Chapter 36
“Sooo, are we going to discuss the other revelations from the cookout, or are we letting that all slide under the baby news?” Madison asked, staring directly at me.
We were all cuddled in the nest, the light dim, so she wouldn’t be able to see my cheeks darken, but I felt the rush of heat over them.
I’d exposed a thought I’d been holding quietly, and while everyone had reacted fine to it, I was still nervous about what it potentially meant for the future.
“I dunno about you,” Nathan said smoothly, “but I’m very interested in those revelations.”
I let out a nervous laugh. Nathan was good at breaking the tension, even if the relief only lasted a moment. “What exactly are we discussing?”
“Who in the pack is kissing who.” Madison leaned on my chest, cradling my cheek and brushing her thumb over my lips. “We already know who I’m kissing, and I might be selfish with you guys in general, but I’m cool if you want to be with anyone else in the pack.”
A whole squadron of butterflies took flight in my stomach.
“I honestly never gave it that much thought before. I think maybe being in the pack unlocked something for me.”
“Time for thoughts, now, then.” Nathan grinned at me, leaning his chin on Jude’s shoulder, where our beta was wrapped around Madison. “We know you want to kiss Jude. Anyone else on that list?”
I’d never been particularly shy, but the question made my lips seal themselves, the butterflies competing with my heartbeat for which I could feel more.
Jude laid his palm gently on Nathan’s face. “Don’t mind him. You take things at your own pace.”
“The pace of the pack is not very slow,” I pointed out.
Madison snuggled against my chest, her purr soft and her scent sweet, like she was doing her best to unravel my nerves around this topic.
Alve joined in with his own purr, brushing Madison’s cheek with his knuckles, but letting his head rest on my shoulder.
He’d been more relaxed around me since I’d offered him physical comfort at the cookout, and I wasn’t about to turn it away now.
“We could find out fast if we went old school.” Nathan laughed, his eyes gleaming.
Madison popped her head up, turning to him. “Old school how?”
“Good old-fashioned spin the bottle.” He looked so fucking delighted with himself at the suggestion that it took me a second to process the words. A hundred images of every combination of the pack danced through my brain, a surge of curiosity and desire washing over me like a wave on the shore.
“I’ve never played that before,” Alve said quietly. His breath whispered over my skin, goose bumps cascading over me, until Madison focused back on me with an intrigued gaze.
“Do you want to play?”
Five words, infinite possibilities.
“I guess that’s one way to figure things out.”
“We don’t have to if you’re not excited,” Madison reminded me.
“No, I do want to, I’m just nervous. I feel like I’m a mess inside my head right now.”
“That’s my job.” Alve laughed softly and brushed the underside of my chin with his hair as he sat up. “I don’t have too many options for bottles, but I have a nearly empty bottle of Swedish vodka from the last family visit. I imagine it’ll spin fine.”
I stared at him as he climbed out of the nest to acquire the bottle. Excitement bubbled up through the bond, and I couldn’t help noticing the little spring in his step as he went about his quest.
Madison grinned. “So fucking cute.”
“I didn’t know Alve would be jazzed to play,” Nathan commented, staring after him with us. “Guess these lips are getting some exercise tonight.”
Our omega laughed and climbed out of the nest. She was wearing the tiniest pajama set known to man, the bottoms short enough I could see the curve of her ass cheeks as she scampered down the hall after Alve.
The rest of us ventured to follow, finding Alve moving the coffee table so we would have room. His enthusiasm was bright in the bond.
Poppy and Pepper came to inspect what was going on, sniffing all over the coffee table before bolting down the hall, presumably to the recently vacated nest, so they could snuggle into the remnants of our body heat.
I sat on the plush carpet next to Madison.
Alve set down a tray in front of us with the vodka bottle.
Nathan and Jude sat across from me, and Alve took up his spot next to me.
“Are there rules?” Alve asked.
“Not really for the game itself,” Nathan explained.
“We just go in a circle, but we should lay down some ground rules. Anyone can chicken out at any time with no consequences. If the bottle lands on someone and you’re not sure you want to proceed, you don’t have to.
Whoever the bottle points to gets kissed by the spinner. Who wants to go first?”
Madison and Alve were both delighted in the bond. My curiosity and excitement blended so heavily with my nerves, I wasn’t sure which was stronger. I had started the conversation, so I might as well kick this off, too.
