Chapter 20
M organ always smelled like maple syrup, but when I woke to her scent in my nose it was like pure sugar. Her whole body was plastered against me, her skin hot as she pressed every exquisite, naked inch to me.
I had never dared imagine a world where I would wake up next to an omega. But here she was. Sweet, perfect, and more than I ever could’ve dreamed of. I stared at her tangled mass of red curls. She was so close to her heat, and before it kicked in would be our only chance to get her clean for the next few days. She would probably appreciate everyone getting a solid scrub-down before we were all lost to the sea of hormones.
Morgan blinked sleepy eyes up at me and burrowed closer, wedging her head firmly beneath my chin, her little purr roaring. The sound of it soothed every anxiety, healing bits of me I hadn’t even acknowledged were broken. She felt safe, and she trusted me to keep her that way. I didn’t even mind that it was the lack of suppressants that had pushed her to accept us. Her instincts knew she could trust us, and that went above and beyond growing attraction.
Her various limbs patted the area around us, finding the space empty but for the two of us. “Where is everyone?”
I shrugged. If they weren’t in here with us, something urgent had to be occupying them, but I wasn’t going to move an inch to find out what it might be.
My omega let out a soft whine. “It’s so close, Bear.”
“I know,” I whispered.
She squirmed, trying to wedge somehow closer. “Squish me.”
I rolled over, compressing her against the blankets. All the nerves and fear I had seen in her when she’d first arrived were gone when she was in my arms. She was a gift, a sweetness I could never take for granted.
Footsteps on the stairs stole my attention, the others appearing at the opening of the nest one by one.
“Are we interrupting?” Kit asked.
Morgan shook her head, reaching a grabby hand toward them.
They were all freshly washed, Kit’s hair hanging damp around his face. “We’ve got a decent amount of food prepped and ready, and did a check on the whole property to make sure nothing is going to fall apart over the next few days. We’ve also got water warming on every woodstove so you can have a bath, little fox.”
“A bath sounds amazing.”
I scooped her up, reveling in her cuddling close.
“My tub is ready for her,” said Kit.
I followed them upstairs with Morgan in my arms. All of the chill had dissipated, the woodstoves flickering away in every room. It was a bit of a waste of wood, considering we wouldn’t be occupying most of the rooms, but it took forever to get rid of the cold once it settled in fully, so it needed to be done every so often when we had the fuel available.
“I’ll wash my hair first,” Morgan said. “No sense steeping in my own filth.”
I swallowed hard as she got onto her knees.
“Can I borrow something to scoop water?”
“I’ll pour for you,” I signed, sitting on the edge of the tub next to her.
“We’ll bring up the water from downstairs,” Ryder told us. “Pumpkin is having zoomies outside and I don’t want to leave her unsupervised for too long.”
“Will she be okay during my heat?”
“She should be fine,” said Maverick. “She won’t be getting anything fancy to eat outside of her favorite kibble and water, but she’s not going to suffer on that diet for a few days.”
“We’ll take shifts too,” Kit added. “Whoever is the most lucid at any given time can take care of her.”
They disappeared to fetch the rest of the water and I had Morgan turn to sit between my knees so I could carefully work a comb through her curls.
“It’s probably a rat’s nest,” she lamented. “I haven’t really been taking care of it very well.”
I stroked a soothing hand down the back of her neck and continued my work. She wasn’t far off with her description, but it was nothing a little patience couldn’t manage.
Once all the water had been delivered and I had tamed every snarl in Morgan’s hair, she tipped her head over the edge of the bath, humming quietly while I soaked the strands and diligently applied the shampoo Kit had set out.
“Bear, you have the hands of an angel.”
That wasn’t a descriptor I would ever have used, considering how calloused my hands had always been, but I wasn’t going to negate her compliment. I gave her a good scalp massage while I worked in the shampoo, loath to stop because she kept mewling and shifting her hips the longer it went on.
Why was it so deeply satisfying to take care of her?
She helped me with the rinse, scrubbing at her hair and lifting it so the water I poured could saturate it. We went through the same methodical process with the conditioner, and when that was rinsed away as well I combed through the strands again, applying some fancy product I had never bothered with before.
