28. Maia
28
MAIA
“ O ur meeting with the solicitor is scheduled for first thing Friday morning,” Alex says, rubbing my shoulders. I nod, trying not to let my panic overwhelm me, since Phoebe is able to hear my heart rate, but that still feels like so long away.
Three more sleeps until we’re meeting with someone who can hopefully soothe this panic.
“Thank you.”
He squeezes my shoulders a little tighter before going back to the gentle massaging. “Are you okay?”
I laugh, but it’s not a humorous sound. “No.”
My stomach is in knots, my mind racing with the what ifs. Topher managed to distract me earlier, and it was great, but now I’m sitting here, and I’m unable to do anything except let my brain wander and demoralise me that much further.
“This time next year, we’ll be so happy and so stress free. Phoebe will be walking around, getting into everything, and you’ll be—” he cuts himself off, his tone having darkened near the end there. I turn to look up at him, being careful to not disturb Phoebe.
His eyes are flickering back and forth between silver and hazel, and he’s got a very tight grip on the sofa to stop himself from doing something—or maybe saying something? I frown, reaching out to try and touch him, but he groans, taking a step back.
“Alex? Are you okay?”
He gives a jerky nod. “Just arguing with Max. Don’t worry.”
I do a head-to-toe assessment and see nothing too out of place. There’s an almost pained expression on his face, and the restraint he must have when fighting with Max seems to be taking a lot out of him.
He’s—is he... I avoid his genital area and snap my eyes back up to his face, sure that I’m blushing.
“Do you have... do you...” I stop speaking and worry my lip, trying to think about how to ask this.
“I’m fine,” he grunts out.
I narrow my eyes, that answer was not very confident. He seems to be fighting whatever weird state of arousal he’s in, and I’m very concerned.
“Oh, don’t worry,” Ben says, coming into the room with a smoothie for me. “He’ll just be trying to stop Max demanding that he gets to fuck?—”
“Shut up,” Alex hisses, glaring at his brother over my head. The look on Alex’s face is mortification combined with annoyance.
Hm, this is interesting.
“You shut up.” Ben sticks his tongue out, and I hide my smile. “ I’m not the one trying to hide my erection.”
“Oh, go fuck yourself,” Alex snaps, grabbing a pillow from the sofa to cover himself with. “Don’t be looking at my dick.”
“There’s no need to look at yours since mine is identical,” Ben says, with a smirk. “All I need to do is look in the mirror.”
“Oh, do that a lot do you? Touch yourself and think of me? There’s a word for that, baby brother— sick. ” Alex’s words are a vicious snarl .
Ben laughs, not even flinching at the venom. “Oh, trust me, if I was imagining?—”
“Boys.” I drag out the ‘o’ sound, looking between them both as I put a little bit of my frustration into my words. You know, the fake frustration that needs to hide my humour at this “Are we actually fighting, here, or...?”
These moments either end in one of two ways: they both turn on me and tease me instead of fighting with each other, or they start actually fighting. The bond between them is so strong, but that doesn’t mean they don’t bicker and fight.
Bickering, I can handle.
Fighting, I most definitely can not.
“We’re not fighting,” Alex says, dropping a kiss to the top of my head before coming to sit down on the sofa. “Ben’s just being a dick.”
Ben hands my smoothie over, and I take a long sip and mumble a thank you. He chooses not to fight with Alex, which I am very grateful about.
Phoebe has been feeding for the last forty-five minutes, and it’s extremely draining. I’m not sure if she’s able to feel how I am, and reacting to my unease or if it’s just a coincidence, but I’m hoping she’ll be done soon.
“The pizzas are in, and I’ve got the chips in the air fryer,” Topher says, coming into the room. He looks around the three of us and sighs. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing.” He doesn’t seem reassured by my words and narrows his eyes. “Really. We’re fine.”
I place my smoothie on the table after taking another sip, and Topher comes to sit down on the arm of the chair. He looks back and forth between his two brothers before bursting out laughing.
The joke has gone over my head. As per usual.
Alex’s phone rings, and he groans after checking the caller ID. “I’ve got to take this. Give me five, and I’m all yours. ”
“Mine,” Ben taunts, sticking his tongue out at me. I roll my eyes, not bothering to engage.
The door opens as Alex heads through to the kitchen, and I grin at Seb. His chest is clear from any wounds, the dried blood still coating his skin, but he’s practically glowing. His jeans are muddy, with a little tear on the left thigh, likely from a twig or something.
My very being settles now that he’s home and we’re all together again. He’s not hurt, he’s safe... I feel good.
He gives me a small smile, but my eyes aren’t on his face as he advances forward.
