“Here you go,” I said as I handed the apron to Preston. He grabbed it absentmindedly for a second before giving it a closer look.
“What the hell is this?” Preston asked, holding up the sexy apron.
I shrugged with a smile. “That's all I have.”
He locked eyes with me, forcing that small inhale I always got from his intensity.
“I’ll wear this tonight, but you have to promise to wear it for me soon—naked.” Preston wickedly smiled at me as he pulled the apron over his head.
A shiver of excitement ran down my spine as I felt a burst of perfume come off my skin. Lukas and Isaac didn’t even bother holding back anymore—they were immediately surrounding me with kisses to my neck, as Preston shook his head, grinning.
I looked over to Demetrius. His eyes were burning as he stared at me; simmering passion written all over him now. My breathing grew heavier just imagining being with him again. I wanted him badly, and I knew I needed him to feel complete.
A loud humming noise blared from the kitchen as Preston flicked on the ventilator above the stove.
“Calm down, everyone!” He yelled at us. We all separated, laughing as plates of chicken cutlets, baked potatoes, and a salad were brought over to my small kitchen table.
After a delicious dinner, Isaac navigated me to my living room, where he questioned my collection of pillows and blankets in front of the TV.
“I don’t know, it just felt right.” I shrugged as I sat down on the floor and snuggled into a few blankets.
“This is called nesting, Ivy, and it’s your omega instincts kicking in and preparing you for a heat.” He gestured to all my blankets. “Now I’m going to let my instincts kick in.”
My eyes grew wide. Which instincts would those be?
“Not those, you dirty girl…these…” Isaac dropped down on top of my blankets and pillows and rubbed his neck all over them.
“Are you scent-marking my stuff?” I asked, throwing a pillow at him.
“Good, give me that pillow too!” He grabbed it out of the air and proceeded to rub his neck on it as well.
Preston and Lukas joined in too, and after a brief round of wrestling with the pillows, we all relaxed into the pile of blankets, with Demetrius settling down comfortably on the couch behind us. The evening concluded with us allwatching TV until we each drifted off to sleep in my pile of blankets.
***
In the middle of the night, I woke up, needing to use the bathroom. It was a little difficult to extract myself from Isaac, Lukas, and Preston all snuggled around me, but I made it out and tiptoed down the hallway, careful not to wake them. As I sat in the bathroom, I analyzed the comfort I felt having my pack here. Their presence was continuing to fill a growing void in my heart. This night with them all by my side, this felt more right to me with each passing hour.
After drying my hands, I returned to the living room to find Demetrius awake and watching me.
“Did I wake you?” I whispered to him.
He nodded, tilting his head to the side.
“I’m sorry, I was trying to be quiet.”
He patted the couch, inviting me to join him. Yes, I absolutely wanted to join him.
“Do you wake up a lot at night?” he whispered to me.
“Most nights I do. I find it hard to sleep straight through,” I whispered back as I snuggled against his chest. He began to rub my leg with his warm hand, a sensation that ignited my desire for him again.
“Me too. I find my brain very active at night, and sometimes it’s hard to fall asleep.”
“We’re probably awake at the same time, pondering over random things,” I laughed softly.
We spent the next few minutes talking about several different topics, including how he got started in dance (his sister), my previous dance company experience, past injuries we’d had, and what our funniest things onstage were (he once tripped off a set of stairs and crashed into a principal dancer).
Softly laughing, I thought back on how similar yet different we seemed to be. “Does our age gap bother you? We’re about ten years apart.”
