Chapter 15
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
________
EVA
“For the record, I do not like walking blindfolded,” I squealed as I was pulled up off my feet and held by arms that smelled of bourbon and mint. Liam. “What are you doing?”
“Not enjoying walking with a blindfold has a very simple solution. Not walking at all.”
I snorted. These men.
The last two months had been a whirlwind of nothing but joy, sex, and learning to live with each other. It was both easier and harder than I thought. The beauty of it was that we knew we belonged together, so when there was friction or a disagreement, we could take the time to work it out.
Luckily there weren’t many of those.
They met Mom and somehow managed to charm her even though she tried to resist. Though it probably helped that she didn’t really have a choice but to accept them.
“Here we are.” Liam set me on my feet. “Now you can open.”
I pulled off the blindfold and grinned. My newly renovated nest was in front of me.
Deep shades of berry along with traces of gold.
The deep bowl of cushions, amazing and lush, was tempting me to dive in like a pool.
A bunch of folded blankets and throw pillows waited along the edge for me to make it mine.
Tiny sparkling lights lined the edges and wove up into the ceiling. The whole room had an air of cozy softness. Even the sounds outside seemed muffled.
“And there,” Dylan pointed, “we added a door to this bathroom. You know, in case we have to wrestle you in there to get you clean.”
My face flamed, and they all laughed before Dylan tugged me against his chest. “I’m teasing you. I hope you know that.”
“I do.”
If there was anything more to their jokes, I wouldn’t be here with them, scent-sympathy or not.
That was the thing people didn’t—or couldn’t—tell you about finding a match.
It was more than blind devotion. Yes, every piece of you knew the truth and who these people were.
But there was still a choice. I could walk away if I needed to, even if it would be the hardest thing I’d ever done.
But learning about them and their families, their favorite foods, their favorite songs, listening to them write music, and just talking showed me I’d never have to.
“What do you think?” Tyler asked.
I turned my face, leaning my head on Dylan’s shoulder where he held me. “It’s beautiful. Thank you.”
One of our first disagreements was who would pay for this nest. I wanted to, but they wouldn’t hear of it. In the end we compromised. They paid for the nest, and I paid for the security upgrades to the penthouse.
Which I made happen as soon as possible. My security had been with me so long they were practically family. But just like family, you didn’t want them hanging out in your living room all the time.
And security staying beyond the heat had little to do with my Alphas, especially after even deeper background checks were done. It was more for the sheer amount of attention we were getting now that the world had found out. Photographers would do almost anything to get the newest, juiciest shot.
Everyone knew after the photos outside of Aurelia’s, but we posted it ourselves after a fun little photoshoot that ended up with a lot of photographs we could never send to the press.
But we were all by ourselves in the penthouse now, and it was glorious.
“The real question,” Jack said, “is whether you want to christen it now or wait until your next heat.”
“What if we christen it tonight?” I pretended to be shocked when Jack stole me and lifted me to perch my knees on his hips. His fingers flexed where he held me, massaging my ass. He was playing dirty.
“Why not right now?”
“Because we just ordered so much Italian food that even five of us can’t eat it all, and it would be a shame for that to go to waste.”
“Nothing says we can’t eat after we fuck you, princess.” He squeezed my ass again, and I couldn’t help but kiss him.
“Later,” I promised. “After I’m in a carb coma and all snuggly, and want to nest, you have permission to bring me back in here and fuck me.”
“I’m holding you to that.”
I clung to him as he took me back to the living room and sat on the couch with me. “You say that as if you’ll have to convince me.”
“I don’t know.” His mouth slid up into a smile. “Sounds like you need some convincing if you want pasta more than my cock.”
“I want pasta before your cock. There’s a difference.”
Jack stroked his hands up my spine, purring, and I relaxed against him. We all had these moments. Where silence made us remember the impossibility of all of it, and how lucky we were.
It didn’t seem real, that I could just be here wrapped up in them like it had always been this way and not eight short weeks.