I’m unashamed as I rake over his half-naked body. Don’t get me wrong, I was hysterical and panicked when he was hurt, but seeing him like this now… it’s very, very attractive.
“You need to shower,” I mutter when Seb comes to a stop by my side. He narrows his eyes, and I shrug. “You’re covered in blood, and you’re not holding Phoebe until you’re clean.”
He grunts, giving me a pleading look as he watches Phoebe feed.
“I thought you preferred us dirty, darling,” Ben says, waggling his brows.
“She definitely prefers me dirty.” Topher smirks at his brother.
I groan. “Stop ganging up on me, and stop fighting.”
“You’re so fun to tease.”
“You’re all exhausting.” I roll my eyes as Phoebe unlatches. I lift her up over my shoulder, patting her back gently. She coos and gargles, and I kiss the top of her head as I fasten myself back up.
Nursing bras are the best things to ever exist.
“Aw,” Ben mutters. “I enjoyed the view.”
“I’m literally dripping milk right now. Go pour some milk, it’s the same thing.”
“It most certainly is not.” Topher’s words weren’t… husky, were they ?
“I could’ve fixed that,” Ben argues.
I tilt my head, raising my brow. “And you’d do that, how?”
“With my mouth, of course.”
I moan, covering my face with one hand, the other still supporting Phoebe, as Seb and Topher both chuckle.
“Pass Phoebe’s nappy bag and stop talking about my nipples,” I say, gesturing my head to the grey bag near the door. Ben moves to do as I instructed. I look up at Seb. “Shower.”
“Fine.” Seb kisses my temple and turns and jogs up the stairs.
“No instructions for me?” Topher asks, cocking a brow.
“You’re all so bloody needy tonight,” I groan. I lay Phoebe down on the sofa and change her bum, grateful when Topher bins the nappy for me. But the moment she’s fully clothed again, she wants back on the boob.
“All of you,” I murmur, kissing Phoebe’s nose before unlatching my top once more.
I listen quietly as they tease and bicker, as both Alex, and then Seb, come back to join the group. It’s the most normal and relaxed I’ve felt in weeks, and weirdly enough, I think it’s because we got confirmation of the court date instead of it just hanging over my head.
Now if the door knocks or a car drives by… I don’t need to worry about someone coming to snatch my daughter. It could still be Ethan, I suppose, but there’s more... certainty now.
Any plans we formulate will be actual plans and not just hypotheticals.
“So, what have you found?” Alex asks, directing his words to Seb. He grabs two slices of the cheese pizza, a slice of the pepperoni, and one of the veggie and puts it all on a plate. He passes it over to me, and I nod in thanks.
We often sit around the table, but tonight, when Phoebe doesn’t want to stop feeding, we’re eating in the living room, having a more comfortable meal instead .
“Give,” Seb demands, holding his hand out. I frown up at him, but he just takes the plate.
“Hey, no, if anyone is getting Maia’s food, it’s me ,” Ben protests.
“Nobody is eating her food,” Topher snaps, glaring at Seb, before realisation hits. “Oh, smart.”
“Shit, sorry, little butterfly, I didn’t think to cut it up.”
I shrug. “It’s smart. Less risk of dropping anything onto her head this way.”
Ben gasps. “Have you done that before?”
I press a soft kiss to Phoebe’s head, where, of course, I’ve dropped food, and shake my head. “Absolutely not.”
“If you did, would you still eat it?” Ben asks, looking around the room. “You know, hypothetically.”
“Of course, not,” I say, echoed by Alex.
I most definitely did.
“Back to the main topic we’re meant to be discussing,” Alex says once they all have their food. “What did you find?” He puts emphasis on the words, giving his brother a frustrated look.
“Nothing.”
“What?” Topher demands.
I use the fork to eat a slice of pizza. It’s delicious. It definitely tastes better homemade.
Seb shrugs. “Nothing. No scent.”
“But you were following a scent before,” I say, pursing my lips.
“Yes, little love, I was,” Kane says. “But when I went back, the scent was gone . All the way up until where we fought. I can smell him there, in his blood, but nowhere else. His scent has faded completely.”
“That’s—”
“Impossible,” I say, cutting Ben off with a small shrug. That’s all they keep saying whenever something clearly not impossible happens. “So, yet again, we have no idea how he got onto your pack lands? ”
Kane shakes his head. “I’ll not be leaving your side ever again, little love. I will stay with you and Phoebe for the rest of our lives.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“It’ll keep you safe.” He levels me with a firm look. “Now, eat your dinner.”
I burst into giggles, being careful not to jolt Phoebe as I duck my head.
“She’s laughing,” Ben points out.
