Chapter 20 – June
CHAPTER TWENTY
JUNE
I feel like a new woman after an orgasm and a nap.
My body is liquid as I stretch in the bed, half-dressed, sliding my legs against the soft sheets and humming, pressing against the pillow next to me. The room smells vaguely of chocolate, and it makes my heart tug at the thought that Seth’s back.
I get up, fixing my clothes and electing to put leggings on instead of my rumpled shorts, quickly tucking my phone into my pocket and heading straight for the stairs when I hear voices trickling up from the main floor. I jog down them, walking into the kitchen and stopping short when I realize it’s Bennett and Arin.
Bennett glances up from a piece of paper on the island, a pen in his hand. “Morning, darling.”
I flush, flashes of last night playing in technicolor in my mind for a moment, looking away only to find Arin leaning against a counter, watching me like a hawk.
It’s not uncomfortable, but it’s intense .
He radiates power. Bennett does too.
There’s something easy about the way the two coexist — simply accepting that they’re both aware of each others’ power, but not fighting. It’s fascinating. I’ve never been around alphas that have an unspoken dynamic, but being here makes me recognize the way their strong personalities play off each other. And it almost puts me at ease.
I fidget, clasping my hands together. “Late morning, but hi.” I offer them a little smile.
“Are you hungry?” Bennett looks down at the paper, writing something. “I can make you brunch before I go to the grocery store. Is there anything you’d like me to pick up for you?”
“Oh.” I skirt around the counter toward the fridge. “It’s okay, you don’t have to cook for me.”
Bennett leans up, his hip pressed against the island as he glances at me and then Arin. “Are you sure?”
“I can make myself something.” I jerk the fridge open, sticking my head inside and sucking in a deep breath of the cool air, already feeling flushed again. I can feel them both looking at me, and it’s making my brain a little cloudy as I try to focus on the random assortment of ingredients instead of the memory of Seth’s hands on me, his lips dragging over my stomach, and his tongue circling my clit —
“Would you like pancakes again? Or an omelet?”
I jolt back, letting the fridge door shut as I look over at Bennett. “You really don’t?—”
“You should let him.” Arin interrupts me. My focus snaps to him as he clears his throat. The alpha’s body looks relaxed, but his hands white-knuckle grip the counter behind him. “We’ve all tried to stop him, but he loves to cook. It doesn’t matter what it is.” He pauses. “We want to give you what you need.”
My perfume lightly scents the air. Surely, he didn’t mean to make that sound so dirty . I feel my cheeks heat, aware I’m trapped between two alphas. Arin’s gaze narrows, something hungry in the gesture.
Bennett moves behind me and I glance over at him sharply.
“What do you need, June?” His lips twitch at the edges. “What can I do for you?”
Oh, fuck you . I stare at him, my heart in my throat, praying he can’t suddenly hear my thoughts. Fuck Seth too. Fuck me because I’m an idiot .
Two alphas in one room isn’t at all soothing. I’m a warm meal with legs.
My skin feels like it’s going to peel from my body as Arin shifts, restrained but singularly focused. “You don’t have to tell us, but it would be nice to give you something you’d like.”
I’m intimately aware of the two of them glancing at each other, playing the tension in the air like a resonant chord. This is a different Arin from the one I met in his office — the sweet alpha who held me and insisted I rest is gone, replaced with a ravenous predator.
The energy in the kitchen shifts, like Bennett is waiting for Arin’s thin grasp to crumble.
I feel heat at my back as Bennett moves, resting a hand on the fridge door. His chest brushes me and the hair stands on my arms as the world spins, temporarily off its axis.
Bennett tilts his head down and I look up at him, my lips parting as he mutters, “You’re flushed, you should sit down, June. Let me get you some water.”
I stare at him, my mouth dry as I nod dumbly.
Bennett smiles, and I turn slightly, backing up a step, intending to go around the counter to one of the barstools, but instead, I run right into Arin’s chest.
My heart feels like it’s going to beat out of my body as I make a little noise, looking back at Arin, my eyes widening at how close he is. He dips his head down, his pupils a void of blown-out darkness against the brown of his eyes as he breathes in. I watch his resolve crumble in real-time as I get a hit of mint, the smell alone making me want to fall to my knees in front of him.
Arin could use me and then Bennett could use Seth and then they could both watch while we used each other —
Bennett touches my arm and then he’s pulling me away. The space gives me the clarity to blink rapidly as he fills a glass with ice water and then presses it into my hand. I drink it, my face feeling hot as I try to focus on the water instead of Arin staring at me like he wants to break Bennett’s arm.