“We actually did have something else we wanted to talk to you about.” Liam sat down next to us on the couch.
“Mm?” Jack’s purr was relaxing me enough that I could probably do a nap, then pasta, then cock. “What about?”
“Next month,” Jack whispered.
My stomach tightened. We’d successfully avoided talking about my next shoot. The movie was a summer beach film, so it couldn’t be filmed here. And the shoot was scheduled for six weeks. Before I met them it felt like nothing. But now, being away from them that long was almost unbearable.
I knew we would make it work, but I didn’t like the twisting anxiety and dread in my stomach.
“That’s why we want to talk about it,” Tyler said. “Because your scent changes to that. We’re going to be okay, baby.”
“I know.” And I did. I still didn’t like it.
Jack moved me so I sat beside him. Liam squeezed in next to me, though there was definitely not enough room for four of us on the couch, and I ended half sprawled on them while Dylan sat in front of me on the coffee table.
“On the one hand, it’s good timing that the second part of our tour lines up with your shoot,” Liam said. “On the other hand—”
“It sucks?” I asked. “Because it kind of sucks.”
“It does,” Dylan nodded. “Yes. But there is something that will make it suck a little less.”
I frowned. “What?”
Jack leaned in and brushed my ear with his lips. “I love you.”
My stomach dropped into free fall, tumbling into nothing. It was exhilarating and terrifying and… I looked at him. A second later he kissed me, not stopping until I needed air to live.
“I’ve been holding that back for too long, princess. We all have.”
Liam tugged me back into him. “He’s right. I love you. I know you’re mine, and like hell am I waiting any longer for you to know it.”
Dylan stood and pulled me to my feet. “I don’t have pretty words. But I love you.” His breath hitched, and he broke into a shaky laugh. “It’s all I can fucking think about.”
Tyler cleared his throat. “People say it feels like falling. I think for us it was crashing. Like when you crashed into me backstage.”
I laughed, though it was watery. “You didn’t fall in love with me backstage.”
“Maybe that’s true,” he said, “but it doesn’t feel that way. Because I can’t think of a time when I didn’t feel this. You are my Omega, Eva May Williams. I don’t want to change. Ever. I love you.”
Tears flooded my eyes, and I tried to blink them away so I could still see their faces, but all that did was make them spill over.
“When we dropped you off at Aurelia’s the day after your heat, I said something to the guys.” Tyler turned me toward him. “We all agree, and we hope you say yes, because we do love you.”
“What is it?”
All four of them stood around me now. I loved being the center of them. Like I was the thing that drew us together and they were the walls that kept us safe.
“Bond with us,” Jack whispered.
Tyler wove our fingers together and squeezed my hand.
“None of us want to walk away without being able to feel you. And we know that we still won’t be able to while we’re so far away, but we’ll know.
We’ll be able to tell if you’re all right.
Here.” He lifted our hands together and pressed my palm to his heart.
Bonding. Holy shit. Being able to feel what they felt and know if they were all right even if we weren’t together. Making this feeling permanent.
Yes.
“I love you,” I managed. “I do. And I want that. Yes.”
They all hugged me at the same time, surging forward and kissing whatever parts of me they could reach, and we collapsed into laughter.
The buzzer broke us apart. The food must have arrived downstairs. “I’ll grab it,” Liam said.
I flopped back onto the couch. “Are you guys opposed to a ceremony?”
“We’ll do whatever you want, baby. My only request is that wherever we do it, there’s somewhere private we can be together afterward. Because there’s no way I’m getting through a party having bitten you and not fucked you. It’s not going to happen.”
“I think we can manage that.” I paused. “My mother is going to have a field day. I’ll have to make sure whatever planner we get has enough confidence to tell her no.”
Jack walked to the kitchen door. “I’m sure Jasmine will be able to find you someone who takes no shit. Wine?”
“Yes, please. Anyone see my phone?”