Morgan bound her hair into a little ball on top of her head and scoured her whole body clean with a cloth and soap before letting me rinse her off again. “Do I get to help you with your bath too?”
I raised an eyebrow in question.
“Indulge me. Maybe I want an excuse to touch you.”
I wasn’t about to argue with that. I let her wash my hair where I sat, and tipped my head for her to rinse me. The real magic came with the scrub-down. Her fingers touched everywhere . Lathering up soap, she drew patterns over my skin, swirling them into the bubbles. I surrendered to being her canvas, closing my eyes and savoring every moment.
My eyes snapped open when her hand curled around my cock. It was already rock hard from breathing in her scent and she seemed endlessly amused by that.
“Are you just always ready for me now?”
I nodded slowly, caught by the fire in her gaze.
“Good.” She grinned, keeping eye contact as she scrubbed every intimate bit of me.
By the time we were finished with the actual cleaning, I was ready to fuck her against the tile, but I had to be patient. Her body was going to take so much when her heat kicked in. I had to get her to rest before then.
I filled the bath halfway with the warm water and settled in, curling my fingers, beckoning her to join me. My omega melted into the water and leaned against me, her purr instant. At least with both of us in here, we didn’t have to spend all day warming up water. The others were probably up for hours getting everything ready for her.
“I really thought I would be afraid of my heat,” she said quietly. “I guess I was, at first.”
“But not anymore?” I whispered. The dim light and our position weren’t ideal for signing, and my throat was already making its displeasure known. She would have to settle for my quiet presence.
“The hormones help,” she confessed. Morgan rotated, climbing onto my lap and hooking her hands behind my neck. “You all help more, though. I was so wigged out during my first heat I don’t think any of us really enjoyed it. Getting all this time with the four of you beforehand is keeping me pretty chill. Plus, I know I’m going to like it this time.”
I tilted my head, waiting for her to continue.
“I don’t know how all of you know it, but it feels like you’ve read a manual on how my body works.”
I traced her bottom lip with my thumb, drawing her into a soft kiss.
When she pulled away, it was only to let her forehead rest against mine. “See? How did you know I wanted you to kiss me?”
I nudged her back so she could see my signed response. “It’s in your eyes.”
She rolled her hips, gliding against my hard cock, but I put my hands to her hips and forced her to be still. Her pout almost broke my resolve. “Rest,” I signed quickly before renewing my grip on her.
“Resting is less fun.”
I indulged her in one more kiss before cupping her chin, making sure she was looking at me, then signed, “Your body needs to prepare. A heat takes a toll. Don’t wear yourself out before we’ve even started.”
“Okay, fine.” She tucked herself against me, sprawling over my torso.
Morgan was so vulnerable out here with us, not even just with her impending heat, but with simply existing among us when we were so isolated. I was never going to get over her trust of us, of me. Thinking about it too hard stole the air from my throat and made my chest tight.
I was never going to feel this way again if she left us.
I wouldn’t have been surprised if trust was completely off the table after Brandon, but I was continuously relieved that wasn’t the case. When all of this was over and the roads were cleared, we could figure out a plan. I hoped part of it contained revenge. That man had almost cost her everything, almost cost us the chance of a life with her.
The water slowly grew tepid and the others came to check on us. Morgan was fast asleep in my arms, protesting halfheartedly when Ryder lifted her out of the water. He and Kit dried her quickly and transferred her back downstairs in front of the roaring fire. I joined them after dressing, finding her in Ryder’s lap while Kit gently towel-dried her hair.
They all took so much care with her. It didn’t sound like she had ever experienced that before. She could have it be her future if she wanted. I would happily spend a lifetime wrapped around her.
Pumpkin fought Maverick as he tried to dry her as well from her time rolling in the snow. That dog loved making herself a mess, but you would think getting clean and dry again was the end of the world.
“Stop fussing, you beautiful weirdo,” Maverick admonished. “You can’t cuddle with our omega smelling like wet dog.”
Morgan laughed, watching his struggle.
We settled into a simple meal, conserving our strength for the next few days. None of us knew how strong Morgan’s heat would be, but I knew for sure I was going to put my all into it. My omega wasn’t going to want for a damn thing when she was with us.