“I can.” I laid the vodka on its side, giving it an experimental twist to see how it glided. Holding my breath, I spun it, the bottle twirling and my heart picking up speed, until it paused on Alve.
The look in his eyes when I turned to him halted the breath in my lungs.
A sense of power in his gaze I couldn’t describe held me motionless with anticipation as he leaned in.
Madison was a rumbling storm of desire next to us.
Alve cupped my chin, his strength held perfectly in check in a way that had a craving for him sliding down my spine like lava.
A whimper slipped out a half second before his lips brushed mine.
Each sweep drew me deeper. It was only supposed to be one kiss, but when I melted, he took the invitation, preening in the bond at my surrender.
My cock stirred to life at the cloud of his scent—lingonberry sweetness and red wine as intoxicating as the drink itself.
“Holy shit,” Nathan whispered. “I need something to fan myself with.”
When I finally pulled away, I was a little boat on the sea, suddenly without my anchor. Alve looked entirely too pleased with himself.
Madison took my hand, offering herself as a new anchor, and I accepted it gratefully, simply trying to regulate the flush of sensation and emotion.
Alve spun the bottle and it landed on Jude. He fell under the same spell as me. My whole body throbbed as I watched Alve wield whatever magic he possessed. I swallowed hard, my throat dry watching them. When Jude settled back in his seat, he looked as awestruck as I felt.
“Alve, you’re a sneaky bitch,” Nathan said with a laugh.
“How so?”
“I know a dom when I see one. Granted, it took me a while to figure out, but in fairness, you weren’t really the one I was focusing on during previous encounters.”
“What does that mean, though?” I asked. “If he’s a dom, does that mean we’re subs?”
Nathan shrugged. “I think it’s a spectrum. Some people are more or less, but Alve has those repressed daddy dom vibes going on.”
I glanced at Alve from the corner of my eye. Knowledge of the lifestyle hadn’t been a thorough part of my sexual education, but what little I did know fit with what Nathan’s assessment was.
Nathan whipped the vodka bottle around and I froze like a deer in headlights when it pointed to me.
He and Alve had radically different energy, though no less intense.
Nathan crawled across the short distance between us and straight into my lap, parking his knees on each side of my hips.
My fingers locked in on instinct, holding tight to the loose pants he wore.
“Hello there,” I managed to croak out.
“Do you need to chicken out?”
I got half a head shake out before his hands were on my cheeks and his mouth was on mine.
Where Alve had been a slow burn, Nathan was liquor down my throat, a searing heat that hit you all at once.
I white-knuckled my grip, almost coming out of my skin when he rocked his hips, brushing against my tented cock.
Balsam and blueberry saturated every breath, Madison’s raspberry competing for which could drag me to the edge faster. Nathan sprinted right past one kiss. The couch was soft against me as I relaxed into what he offered.
At this rate, I was going to spill as soon as Jude touched me when his inevitable turn came around. I cursed against Nathan’s mouth, a surge of pleasure through the bond making me dizzy.
A moan had Nathan and I pulling apart, turning to see Madison in Jude’s lap, his fingers beneath her waistband.
“I see we went straight past fanning ourselves.” Nathan grinned at her. “Is Jude taking good care of you, sweetheart?”
She nodded hastily, hooking her hand behind his neck and canting her hips.
Nathan scooted the tray closer so Jude could reach to spin. It landed on Madison’s empty spot so he slid his palm up her throat and guided her mouth to his, while I was trapped in my own bubble, my body keyed up and my mind running in circles.
Nathan helpfully moved the tray again so Madison could take her turn.
Alve was in motion the moment it stopped on him, hooking Madison’s other hand behind Jude’s neck before devouring our omega.
My fingers twitched. There was little more I wanted in this second than to close them around my cock and give myself some relief.
“We could make the rest of the game a little more interesting,” Nathan offered.
I was pretty sure I wouldn’t survive more interesting, but I nodded anyway. He pulled out his phone and turned it to me.
“Digital sex dice?”
He nodded. “Same rules apply. Anyone can chicken out at any time, and we still spin to see who plays with who.”
“Are we aiming for every possible first tonight?”
Nathan’s answering smile was downright salacious. “We’re aiming for as far as anyone wants to go. No pressure, just fun and exploration in a safe environment.”
Oh, fuck it. I’d already come this far, so I might as well satisfy all my curiosities while the pack was in the mood to play.
“Let’s do it.”