His eyes track me as I take a step toward a stool, trying to ignore my heating blood.
“Will you go to dinner with me?”
I nearly drop the glass, it hitting the island with a clink as I stare at Arin.
He pushes his glasses up with a finger, clearing his throat. “Tonight. You and I will go out.”
I glance at Bennett as he purses his lips, trying and failing to hide the bemused smile on his face. Biting my tongue, I glance back at Arin, who looks as dazed as Bennett, himself, looked in the fitting room a few days ago.
Bennett raises an eyebrow at me, his eyes darting to Arin, as if to say, Well? Don’t torture him .
I sink down onto one of the barstools, looking over at the prime, nodding with a shy smile. “Okay. Tonight.”
“Good.” Arin takes a step back, brushing nonexistent dirt off his pants as he turns one way, then the other. “Right — I have — work — tell Bennett what to feed you, please.” He leaves immediately and I stare at the archway, covering my mouth with my hand as I fight laughter.
Bennett returns to the list across from me on the island, jotting something else down and spinning the pen between his fingers.
As my eyes fall on him, I soften as I take him in. His long-sleeve shirt is pushed up on his forearms, his hair is short, but I can see the curl pattern on the top of his head as he tilts it at the piece of paper. He’s so tall , even half bent over — and the room feels small with him in it. There’s an underlying authority in the way he holds himself, and my heart flutters.
As if he can hear it, he glances up at me, shamelessly looking at my lips.
“June…” He clears his throat. “About last night —”
I press my hands against the counter, the cool stone cooling my palms as I suck in a breath. “I’m sorry. I never should have done that without asking.”
His brows shift, a line appearing between them as he reaches out and covers one of my hands with his. “That was not what I was about to say, at all.”
I look up at him, pressing my lips together.
He sighs, then steps around the counter. Bennett reaches out, spinning the barstool and moving to stand between my legs, looking down at me. His fingertips brush my jaw, so gentle, like I’m made of the finest porcelain.
“I want to court you.” He whispers the words. “I know this has been all out of order from the normal, and I know that Seth has… meddled.” His eyes twinkle at the word, and I smile because he just cornered Arin and did the same thing. My body sings as Bennett gives me a broad smile that makes me want to be his sole focus until the day I die.
“I want you to know that if you… have any kind of passing interest in me, I’d love to reciprocate it.” He licks his lips, his eyes searching my face. “I’d love to court you, and be whatever you’d like me to be — for this heat, and any that come after.”
My heart cracks at the sincerity in his voice, the honesty and openness with which he speaks. Bennett’s hand shakes, the only tell that he’s nervous that I might reject him, and I lift my own hand, covering his on my face. “Okay.” My voice is hoarse, staring at him. “You promise last night was okay?”
“If I hadn’t been otherwise preoccupied with Seth, I would have dragged you into the room between us.” His head lowers, his eyes locked on mine. “And I should have fucking done this in the dressing room.”
I gasp as he lifts my chin, then bends down, kissing me softly.
I tip into him, wrapping my other arm around his neck and to kiss him just as softly and sweetly in return, savoring the taste of orange on my tongue, so bright and vibrant. It’s almost chaste, how he touches me, letting me hum into the movement of his lips on mine. Bennett brushes his lips over my cheeks, then kisses the tip of my nose.
“You really are warm.” His hand leaves my face, and he rubs his thumb across my jaw one last time, his brow pinching. “Tell me what you like to eat, darling. I’ll make sure we have it.”
I stare up at him, utterly and completely fucked because I was a fool if I ever thought I wouldn’t fall for this kind alpha who’s done nothing but make sure I’m alright since the moment we met in that stupid elevator.
Of course, it only takes me about twenty minutes to make him disgruntled again.
“You’re too amenable.” He mutters the words as he kisses my cheek, grabbing the grocery list in his other hand as he pulls back. All I did was tell him whatever he normally cooks is fine — which is apparently unacceptable.
I sigh. “I like risotto.”
Bennett glances at me as he lingers in the foyer. “I can do something with that, thank you.” He casts me a little look before he steps out the front door.
I watch him go, chewing on my lower lip as he disappears outside, just as my phone starts to ring in my pocket.
When I fish it out and glance down at the screen, the lightness in my chest suddenly weighs a thousand pounds.
Three notifications stare back at me. The screen flashes before an incoming call overtakes the display, giving me two options: to answer or to ignore my mother.