48. Ember
Ember
I was in bliss. Ben and Alejandro took turns licking their bondmarks on me and Rian, which turned me on, which meant sex. It was a cycle of spicy times, over and over, and I didn’t see how people managed to leave the house after bonding.
Instead of seeming left out, West seemed more content than ever, seeking out hot alpha sex more than he usually did. Which also turned me and Rian on, so really, bonding turned into days of fucking.
We finally calmed down enough to lounge on the couch and watch my favorite cooking show.
The bond was still new, but Rian was distracted.
He didn’t comment on the chefs forgetting to boil their potatoes for mashed potatoes, nor did he worry about the chef who decided to bake a cake for a twenty-minute challenge.
I poked his side. “What are you thinking about?”
“That bit of song.” He waved his hand. His hair was back in a little ponytail today. “It’s been stuck in my head.”
“Why don’t you go down to the studio?” Ben said, not looking away from the TV. Through our bond, I didn’t feel anything like pressure from Ben. Just curiosity. “We’re fine up here.”
A spark of interest from Rian in the bond, before he squashed it.
“It’s fine,” he said.
“It’s not fine,” West said. He gave our omega the stink eye. “Just go play around. No one is expecting you to come up with a new album. Get the bits of song down so it will leave you alone.”
“Go burn some steak,” Alejandro said with a grin.
Rian rolled his eyes. “Fine, fine. I’ll go.”
He acted put out, but his pop of joy zipped through the bond.
As soon as he was out of earshot, I shook my head. “I would have asked to be bonded sooner if I knew how handy they were for emotions.”
Ben grinned. “Hard to hide things when you’re sharing feelings.”
West gave a disgusted look. “Great, now I’m never getting bonded.”
“Right, like we don’t already know what you’re feeling,” I said, nudging him with my foot.
“You’re annoyed but also pleased that your pack knows what you’re thinking.” Alejandro poked West’s side.
“Because feelings are stupid,” Ben said. “Who needs them.”
West crossed his arms over his chest. “You’re all so smug, aren’t you?”
“We are,” I said, giving him another kiss. “Your pack is very smug about having you here.”
West grumbled and pretended to be annoyed, but he snuggled deeper between the two alphas. In the bond, all three of us seemed pleased with ourselves.
Rian didn’t come up for air, so we threw him food, but he complained about the lights being too bright in the studio.
I decided he needed a nest, so we used one of the nests on the other side of the house we barely touched. West filled it with firm pillows, Ben got small recorders and managed to find an electric outlet so Rian could play guitar, and Alejandro filled the nest with snacks.
I poked my head into the studio. “Hey, Rian, we have a surprise.”
He looked up from frowning at his guitar, papers scattered everywhere. “What’s wrong?”
He seemed…distracted through the bond, the same way Alejandro felt when he cooked.
“Come on.” West gestured behind us. We showed him the studio nest, complete with the seventies color scheme.
Rian blinked. “It’s a studio.”
Ben handed Rian a handheld recorder. “This is that personal recorder I showed Kinsey. You could just sing some lyrics or record yourself playing guitar if you want. The nest is soundproof.”
West pointed out the pillows. “They should be strong enough to support you.”
“And there’s a bunch of snacks in there, but of course, if you want food, let us know,” Alejandro added.
Rian looked flabbergasted. “This is the studio nest I didn’t know I needed.”
“There’s perks when you’re in a pack with more than one omega.” I leaned on Ben. “And two alphas.”
“Thank you,” Rian said, climbing into the nest. “This is perfect.”
He shut the door behind him, and the soundproofing worked well.
We went back downstairs and cuddled. I rotated between being in the middle of the alpha and omega sandwich, all my instincts pleased. Rian was getting what he needed, West had the space he wanted, and I finally had two alphas who loved me with every single beat of their heart.
If I could get rid of the stalker, my life would be perfect. And the turtle pond. I couldn’t forget about that. I made some more plans in my head for the turtle pond and enjoyed snuggle time with my pack.