10. Bailey-Rose #3
“Are you hungry?” Vili asked as he laced our fingers together. “We thought breakfast out would be fun.”
Hearing the promise of food, my stomach growled loudly, answering the Alpha’s question for me. “Breakfast sounds perfect,” I said, gently squeezing his hand.
The others rose to their feet, and Ulysses led the way to the front door.
I wasn’t sure if they realized it, but almost innately, they formed a circle around me.
Warrick walked on my left while Gareth and Ulysses took the lead, and Yun-Sun fell in behind me.
Taking them all in, I noticed they wore fresh clothes.
“How close do you guys live from here?” I questioned.
“Oh, about fifteen minutes with no traffic, twenty-five to thirty during rush hour,” Warrick informed me. “I went back home last night when we decided to stay and grabbed clothes for us.”
“About that,” I cut in. “What made you guys choose to stay? Not that I’m not glad you did, but some might think that’s awful fast. Plus, I wasn’t even awake. I passed out, and as you’ve now all experienced, it takes a lot to wake me up.”
Ulysses stopped next to a blacked-out Hummer. Gareth pulled out his keys, and the vehicle’s headlights blinked as it unlocked. I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised that Gareth would have a car no one expected him to own. It seemed to be the theme of his life.
“Well, sweetheart, you fell asleep on Warrick’s lap.
So we felt it was best to call it a night and let you rest. I fully planned to place you on the bed, tuck you in, and leave a note letting you know we’d be back in the morning,” Yun-Sun explained.
“The challenge to that was you refused to let us leave you. If one of us weren’t touching you, then seconds later, you’d be whining so incessantly there was no way we’d be able to walk away. ”
My jaw dropped. “I whined? You mean like an Omega whine?” I asked, resting my hands on my burning cheeks. “I don’t ever whine.”
“Oh trust me, Rosie, you let out a whine so insistent it took three seconds for all of us to be glued to your side, which was exactly what you wanted,” Ulysses added with a smirk so cocky that I wanted to wipe it off his face.
I opened my mouth to say something sassy, but I stopped and remembered that this wasn’t my childhood friend anymore. Ulysses was a respected man in the oil industry and one of my Alphas. Instead, I just crossed my arms and scowled.
“Your brother is correct. You are like an angry kitten,” Vili murmured. “So ferocious, yet adorable even with your claws out.”
Now I was slack-jawed at Vili’s comment, unsure what the hell to even say to that.
Vili, however, had no problem leaning in, brushing our noses against each other in an Eskimo kiss.
The action had me giggling like a schoolgirl, and all my irritation vanished.
My stomach voiced its irritation at being kept from the promised meal, spurring us to climb into vehicles.
I figured we’d all climb into one, but it looked like most of them drove here separately, so it only made sense for them to drive them back.
Gareth opened the front passenger door for me and gave me a hand when the step to get into the damn thing was higher than I expected.
Once I clambered into the seat and got buckled in, I waved a stern finger at the vehicle owner.
“Don’t even think about making some kind of short joke,” I warned.
“Yes, I’m tiny, but it’s never stopped me from getting even with someone who teased me about it. ”
Gareth held up his hands as if he was warding off an attack. “I would never dare to comment about your height. However, I was considering whether it might be wise to add an extra handle or step to make the task easier. Would it offend you if I made some accommodations?”
Honestly, I had to think about that for a moment. If I had an extra handle or even a step to use, I could have gotten in and out of the Hummer just fine. It’s not like I could ask him to trade in the car to get something closer to the ground. That would be crazy talk.
“Is this your everyday car?” I asked.
Gareth hit the button to start the car, and it rumbled to life. Rock music blared from the radio, and he scrambled to turn it down. “Shit, fuck, goddammit… sorry about that.”
I covered my mouth to hide the fact I was laughing at him.
He cleared his throat as he buckled his seat belt. “As for your question, this is the car I drive pretty much every day.”
“Then if you don’t mind making it a little easier for me to ride in your tank, it would be appreciated,” I said, trying to peer over the dashboard.
“Should I get a booster seat too?” Gareth teased.
I glared, pointing a finger at him. “Don’t push it, buddy. We might be scent matched and destined to be together, but you have yet to earn the right to make short jokes.”
“Duly noted, baby girl. I won’t let it happen again,” Gareth assured me.
Satisfied with that answer, I turned to stare out the window at the beautiful summer day.
Maybe this day wasn’t turning out to be so bad after all.