40. Olive
40
OLIVE
“I don’t understand this Mafia guy at all. He makes Finn seem downright chipper.”
Easton’s hand ran up and down my side as I read my new book to him. I was sitting between his legs, curled up against his bare chest and breathing in his rich chocolate scent. It anchored me. The deep pit of despair I was so familiar with was still there, and I was still in it, but I hadn’t entirely vanished into the darkness like usual. My guys wouldn’t let me. And somehow, they weren’t upset when I lashed out or pushed them away. In fact, they just smiled, gave me a kiss, and forced more cuddles.
I couldn’t quite wrap my head around it all.
All weekend, they’d made sure one of them was always in my nest with me. I told them it was unnecessary, that they probably had better things to do, and was promptly ignored. I could just imagine Finn creating some sort of rotation schedule. Today was Sunday, so the guys weren’t working, but Lars and Finn had left the house mid-morning and told me to stay in my nest with Easton. Of course, that made me want to defy them and see what was responsible for the loud noises I kept hearing in the rest of the house. But Easton was an unwavering jailer, trapping me with cuddles and giving me smug little smirks .
Asshole.
Sorta.
Not really.
When my guys were in my nest, they’d all demanded I read my Mafia romance out loud to them and were getting very invested.
“I do like the whole necklace tracker situation. I should definitely get you one of those,” Easton said.
“You should not,” I grumbled.
“I think I should. That way, I can chase you down whenever I want.” His voice was low and sent a shiver through me as I imagined being hunted by my alphas. How adrenaline would surge through me as I tried to get away, the thrill of being caught and thrown to the ground.
I’d had my fair share of hookups throughout the years, but I’d never trusted anyone enough to really embrace my kinks. But with my guys? I wanted it all.
“Maybe that would be okay,” I mumbled.
Easton groaned. His hard-on rubbed against my ass as he shifted to brush his cheek against the top of my head, scent-marking me. I hadn’t put on any deodorant this weekend, and my guys couldn’t keep their hands off me, even more than usual.
My reading was interrupted when the door to my room creaked open. Lars and Finn entered, looking excited.
“Everything ready?” Easton asked.
“What is everything? What have you been doing?” I huffed.
Lars chuckled and plucked me from Easton’s arms into his own, holding me bridal style. “You’ve been such a good, patient girl?—”
Easton snorted. “Who are you talking about?”
“And now we can show you your surprise,” Lars continued, ignoring Easton.
I crossed my arms. “Fine.”
God, I could hear myself being a bitch, but I couldn’t stop the words coming out of my mouth. Unreasonable irritation clawed at my chest that Lars and Finn had left my nest this morning, even though I told them I was fine on my own. I wasn’t in the mood for surprises right now. I just wanted to be in a bad mood and they weren’t letting me.
My alpha just smiled and brushed his hand over the French braids that were still in my hair. He’d ended up braiding his own hair to match, and somehow it totally fit his whole fierce Viking vibe.
“Ready?” he asked before carrying me out of the room. The first thing I noticed was a massive mattress leaning against the wall.
“This is for your nest,” Finn explained. “Unless you’re particularly attached to the air mattress.”
I blinked. The air mattress made for a somewhat miserable sleeping experience when all of us were on it, and I honestly didn’t know how much time we had before it just popped under our weight.
“And once you’re feeling up to it, we’re going to go to Nest Wonderland to buy you whatever you want for your nest. It’s supposed to be the best store for omega stuff,” Easton said, rubbing his hands together.
My insides were a swirl of emotion. Did they not think I’d done a good job with my nest? And how could they possibly want to buy me stuff when I was so awful to them?
Finn moved close and cupped my face. “Come see the rest, sweet girl.”
Lars moved out to the living room, and my jaw dropped. It was fully furnished. A deep green velvet sectional filled the room, along with two floral armchairs, a large walnut coffee table, and a plush rug. Books filled the built-in shelves on either side of the fireplace—some old and sea-related, but also tons of my favorite romance books. My eyes flitted to the dining room, where a beautiful wooden table sat. Copper pots and pans hung from the ceiling rack in the kitchen. It looked like something out of a magazine.