“Why are you laughing?” Kane demands, inching forward. “Little mate, why are you laughing at me?”
“Because you’re funny.”
He frowns. “I did not make a joke.”
“I think our mate seems to think that you did,” Alex says with a smirk.
“What was the joke?” Kane asks. There’s a hurt expression on his face as he looks at each of his brothers. “Does she doubt my commitment to keeping her safe?”
Topher nods, a very serious expression on his face. I sober up immediately, not sure I like the look that’s shared between them.
“I don’t—” I start
“Oh, no I think she does ,” Topher says. “I think she really doubts your commitment to keeping her safe, Kane.”
“That is not what was so funny,” I say, letting out a huff when three of the men laugh. “First of all—you don’t get to dictate when I eat and when I don’t. Secondly, you following me and Phoebe around for the rest of our lives is both impossible and stupid. And third—he already hurt you once, what happens next time and the time after when you’re focused on protecting us and not yourself?”
I sit forward. Phoebe whines as she unlatches and makes little grabby hands to try and get my nipple back in her mouth. I help her get settled and raise an eyebrow at Kane.
“Clearly something is going on, and he’s doing something to mask his scent. No matter how impossible you say it is, it’s happening. We’re unsafe if he can just waltz onto pack lands any time he likes.” I look at each of the men, only Ben refuses to meet my eyes. “So what are you going to do about it?”
“So what are you going to do about it?” Ben mutters, scrunching his face up as he speaks in a high-pitched tone.
“Our parents will be back this weekend,” Topher says. “I think we need to tell them what’s been going on.”
“Is that wise when your mum killed Ryan?”
“What about bringing the company in?” Alex asks, turning to look at Topher. “We’re new parents of a werewolf daughter and a custody battle is on the horizon. It’s a smart move and doesn’t disclose the true reason we’re worried. We can get two security teams—one for the pack, and one for the house.”
“Dad will never go for it,” Topher counters.
“You’re the alpha right now,” Ben replies. “Big Daddy has no control.”
“Which one is Big Daddy?” I ask almost tentatively.
“George,” Alex and Topher say at once.
I nod. “Is that… doable?”
“Yes,” Topher says with a nod. “I’m going to call a pack meeting for tomorrow then, and brief the pack so they know.”
“I’ll liaison with the teams and get them set up on a rotation for the next month.”
“Sounds like a plan,” I say softly. “Thank you.”
“Do you feel safer now?” Alex asks, and I nod firmly. “Then it’s all worth it, little butterfly.”
“ I love you,” Seb murmurs against my lips, our breath intertwining, as he clutches me closer to him. The sparks are flying, flutters raging in my stomach, but I know with certainty that his words are true.
“I love you, too,” I whisper back before pressing my lips to his properly.
Phoebe whines, and I move off of Seb’s lap to grab her from the cot.
“Hi, pretty girl,” I murmur, bending down to rub my nose against hers. “Why aren’t you sleeping?”
She whines again, her little face scrunching up. I freeze, thinking she’s going to shift, but she doesn’t. She just turns her head and looks over at the window.
“Want to look?” I don’t wait for the answer that I know isn’t going to come and instead walk her over to stand in front of it so she can have a little look. “I know it’s dark, but can you see the moon?”
“I can see something better than the moon,” Seb says, and I grin, turning to look at him.
“I’m sure you can.”
“Me hold her?” Seb demands. He’s tried to frame it as if he’s asking, but his intent is very clear when he’s sitting with his arms out. I laugh.
“I need to go to the bathroom and get ready for bed, so you can have her for a little bit,” I say, and his eyes flash bright green as he launches forward to take her from my arms. He’s obsessed with my daughter in the same way that I am. It’s everything. “But you really need to learn how to share.”
“You’re her mum,” Seb says, cradling Phoebe so gently. He takes a deep inhale of her scent, his eyes pulsing even brighter as he looks at me. “But I’m her dad.”
“One of them,” I relent. I squeeze his shoulder as I walk through to the bathroom to get myself ready for bed.
I try to rush through my shower, even though I know she’ll be perfectly happy with Seb, just so that I’m not leaving him to do bedtime all on his own.
I change into my pyjamas and brush my teeth before rejoining them both. My eyes widen at the nearly dark room and the tiny baby asleep in her cot.
“Sh,” Seb says, and I nod, padding over to the bed. “Come lie with me.”
“Did she go down okay?” I whisper as he tugs the blankets back for me. He nods, and rather than make me crawl over him, he lifts me from the hip and places me down on the bed.
“She went down fine. I did a bum change and just rested my hand on her chest once I laid her down. She was asleep in minutes.”
