22. Alyssum
22
ALYSSUM
MEANING: WORTH BEYOND BEAUTY
CAMERON
________
O cean looked so fucking happy that I was about to tell Rett and Micah we needed to buy this place. Nestled wasn’t something we would normally have under our brand, but it wouldn’t be the first outlier we’d acquired.
If we could own a sex toy company, we could own a nesting supply company.
Ocean’s friends were with her, staring into the depths of the store like it was a lion they were about to fight. But I was glad they could come. In fact, they said yes so quickly she had started laughing.
“Ocean,” I called. “Come here for a second.”
Her smile was gorgeous. This was the real Ocean. Not the timid woman who was beaten down by her bitchy family. This was the woman full of life that I wanted to see every day. Her dark eyes sparkled as she came close. “Yeah?”
“We have rules,” Everett said.
She frowned, that shine dimming. “Okay.”
I smacked his arm. “Don’t be an ass and lead with that, dick.”
Laughing, he pulled her in, kissing her forehead. “Sorry, little nymph. We do have rules, but not the way you’re thinking. Forgive me, I need to choose my words more carefully.”
“You don’t need to change for me,” she whispered.
“Not change. But also not say things that unintentionally terrify you.”
Ocean closed her eyes and leaned into Everett. I didn’t think she even realized that she did it, or that we noticed when her reactions gave her away. Those words comforted her.
“We only have three rules,” Everett said. “First, no questioning whether you need something. If you want it, get it. Today isn’t about needing, it’s about wanting.”
She opened her mouth, and I shook my head. “I think we all know you’ve been living with only what you need for a long time now, sweetheart.”
“Okay,” she whispered. “I can try.”
“Rule number two,” Everett said. “No looking at the cost. We have more money than we could ever need. Money doesn’t matter.”
Our wife swallowed and pressed her lips together. A clear sign she was nervous. But she still nodded her agreement. “What’s number three?”
“Don’t think about anyone but yourself today. You’re the only one who matters, wife.”
“What about you?”
I winked at her. “We’ll be just fine.”
“Can you do those three things for us?” Micah asked.
“I’ll do my best.”
Nodding back toward her friends, I smirked. “Go nuts.”
She was hiding her smile, but it was still there. And her friends were practically squealing with glee when she returned to them. “Happiness looks good on her,” I said. “I’m going to love spoiling the fuck out of our Omega.”
“Same.” Micah sighed. “But I am going to struggle tomorrow.”
“Get in line,” Everett growled. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans, clearly trying to keep himself from forming fists. “It’s taking everything in me not to drive to the Caldwell Estate and beat the shit out of Frank.”
“Ocean wouldn’t want that.” For all that had been done to her, our wife was soft-hearted.
Micah chuckled. “I’m not so sure about that. She might not want it now, but she could want it eventually, and my fists look forward to that day.”
The girls headed into the aisles, and we waved down the manager of the store. We’d called ahead, so they knew who we were. She smiled. “Is everything all right?”
“Perfect. We would like installation tomorrow, please.”
“Tomorrow? That’s really fast.”
Stepping forward, Micah had one of our cards ready. “Yes, it is. But we’ll make it worth your while. Charge everything to that. Whatever you need to make the delivery and installation happen tomorrow. In fact, put the card on file. We want our wife to be able to walk in here and purchase anything she wants at any time.”
The manager’s mouth dropped open, but she recovered quickly. “Of course. She’s a very lucky woman.”
“We’re the lucky ones.”
It was one hundred percent true.
After the manager was gone, Micah turned to us. “I told Ocean today that we wouldn’t lie to her. That we’d answer any question she asked.”
I saw where he was going with it. We weren’t going to lie, and if she asked us if we were scent matched, we would be honest. Until then, we would continue to woo her, make her feel like the most precious Omega in the world, and show her how we felt so that when her heat hit, she would know the truth.
“Fine with me,” I said. “The more pressing concern is keeping my hands off her.”
“She’s open to it,” Rett said. “But since she’s nervous, she’s going to need us to take the first step. Hopefully soon.”
“Do you have any idea what kind of temptation it was to wake up with all of her pressed against me? Fuck ,” Micah groaned. “I nearly came in my pants and that wasn’t the impression I wanted to give her. But I was close. Surrounded by her scent and all that softness?”
“Stop.” I laughed. “You want all three of us to lose it in the store?”
Everett raised an eyebrow. “Speak for yourself. I’m perfectly in control.” Liar. “But I am going to find something for my wife. Some kind of surprise.”
I play up the shock and surprise. “Everett Shaw. Are you having emotions ?”
“Fuck off.”
“Never. And it’s a good idea.”
“Don’t steal it.”
I just smiled. I was absolutely going to steal it. Micah was too. Because we were all on the same page. Now that we had her, we were going to spoil the shit out of our wife.