Too Much #2
"I still think you would have loved it," she says with another breathy laugh.
The sound lights me up, making my heart practically swell in my chest.
What I would give to be able to wrap them both up in my arms right now.
I want to hold Owen from behind and kiss the side of his neck, and then turn to her and do the same, tucking her right up against my chest.
Then a hand cracks across my back, nearly sending me into the doorframe.
"Quit hogging the doorway, hoss." Mack shoulders past me into the kitchen, loud and easy, as he pulls his shirt off, showing off all that impressive alpha muscle.
Lyra’s smile goes tight as the big alpha moves toward her. I half expect her to take a step back from my intimidating mate, but she takes a deep breath and holds her ground.
"I’m Mack." He taps his chest once. "Resident charmer. I might come across a little strong, but you'll get used to me." He winks, then his voice gentles a notch. "Good to see you up and around. Had us a little worried there."
The last of Lyra’s smile falters, then it pulls sideways into a grimace. I watch the guilt twist between her brows as she speaks.
"I'm so sorry for all the fuss," she says sweetly. Like she really means it. "I really didn't mean to cause any trouble."
"Trouble?" Mack snorts once like she made a joke.
"Darlin', you've been the easiest houseguest we've ever had.
Slept the whole damn time." He laughs a little louder.
"You didn't eat a thing, say a word, or hog the remote.
" He grins, turning all that alpha charm on her. "Best kind of company there is."
Lyra lets out a small, polite laugh, right on cue. It makes me smile as I wonder how many times she's laughed at a bad joke from an alpha.
Probably thousands.
"You said you’re the resident charmer?" Lyra tilts her head, curious.
"Yes, ma’am." Mack puffs out his chest. Proud.
"So you live here too?" Her big brown eyes flicker from Mack to me. "With Owen and Nico?"
Mack's grin catches and his mouth slowly opens, clearly not sure what to say. Behind Lyra, Owen winces, and I know in that second he didn’t explain our living situation.
Why does that make me sad?
"I, uh." Mack rubs the back of his neck. "Well, see, the thing is—"
"Mack and Adrian rent the apartment over the garage," Nico says as he slips past me, making his way to the fridge.
He talks as he opens it, grabbing a bottle of water.
"The AC unit out there died last summer.
" He turns to Lyra, twisting off the cap.
"They've been staying in the spare room ever since, waiting on me to fix it. "
"Oh." Lyra smiles for half a second, then her expression slips and her eyes go wide. "Oh, no." She presses a hand to her chest, looking from Mack to me. "Have I been sleeping in your room?" She looks horrified with herself. "I’m so sorry. I should have slept on the couch, or gone to—"
"Sweetheart." Mack crosses his arms, chatting away. "I can sleep damn near anywhere as long as there’s air conditioning. Hell, I'd take the kitchen floor over that oven." He leans in, turning on that charm. "Trust me, sleeping on the couch isn’t an inconvenience at all."
Lyra smiles sweetly at that, then she says, "Well, I've been told I could sleep through a marching band, but even I draw the line at ovens." She grimaces. "It doesn’t sound fun at all."
"It's like trying to take a nap inside a mouth." Mack laughs, completely in his element.
Lyra presses her lips together like she's trying to hold something in, then gives up.
"That's genuinely the grossest thing anyone has ever said to me," she tells him, "and my own mother once told me the only thing I had worth protecting was between my legs. So the bar for gross is pretty high."
Mack laughs out loud, delighted to have offended her.
I catch Nico watching her, that small line at the corner of his mouth that means he's amused and doesn't want anyone to know it.
"You'll want to brace yourself," Nico says to Lyra. "He's got about four hundred more of those sayings."
"Oh, I don't doubt it." Lyra tips her head, matching the alpha’s serious tone exactly, not a crack in it. "He seems like a man with a deep and troubling well."
Nico huffs out a laugh through his nose as they look at each other. The two of them share something quiet over the top of Mack's ridiculousness, a look that says "can you believe this guy," and I feel it land somewhere low in my gut.
I wish I could talk to people so easily.
Especially with this omega. But I feel so…flustered…around her.
It’s a very bizarre feeling.
"Sure, gang up on me." Mack spreads his arms wide. "Five years I've kept this house entertained, and this is the thanks I get." He pretends to glare at Nico. "First pretty girl through the door and suddenly I'm the punchline." Then he winks at Lyra.
