28. Kelly
Chapter 28
I hate driving in this weather, and my whole body is wound tight by the time I finally make it home.
Home, yeah, as strange as that sounds, it already feels like home. I’m glad that Sam has such a big parking area in front of his house since between his truck and that SUV, my little car wouldn’t have any place to sit in a garage. I wait until Sam’s truck pulls up before I get out and scurry to the door. I don’t have a key yet, and Jake starts barking when I scramble up the steps, trying not to fall on the slippery surface. Garret, I remember his name from the driver’s license I was looking at earlier, rushes to stand behind me, arms out like he’s going to catch me if I start to fall.
Less than a minute later Sam appears with Teddy and the one Teddy said is named Steve. It took me a while to realize earlier that these two, Garret and Steve, are the two guys Teddy was supposed to form a pack with. I didn’t catch it until I was looking at his license, and then the last name Carson rang some kind of bell. Then in the truck when Teddy said they grew up together, our conversation at Nest-n-Stuff came back. Any sympathy I had for them being out in the cold evaporated. But I don’t think Sam can actually say no to Teddy, so here we all are.
Sam opens the door and Jake comes barreling out, running straight to me and knocking me into Garret’s waiting arms. So, I guess I’m glad he was there to keep me from falling, even if he is a butthead. Jake sniffles around both our legs before whining a little and then running back around the house. Poor guy’s been trapped inside for a while. Garret gently lets me go, and they all wait until I’m inside, followed by Teddy before they finally come in out of the cold.
Big alpha idiots.
Ok, not Sam.
But the other two, yeah.
That’s probably not fair, but I don’t care at this point.
I need to find out exactly what happened from Teddy.
Why he broke down earlier.
What it has to do with these two.
And if I need to stay mad at them.
It’s hard to be mad when someone drops to their knees and looks at you like you’re their own personal savior.
Sam’s talking behind me and I catch the last few sentences. “Jake usually sleeps on the rug in the kitchen, but lately he’s been crashed out in front of our bedroom door in the mornings. If you want to sleep on the couch, you’ll have to deal with a cold wet nose. Otherwise, we have one spare bed in Teddy’s room, you can share or fight over it. I don’t care which. Now I need to go get dinner started for my omega and my beta.”
Steve raises his hand. “So, it’s just the three of you then?”
There’s no way to miss the snarl that curls Sam’s lip before he shakes himself and regains control. Taking a deep breath, he says, “Yes, it’s just us three. If you want to help me feed them, come this way.” He waves his hand towards the kitchen before marching off, Garret following close behind. I briefly wonder if I can ask him to make a hot soup again. This weather makes me want soup, but I don’t want to impose.
Teddy and Steve are watching each other warily, but nobody’s talking. Touching Teddy lightly on the shoulder makes him startle. “Sorry, but I need to go get changed out of these wet clothes. I just wanted to let you know.”
Teddy looks at me, then down at himself. “Yeah, that’s probably a good idea.” He looks over at Steve. “Can you let them know we went to get cleaned up and dried off?” He turns away before Steve can give a reply and takes my hand, leading me down the hallway to the first door on the right. I haven’t really been in here, but he closes the door as soon as we’re inside, leaning heavily against it and wrapping his arms around me.
“Fuck, Pixie, I’m sorry. I panicked.” I turn in his embrace, my hands coming up to his cheeks, pulling him down so I can pepper his face with kisses.
“Don’t apologize, please. I saw what happened earlier. I’m sorry I couldn’t make it better. I didn’t know what was going on. Do you want me to sic Jake on ’em?”
He laughs against my lips, his arms squeezing me tighter before his whole body relaxes. “You really think the slobber monster has a mean bone in his body? Well, ok, maybe for you he does. Pretty sure that he’s like the rest of us and would do anything to keep you safe and happy.” He brings his head down to mine, pressing our foreheads together, and kissing the tip of my nose. His lips barely curl up at the corners. “I just realized your clothes are next door, aren’t they?”
It’s so nice to see him smile again. “Yeah, and I’m not sure which bathrooms work down here other than the main one, but I just kinda want to stay here with you for a couple minutes sharing your body heat. Is that ok?” His arms tighten again, and before I know it, he’s picked me up completely and carries me over to the bed. It’s nothing special, not when compared to Sam’s big bed upstairs, but it still has a soft comforter and pillows.
Teddy perches me on his lap and reaches over to undo the laces on my sneakers before pulling them and my socks off. If Mom could see me leaving my wet shoes on in the house, I’d get the lecture of a lifetime.
Once my cold sneakers are off, Teddy stands me up, slowly unbuttoning my nice work jeans and sliding them down. He hums in irritation at the goosebumps running up and down my legs. Standing up, he toes his own black sneakers off and marches to the bathroom.
I hear the water come on and then he comes back, pulling his shirt off over his head. He blushes for a minute, holding it in front of him, trying to cover up his stomach. But here’s the thing. Teddy is strong. He’s not alpha strong, but from what we’ve talked about he still goes to the gym regularly with his friend Sarah. While he doesn’t have a washboard stomach, he isn’t fat either. He’s a little padded but still so hot. I squirm a little as he finally drops his shirt to the floor and stalks across the room, his hands going under my shirt to slide it over my head before gathering me up and carrying me to the bathroom.
We both have too much on our minds to really be playful. But it’s still comforting to have Teddy take care of me, stripping us both completely and then holding me as the hot water warms up my whole body. He washes and conditions my hair with his horse shampoo and then bends down so I can return the favor. I thought he was joking when he told me about it, but no, it’s in these two huge bottles with horses on the packaging. Plus, it makes his hair super soft, and it doesn’t hinder his own scent. He lets me borrow his soap while he rinses his hair out, and then takes it back and washes my back for me. By the time we finish, I’m just about ready to curl up and sleep for the rest of the day. But Sam’s making dinner, so that would be mean.
Teddy dries me off by blotting the water off my skin gently, running a detangling brush through my hair and blotting it with a towel until it is mostly dry. He’s making it hard not to drag him over to the bed and demand all the cuddles. Once I’m as dry as I can get, he pulls one of his T-shirts over my head, fluffing my hair out behind me. “Sorry, Pixie, I don’t think my underwear will really fit you, but this should do until you can get to your own clothes. I’m gonna go see what I can help Sam with.” He kisses me on the forehead before leaving and I scurry down the hallway to the room I claimed.
If it were just the three of us, I wouldn’t even worry about it. It’s only been a couple of days, but I already know that they’re my family now, which means that I’m completely comfortable walking around without a bra on. But now these two new guys—Teddy knows them, and I don’t want to embarrass him. I go over and pull out a sports bra and a pair of fleece pajama pants covered in snowflakes. It seems highly appropriate, and soon I’m completely warm and toasty, and hunting down my guys to see what I can do for them.
Stepping out of my room, I hear a low growl and grunting—I hurry down the hall towards the living room. Worrying that Jake got tired of having new people in his house and tried to take a chunk out of someone, I don’t expect to see Teddy pinning Steve to the couch, hands fisted in his hair, plundering his mouth like some kind of pirate god. But that’s what it is.
Is it hot in here?