23. Bailey-Rose #2
“You’re keeping a list?” I questioned, trying to peek at his phone.
“Yup, it’s a short one so far, but it helps me to keep things like that written down. In fact, I made it a sheet all of us can access. That way, if there’s ever any doubt, we’ll have something to reference,” Warrick shared, showing me his phone.
How the hell could men be this sweet? It’s almost as if they were created from all the best parts and none of the bad.
I started to tear up, but instead of letting my emotions get the better of me, I shoved a forkful of kale in my mouth.
The bitter taste was so jarring, it was all I could focus on.
Unable to stop the reaction I had to the stuff, my face scrunched up, and I swallowed as fast as I could.
Grabbing my tea, I gulped it, desperate to get the nasty taste out of my mouth.
The guys all chuckled, alerting me they were all watching this situation go down.
“Damn, Rosie, you really don’t like that stuff, do you?” Ulysses teased.
My instant response was to glare and flip him the middle finger.
“Any day, any time, Rosie. You say the word, and I’ll happily fuck you,” he countered, his voice getting deep and raspy with desire.
I sucked in a breath, feeling my neck heating up with embarrassment and need. My skin started to feel a little itchy like my clothes were suddenly too much for my skin to handle, making me squirm.
Hands clamped on my hips, holding me still. “Baby girl, keep that up, and you’re going to make me come all over your perfect ass.”
Holy hell, I was in trouble. I needed to calm down, even though that was the last thing I really wanted to do.
Just the thought of Gareth and Ulysses taking me at the same time had me panting.
Then fingers pinched my nose, making me gasp, only to find a mouth full of kale being shoved into it.
All thoughts of sexy times came to a screeching halt as I gagged on the roughage in my mouth.
“Easy, kitten,” Vili soothed, cupping my jaw. “Look at me, please.” I did, and when I met his gaze, I seemed to calm, knowing I was fine with my Alphas here. “Chew or spit, which one?”
Vili moved his hand from my chin to hold it in front of my mouth, helping me to connect the dots on what he was saying.
Did he honestly think I would spit food into his hand just because I didn’t like it?
Also, why the hell was that so damn romantic and sweet?
I shook my head and chewed it enough to know I could swallow the lettuce in one gulp.
Seeing my choice, he grabbed his glass of water and offered it to me once I got it down.
“Slowly, kitten,” Vili cautioned. “Choking on salad is a terrible way to die.”
The image of that on my tombstone struck me so funny I couldn’t hold back my laughter.
In a move only I could ever manage, water shot out of my nose and sprayed all over Vili.
Horrified, I slapped a hand over my mouth and nose, trying to keep what was left in my damn body.
Vili just blinked at me a few times before erupting in laughter, taking a napkin and drying himself off.
The others joined in, and Warrick ran toward the kitchen only to return with towels to clean up the floor.
“That was, how do you say it? Ah, some funny shit,” Vili commented, still chuckling as he used a special cloth to clean his glasses.
After having finally swallowed the water, the flood of apologies came rushing out. “Vili, I’m so sorry. I can’t believe I snotted water at you. God, this is so embarrassing.”
“Kitten,” Vili chided as he slid a hand around the back of my neck. “There is no need to be sorry. I am fine, you are fine, nothing to worry about.”
“But…” I argued, trying to give words to my emotions.
Vili seemed to have a different plan as he pulled me into a kiss. It was a sweet, tender kiss that seemed to settle whatever rioting worries were rattling in my head. “My sweet kitten, it will take more than a little water from your nose to chase me away.”
“I so don’t deserve you guys,” I whispered, resting my forehead against his.
Vili grunted disapprovingly as he pulled back enough to look me in the eyes. “Wrong, you have it backward. We don’t deserve a precious gift such as you, Bailey-Rose.” He gave me another kiss that was over too quickly, making me pout.
He merely smiled and nuzzled his nose against mine. “I can’t get you excited. We just got you to calm down, kitten.”