Nico smiles and Lyra instantly giggles, covering her mouth with her hand. She looks so light and happy compared to the girl that showed up just yesterday.
I guess she really did need all that sleep.
A knock cracks through the quiet, and I jerk before I can stop myself.
My body's still wound tight from the drive, and for half a second I imagine Lyra’s father at our door.
"Pizza’s here." Owen's head comes up.
"Hell, yeah," Mack pats his stomach, then follows our beta toward the door. "I haven’t had dinner since yesterday."
The second the pair disappear, Nico sets his water bottle down and steps closer to Lyra. The pack alpha lowers his head, looking the omega in the eye.
"I mean it, you know," he says, low and even. "I want you to feel at home here. However long you stay."
Lyra’s dark eyes lift, tipping her head to look at him. She inhales deeply, and I see her pulse flutter at the side of her throat, quick and soft under her skin.
Fuck, I want to sink my teeth right into her.
"Thank you," Lyra whispers, and I swear she leans in, inching ever so slowly closer to Nico.
I hold my breath watching the pair share a look.
Nico's gaze moves over her face, slowly, taking her in. It catches on her mouth and holds there, and I know that look. I've been on the other end of it a thousand times. It's the look he gets right before he takes what he wants.
A jolt of pure excitement shoots through me, followed by pure heat.
Blood rushes south, and my cock grows thick and rigid so fast I feel lightheaded for a moment.
Kiss her. The words chant in my head. Take her. Claim her. Make her ours.
"I…um..." Lyra's tongue slips out and wets her lower lip. She swallows hard, her throat working. "It means a lot," she says softly. "That you’re being so kind to me."
Then she pulls back slightly from Nico, and turns to me.
Those honey-brown eyes lift to my face, and every thought in my head goes quiet.
"And you, alpha." Her voice drops, softer now, almost shy.
"Thank you for not forcing me to go to a hospital.
" She clasps her hands in front of her, twisting her fingers together.
"And then letting me sleep in your bed." She looks up at me with the sweetest smile on her lips, and my chest goes tight.
"Oh. Yeah. Of course," I stumble over my words. "You didn't want to. Go, I mean. To the hospital. So we didn't."
Real fucking smooth.
Lyra smiles up at me, her eyes soft around the edges.
"You know, I wouldn't have blamed you if you had dumped me at the ER and bolted.
I'm sure you had better things to do than play nursemaid to a strange omega who ran away with only a few hundred dollars stuffed in her bra.
" She snorts loudly. "I didn’t really think any of it through. "
And I open my mouth and blurt out, "Well, it was a well-stuffed bra."
Shock slams into me the second the words leave my mouth. Behind Lyra, Nico's eyes go wide.
I open my mouth to fix it, but heat's already flooding my face.
"Lyra, I didn't—" I try to back track, but the words won’t come.
Why does this tiny woman make me act like such an idiot?
And then Lyra laughs.
It breaks out of her all at once, head tipping back, dark hair spilling over her shoulders, one hand flying to the counter to steady herself. Not the careful little laugh she gave Mack. A real one.
My knees go a little weak with relief. I didn't ruin it. I made her laugh.
A slow, stupid grin spreads across my face.
Yeah. I did that.
Slowly, Lyra’s laughter winds down, and she wipes at the corner of one eye with the back of her hand. "Owen never told me his roommates were this funny," she says, still catching her breath. Then she reaches out and rests her hand on my forearm, light and warm. "Thank you, Adrian."
She says my name, and my heart kicks hard against my ribs.
"No problem," I mumble, as the heat travels up to my ears and around my neck.
"You three better get in here," Owen calls from the living room. "Mack's already four slices deep."
"Am naht," Mack protests, the words garbled around an obviously full mouth.
Lyra huffs a soft laugh and lets her hand fall from my arm as she glances back at Nico.
"Thank you again, alpha. For everything."
"Go eat before there's nothing left," Nico says with a sweet smile.
The omega smiles up at me one more time, quick and bright, then slips past us toward the living room, my shorts hanging down past her knees.
Nico moves to follow her. But as he passes, he leans in close, his shoulder brushing mine, and drops his voice.
"A well-stuffed bra?" he murmurs with a smirk. "Very smooth."
Then he's gone, following Lyra out of the room, and I'm left alone with my burning face.