“Oh, amazing.” I turn and cuddle into his chest, and he laces his fingers through mine. We lay there in silence for a little while, the soft thud of his heart soothing, as my eyes flutter closed.
Usually at this point, I’d be asleep, but something is keeping me up.
“You seem…”
“I seem?” I ask, my eyes flying open.
“Wound up.”
“Wound up?” I echo his words, my tone confused, unlike his.
“Very.”
“ Very ?”
“Yes. Are you just going to repeat me all night, little mate?” he asks, chuckling lightly. He moves back, dislodging me from his chest, and I frown at him in the dark. “Would you like some help?”
“With?”
“The tension you’re carrying.” His tone drops as his hand rises and cups my cheek. There’s a slight pressure there that has me squeezing my thighs together, rustling the sheets.
I know he knows that I’m turned on .
He can smell it.
He can feel it.
He knows .
“I, um,” I stutter.
“Trust me?” he asks softly. I nod, ever so slightly, but that’s all he seems to need. He pushes me back with one hand, keeping a hold of my head with the other, and settles me into the middle of the bed.
He grabs a hold of my shorts. “May I?”
“Yes.” A breathy whisper, but it was enough.
He tugs my shorts down so gently, his fingers leaving sparks in their wake, but I grab them once they reach my knees, stopping him.
“Phoebe,” I whisper.
“She’s asleep, and I’d hear the moment she even stirred,” he says softly. He lowers his face closer to mine, pressing a gentle kiss to my forehead. “We can stop if you want. No pressure whatsoever.”
“You’ll stop if she wakes up?”
He laughs, bending down to kiss me deeply. He smooths my worries away and pulls back. “Of course.”
“Okay.”
He goes back to pulling my shorts down, and then tugs them off properly. Seb grabs my ankles, gently pulling them apart, and kneels down in between. “I’m not going to stop until all this tension is gone .”
There’s a heat scorching my skin everywhere he touches, independent of the bond, and he brings the duvet up over his head as he lowers his mouth to me. The heat of his breath sends shivers up my spine, and I grip at the bedsheets as I wait.
“Your pleasure is mine .”
And with that, his tongue darts out and circles my clit, teasing and taunting. I’m writhing under him, and I whimper. I freeze and reach over to grab his pillow, covering my face .
Seb’s beard tickles against me, and I can’t decide if I love it or hate it. The scratchiness adds extra sensation as his talented tongue drives me towards the edge. He slowly presses one finger inside, and I tense, waiting for the pain, but it doesn’t come.
He wiggles it back and forth, getting the feel of me, and I cry out under the pillow. He slowly adds a second one, gently stretching me, as his tongue continues circling my clit.
“I’m…” I whisper as my orgasm starts to approach.
I can feel the tightening in my core, my grip on the pillow tightening as I hold it against my face, and he starts upping the ante.
I expected him to stop. To slow down. To not let me come at all.
But, no, Seb seems to be encouraging my body to climb higher and higher, the pleasure building that much more. There’s sparks flying between us, my nerves are burning with ecstasy, it feels amazing.
I grind against his face as his fingers curl and brush against that spot inside me, and just as I reach the peak, I don’t just fall… I explode.
I moan into the pillow, pressing it further into my face, as my thighs squeeze around Seb’s face. He doesn’t stop, he doesn’t slow down, he continues coaxing my orgasm out of me.
“Fuck,” I gasp, as the aftershocks wrack through me. My legs are still quivering, my inner walls squeezing his fingers as I ride out the final waves.
I shove the pillow away as he does a few big licks, cleaning up after himself. I whimper, the thought so hot, so arousing, but as I reach to touch him, he shoves the duvet back and sits up on his heels.
“Good?” he asks with a cocky edge to it.
“So good.”
I refuse to believe a man with no experience at all could make me come this hard, and yet… here I am, still seeing stars from just one oral session with Sebastian. His tongue is a work of art, his skill completely ungradable because it broke the record of every single person that’s touched me.
I’ve never ever come that hard, before.
And, oh, my days, I think I’m addicted to the feeling.
“I told you that you’re not going to sleep until I’ve wrung every single ounce of pleasure out of your body. If your brain is still working after that, I clearly didn’t do a good enough job,” Seb murmurs, pulling the blankets back up over his head as he scoots down the bed.
My hands dart down and grasp his hair just as his tongue touches my sensitive clit. Normally, I can’t stand to be touched down there this quickly, and he halts as I tighten my hold.
“Sensitive.”
“Oh, baby.” His breath tickles my clit, the warmth of it causing goosebumps to break out across my skin. “You don’t know the meaning of sensitive.”
I shudder and loosen my grip as his tongue brushes against me once more.
I wonder how many times it’s going to take before he’s done with me.