Tyler tossed it to me from where I’d left it. This would be fun.
Eva
I have a question for you.
Esme
I potentially have an answer for you. Unless it’s asking to go to an industry party with you, in case I do have an answer, and it’s no.
Eva
Will you be my maid of honor?
My phone lit up with a call from her, and I grinned. “Be right back. Hello?”
“Are you serious?” Esme was careful.
“Very.”
Her voice lowered. “They asked you?”
“Like five minutes ago. They’re going on tour and I’m going on location and none of us want to do that without bonding.”
“Oh my god, you are so smitten.”
“Bet your ass.” I closed the door to my bedroom behind me. “So, will you do it? And are you okay?”
“Of course I will,” I could hear her smiling. “I’m fine. I won’t pretend I’m not jealous, because I am. But jealousy doesn’t mean I’m not happy for you.”
“I know.”
We didn’t need to rehash the conversations we’d had about how I was worried about her, or how I felt guilty for being the main obstacle in her life.
She made a sound of realization. “You’re going to have your hands full with Mom.”
“Yeah. I need a planner who will be able to stand up to her.”
“Good luck with that.”
“I’ll need it.”
She laughed. “While you’re at it, try to make sure she gets all her bonding ceremony dreams out, because we both know that even if I do find a pack, I’m not going to do that.”
“True,” I said. “You are allergic to the spotlight.”
“Violently. I should actually carry an EpiPen in case I’m actually shoved in front of a camera.”
“Hmm.” The scent of Italian was starting to reach me, and my stomach growled. “Not sure an EpiPen would be as effective as a hood, or even a balaclava, but you do you.”
She snorted. “I’ll make a note.”
“I just wanted to tell you and ask you. You were the first one.”
“Congratulations. I mean it.”
“Thank you.” From the living room, I heard my name called. “Our food just got delivered.”
“Ew. I don’t want to hear about your food sex parties.”
I rolled my eyes and pushed up off the bed.
This room was beautiful too. In the same color scheme as the nest, with rich burgundy walls and traces of gold.
It was mine, but they slept in here with me most nights.
Not every night. Sometimes one of them stole me away for one-on-one time, which I wasn’t complaining about.
But we didn’t need food in order to have sex.
“It is not a food sex party.”
“Whatever you say. Love you, va-va.”
“Love you.” I ended the call before she could say anything else about food and sex.
The entire bottom floor was filled with the scent of pasta. “I know that I just said yes to bonding, but maybe you should have waited to ask until after you see the sheer amount of food I’m about to consume.”
“Sweetheart, you know we watch everything you do like it’s a nature documentary,” Liam said, handing me a plate that was already loaded.
I intentionally sat in an armchair so they couldn’t distract me from the food. “Not sure I love the comparison to a wild animal tearing apart prey.”
He smirked. “If it fits. Just kidding. I mean, I’ll watch whatever you do like it’s a movie and not want to look away. Incredible amounts of food or not.”
Staring at him for a moment longer, I narrowed my eyes before I nodded. “Better.”
Jack placed my glass of wine on the end table and leaned down and kissed my forehead. “How many people do you think you’ll have to invite?”
I shrugged and bit into the best fettuccine bolognese I’d ever tasted. “No idea. Probably way more than I want. Why?”
He stretched out in his chair, long legs sprawled. He still wore his boots from when he’d been out earlier today. The jeans he wore and the way his t-shirt stretched over his chest and arms… my alpha was hot.
His mouth tipped up into the tiniest smirk when he saw me looking, and one tipped eyebrow followed. Like he was asking me if I was sure I hadn’t wanted to christen the nest earlier.
“Figured there are a couple of options,” he said. “Private or public. We don’t care either way, so it depends on what you want to do with it.”
“I’m still not sure what you mean.”
Dylan sat on the floor, using the coffee table as an actual table. “What he means is we thought it might be fun to do it at the theatre where we met. Where the DCAs are held. What do you think?”