My brows shot up. “That’s why you ninja attacked me with kale?”
“Fucking brilliant if you ask me,” Gareth muttered. “Baby girl, the way you were squirming and starting to perfume, I’m not sure any of us could have held back. I thought you were on a suppressant?”
“I am,” I blurted defensively. “Maybe it needs to be a stronger dose now that I’ve found my pack.”
“Warrick, make a section on that sheet for a list of questions we need to ask the doc,” Yun-Sun urged. “We had a lot to ask him today, but I’m sure there will be plenty more.”
Gareth slid out from behind me and started to gather the bowls from the guys. When he caught me watching him, he winked. “We’re fine, baby girl. I picked the short straw for kitchen cleanup while the house staff is taking two weeks off. Figured it might be best to keep it just us for now.”
How he’d guessed that I was sitting here thinking he was upset with me, I’ll never know, but whatever the reason, I was thankful. I’d never been one to feel this insecure, but the opinion of these five men meant the world to me.
“Okay,” I answered, snagging a pillow to cuddle with.
“Care Bear, come sit with me so we can snuggle,” Warrick invited, holding out a hand. “I hate to admit it, but I’m getting jealous of that damn pillow.”
That made me snort as I chucked the pillow at him. “Here, if you’re so jealous, you can have it.”
Warrick caught the pillow with ease only to set it aside, pop up from his seat, and tackle me.
We rolled so I ended up on his chest out of harm’s way.
I laughed as Warrick nuzzled into my neck, only to tease me as he blew a raspberry against my neck.
The vibrations had me squealing and wiggling in his hold with how much it tickled.
“I give up!” I gasped when he started to tickle my side. “We can snuggle all you want.”
Letting his head fall back to the couch, Warrick grinned triumphantly at me. “Ha, I win.”
Still trying to catch my breath, I flopped across his chest and let the sound of his steady heartbeat thumping in my ear slow my own. “That was a dirty trick. Did Lysse tell you I was ticklish?”
“Nah, just took a wild guess. You seemed like the type of person to be ticklish,” Warrick answered.
Crossing my arms, I rested my chin on my hands so I could look him in the face. “I have a look… hmm?”
Warrick shrugged. “Pretty sure it’s a rule that anyone as adorable as you has to be ticklish.”
I rolled my eyes at that but couldn’t keep the smile off my face.
“Kitten,” Vili said after a lull in the conversation. “Earlier when you woke up, you telling me about not having schedule. Then mentioned your routine changed. Would making new schedule help?”
Turning so the side of my head rested on my hands, I considered his question.
When I first got back from college, I was so excited to start realizing my dream, started building my art studio and created paintings of the millions of ideas floating around in my head.
Then Randall happened, and the spark to create had fizzled out.
Now my mind was so consumed with these men and spending as much time with them as possible, I’d all but forgotten about my plans.
“All of you work outside the house, right?” I asked.
Of course, I knew Warrick had the bar, but I didn’t really know what day-to-day life was like for these Alphas of mine.
“For the most part,” Ulysses answered. “Vili works from home a few days here and there, but I think we can all agree that nothing is set in stone. We knew that once we found our Omega, things would adjust, but we haven’t hammered all that out.”
I nodded, trying to visualize what normal life would look like once these two weeks were over.
“Omae,” Yun-Sun called, drawing my attention. “What plans did you have for yourself after college? I know finding us was something you didn’t think would happen, so it only make sense you have aspirations to chase.”
Hearing him ask me that question made my heart flutter in a way that had nothing to do with my condition.
It proved once more that they saw me as capable and didn’t want me to lose out on my desires for my life.
Many Omegas knew once they joined a pack, their life was now centered around taking care of their new family.
That’s not to say they couldn’t push for more or that their pack was forcing them to give up everything.
Yet when you grow up being taught this is how things are done, you don’t tend to question it.