
Kip stands up first, then Kaden. There’s a moment of hesitation, a fraction of a second where I don’t know if I’m supposed to walk towards them, or if they’re supposed to start, or what’s going on.
Kaden’s mouth opens and shuts a few times, like a fish out of water gaping for air, but it’s Kip who finally finds his voice first.
“Nik said you wanted to talk to us.”
