“Kick his ass, mama!” he yells, not looking in Verona’s direction.
She screams, and I glance in her direction as Nico fucking drops his weight by falling backward. Vero releases him and rolls away just in time, and Nico huffs out an evil chuckle.
“I’m coming for you.”
“Fucking bring it,” she squeaks.
“You’re still thinking too hard,” Pablo sighs, dragging me into his lap. “Want to talk about it?”
“Why does a little piece of tissue inside of me have so much power over people?” I grumble softly, dropping my head against his shoulder as I get comfortable.
“Necesito más que eso, mi amor,”he mumbles. “What tissue and where is it?”
“My virginity, Pablo,” I say, smiling at how confused he is. “I’m beginning to wonder if I’ve been feeling crazy lately because I may be going into heat. I don’t have time to be out of commission with the charity event next week, but it’s not really something I have control of. I don’t want to prolong the inevitable by taking a heat suppressant.”
“Fuck no,” he growls. “Don’t put any moremierdainto your system. I’ve been trying not to think about heats, or if we may end up going into heat at the same time. It’s a lot to worry about.”
“Come here!” Nico crows. “You can’t run from me.”
“You’re fucking scary, Nico.”
“Jump on me like a cute little spider monkey and pretend to slam the palm of your hand against my nose. Do it, Verona.”
“Fuck.” I watch as she curses before she jumps up on him, but hits him instead while pulling her punch. Nico falls over her, and teaches her how to incapacitate him. He’s actually a really decent instructor. I’m impressed.
“I want to remember my first time,” I admit, glad no one is paying attention to us. “I know everyone says it’ll suck, and that it hurts, but with how much emphasis everyone puts on this… I want to remember.”
“Nico is patient,” Pablo says, his lips moving against the shell of my ear. “He’ll make it good for you, Rosa. Ciro worries about hurting people, and may cry with you. While he likes to stir the pot and make jokes, he cares way more than you’d think. Dario is also an option, but the question is: do you want to be knotted the first time you have sex?”
“I might,” I say, biting my lip.
“When you find yourself in a situation where you think it’ll happen, let it,” Pablo says, kissing my temple. “Lose yourself to the passion of things. None of us are going to be jealous. Dario and Ciro are over the moon that you’re bonded to Nico. Everything will happen the way it needs to.”
Nodding, I watch Verona scoot out from Nico’s “unconscious” body, squealing when he comes back alive and attacks her by tickling her.
“You both make Nico a hell of a lot more fun,” Pablo chuckles.
“A part of me feels bad because I know he still has shit to take care of in Michigan,” I say, wincing.
“And most of it will keep,” he says. “My stepfather is dead, and the girl he tried to buy killed him. I feel like that’s karma, don’t you? The best way to fix things with the people he hurt is to create a trust. We’ll need someone to run it, continue to raise money to support them, and make sure those who need theservices get it. Nico is taking on responsibility that’s not all his to claim.
“Maybe I’m an asshole for saying that. However, the sins of the father can’t all fall on the son, you know?”
“I do,” I admit. It’s something I wrestle with often. “Who would run an organization like that we could trust to allocate funds?”
“We?” Pablo asks. I can feel his lips curving into a smile, and I nod with a shrug.
“Pack inherits each other’s burdens. While Ciro and Dario practice pinning each other, help me brainstorm this. If there’s no one you can trust, what about hiring an outsider, and then telling them they’re going to allocate funds to abuse survivors?” I ask. “This way, no one is forced to discuss their pasts with a stranger. Do you think it would need to be someone that has a law background?”
“Possibly. Or, we could hire a lawyer to oversee the trust with someone to spearhead the more sensitive phone calls,” he muses. “You’re kind of a genius,miamor.”
“I’m not, but thank you,” I say. “This simply seems to be the easiest way forward. Sometimes, an outsider can help see the easier solution.”
“Accept the compliment,” he growls as I blush. Ugh, do I have a problem accepting them? Maybe. I always think about how I fall short, and that has everything to do with my father.
“Thank you,” I say, turning my head to kiss him.
“Make out foul! Can we quit and go get dinner?” Dario groans.