I blinked. “What? How?”
Finn ran his hand through his hair, looking anxious. “When my grandparents died, we moved their things into storage. I had no idea this place was advertised as being furnished, and I’m so fucking sorry you’ve had to live for over a month without anything.” He looked truly devastated. “So we wanted to move their things back for you. They really belong here, anyway.”
A lump filled my throat, and I reached out my arms to him. Finn gathered me to his chest and sat down with me on the couch. I knew how personal these things were, how tied up in grief they could be, and it meant the world that he wanted them to be in my space.
“Are you sure?” I whispered. “It’s okay if you want to keep them for yourself.”
“I’m sure,” Finn murmured. “My grandma would smack me on the head for keeping her stuff in storage when a beautiful omega could enjoy them.” He swallowed hard. “She would have loved you. My grandpa, too.”
I thought about these two kind people who had taken in Finn and, later, Easton. Looking around the cottage now, how warm and cozy it felt, I could only imagine what it would have been like when it was filled with teenage boys and laughter.
“I wish I could have known them.”
He squeezed me tight to his side. “Me, too.”
Easton and Lars sat down beside us, the sectional easily big enough to hold all of us.
“So none of this is stuff you bought for me, right?” I asked. “Because you shouldn’t spend your money?—”
Easton placed his finger over my lips. “We will buy you whatever we want.” His expression was pure challenge, and I frowned. He traced his finger across the bow of my lip. “And we want to help you financially, too, if you need it.”
I met his gaze, and it felt like he was staring straight into my soul. I squirmed, feeling uncomfortable. Inadequate.
“I know what it’s like to not have money,” he continued. “It’s nothing to be ashamed about. Would you hold it against me, against us, if we were struggling?”
I took a deep breath. Of course I wouldn’t. But that deep-seated independent streak I’d been raised with was hard to shake. “I’m okay, really. I ended up with some credit card debt because of my medical bills, and I’ve been slow to pay it off. But I’m almost done.”
“Give us the information and we’ll take care of it,” Lars said quickly.
I shook my head. “No, I’m honestly really close. I should be able to pay it off next month.” I’d been counting down the days on my calendar. After three years of payments, I was almost there.
Lars frowned, but he didn’t push it.
“Fine,” Finn said after a beat of silence, his sharp jaw tense as if the word cost him something to speak. “But you will let us spoil you, omega. I’m afraid you have no choice.”
I looked around at the gorgeous room. “But this is too much.”
“We didn’t buy new things. This is just the stuff from storage.” He wasn’t quite meeting my gaze, and I cocked an eyebrow, feeling suspicious.
“Let’s go check out the rest,” Lars said, getting up and pulling me up off the couch as if trying to distract me. “See if you want to change anything.”
I walked through the rest of the cottage in a trance-like state, struggling to believe this was truly my space. As the guys eagerly showed everything off, a tremendous sense of home washed over me. It had nothing to do with the things and everything to do with what they represented—the tremendous love and care I felt from these three alphas.
I ran my fingers along the smooth top of the dining room table. It was a rich, dark brown with organic edges, like it was made of driftwood. The more I looked at it, the more I noticed how the knots and waves in the wood made it feel alive.
“I’ve never seen a table like this,” I said.
I glanced up and saw Easton looking off to the side, cheeks red. I blinked as a slow realization washed over me.
“Easton?” I stepped towards him until I was almost touching his chest. “Did you… did you make this?”
He cleared his throat. “Might have had the wood in the shop, and I just, you know”—He waved his hand in the air—“put it together.”
My perfume filled the room, bright and happy. “You made me a table.”
Easton finally turned to meet my gaze and gave me the slightest nod. My chest ballooned with happiness and tender affection for this exuberant alpha, who still had his anxieties about being good enough. I cupped his face, my thumb rubbing along the stubble on his jaw.
“You’re incredible,” I murmured. “I can’t believe you did this for me.”
“Anything for you.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat and pressed my face to his chest, inhaling his sweet pastry scent and wishing I could dig my teeth into his skin and make him mine forever.