2. Cherry #2
“Can we ask you some questions?” Maddox asks. I lower my hand and turn to face Maddox, leaning back firmly against Chase. He wraps his arms around my middle, and I wiggle in appreciation in his lap, making him let out a small groan for some reason.
Bain squeezes my hand, and I look down at our inter-twined fingers sitting in my lap and smile, then lift my gaze to meet his gorgeous blue eyes.
“Mate,” I say, lifting my free hand to touch the thick beard around his face.
He nods, but otherwise just stares at me as I explore his face.
I run my fingers over the hair around his mouth as I ask, “Will this tickle me?”
Chase lets out a burst of laughter, and I turn to see Maddox biting his lips as he tries not to laugh. Hunter is shaking his head as he chuckles.
“Did I say something funny?” I ask in confusion.
“No, sweetheart,” Maddox says, his hand still on my knee. “We love that you’re speaking everything on your mind.”
“Not everything,” I say, exaggerating the word.
Chase hugs me a little tighter as he whispers in my ear, “No?”
I shake my head. “I didn’t think it polite to mention that I can feel your dick poking my ass.”
“Goddess, give me strength!” he groans out as he presses his forehead to my shoulder, and Hunter starts howling in laughter.
I look at Maddox, and he shakes his head, looking amused. “I can already see how perfectly you’re going to fit in with us.”
“Us?” I ask, because I want to be sure of this important fact.
He nods. “Yes, the five of us. We’re your mates, little wolf.”
I smile as my eyes bounce between them all.
“Mine.”
“Is that your wolf talking, Cherry?” Gage asks, and I turn to look at him.
I answer his question as I reach up to explore his face, like I did with the other two. “We are the same. My wolf and I.”
“What do you mean?”
I shrug as I push my fingers through his straight black hair, pushing it away from his beautiful blue eyes. “We don’t have separate thoughts. Never have.”
His eyes bounce to the others and I turn to look at Hunter. He’s a little too far for me to reach, so I lift my finger and beckon him closer. He rewards me with a huge smile as he shuffles forward on the table and leans his head right into my grabby hand.
“You like touching us, huh?” he asks in amusement as he lifts his free hand to copy my movements on my own face.
I nod as I scrape my fingers through his stubble. “Haven’t used my hands in five years. I want the first thing I feel to be my mates. I’ve been wondering what it would feel like to touch you.”
“Goddess, you’re precious,” he says with a sigh as he gently strokes my cheek.
“Cherry,” Maddox says, making my eyes move to him. He looks on the verge of shifting. I can almost see the alpha energy wafting off him.
“Maddox,” I say, liking the way his name feels on my tongue. Hunter releases my face as I shift to face Maddox, who's sitting directly in front of me now. “Are you the boss?” I ask, needing to know.
“So to speak. I am the leader of our pack, yes.”
“The Silverstorm Pack,” I say for confirmation.
“Yes.”
Bain moves his hand to my thigh without breaking contact on my skin, freeing up both mine. Everyone is touching my legs now, and I scoot forward a little on Chase’s lap, wanting to get closer to Maddox.
I feel Chase’s hands slide up underneath the shirt to grip my bare hips. I know he’s just trying to keep skin-on-skin contact so I don’t shift, but it causes a small shudder to go through me. I like it.
I reach my hands toward Maddox, desperate to touch him, and he moves to his knees right in front of me, letting my fingers run along the scruff of his beard. He mimics my position, moving one hand at a time until we’re cupping each other’s faces.
“You’re beautiful,” he tells me, his green eyes scanning my face.
“Am I?” I ask as my brows pinch together.
“Yes,” several of them reply at once.
“I… I haven’t seen myself for a long time.”
“How long?” Bain grunts out from my side.
I glance over my shoulder at him. “You don’t want to know.”
“As long as you’ve been a wolf?” Gage asks. I press my lips together, not wanting to admit it’s been longer.
“Cherry…” Bain says in warning.
“You’ll get mad,” I tell him with a small pout I try to rein in.
I feel his hand squeeze my thigh as he answers, “Yes. But you still need to tell me.”
“We want to ask you some questions,” Maddox says, saving me from answering. “But first, how are you feeling? Are you getting tired?”
I twist my lips to the side as I try to assess myself. “A little tired.”
“Are you in pain anywhere?”
“No pain,” I tell him with a shake of my head as my fingers find their way to his soft, brown hair that he’s wearing down today. We study each other for a moment until I start to lean toward him, but he stops me. “Cherry. About those questions.”
“Can that wait?” I ask as I move my hands to his shoulders. His very firm and strong shoulders. “I’ve been dying to tell you everything, but now that I’m actually sitting here in my human form, all I can think about is if your hugs feel as good in this body.”
He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath as Chase groans and leans his forehead against my back. When Maddox opens his eyes again, he grabs my hands and gently kisses my fingers, then moves them down, placing them on his firm abs.
“Oh,” I say with wide eyes. Unsure where this is going, but now super invested in how good he feels against my fingers.
“Keep your hands on me,” he instructs as he reaches forward and grabs my waist. “Come here, then,” he says as he slowly pulls me from Chase’s lap and into his.
I feel the others continue to touch my bare skin as I move my arms up to wrap around his neck, and my knees sit on either side of his thighs.
I press my face into his neck and take a deep inhale of his cedar, leather, and ash scent, letting it seep into me and help me relax.
“You smell good,” I whisper.
The others have moved to surround us, their hands on my upper legs, arms, and my back, under the shirt, but Maddox is the focus of my attention right now.
“So do you,” he says against my skin.
I poke my tongue out, desperate to get a little taste, and the delicious saltiness that greets me suddenly has me craving so much more. Something inside urges me forward, and before I realize what I’m doing, my teeth are clamping down on the spot where his shoulder meets his neck.
Someone gasps, and my eyes widen in shock at what I’m doing.
“Did she just bite you?” Chase asks in shock.
I feel a deep rumble coming from Maddox's chest as he holds me tighter. “Are you trying to mark me, little mate?”
Feeling embarrassed and confused, I force my jaw to unclasp and pull back, seeing only the imprint of my teeth on him.
“She didn’t break the skin,” Hunter says, studying the same spot as me.
I turn my worried eyes to him. “I didn’t mean to do that.”
Hunter gives me a soft smile as he reaches his free hand up to cup my cheek. “It’s okay, baby girl. Nobody’s upset.”
“I-I tried to mark him without his consent. I don’t know why I did that.” Even as my voice wobbles, I cling to Maddox, desperate for him not to be angry and let me go.
“And if you had, I wouldn’t have been upset,” Maddox tells me, his hand running up and down my back.
“But since you didn’t, we should try to save that for another time.
If you do mark me, it might make me unable to resist marking you back.
And completing the bond can be a very intimate act, and in some ways, we’ve just met. ”
I pull back so I can see his face as I rest my hands on his shoulders. “You still want me?”
He smiles and leans forward, planting a soft kiss on my lips so quickly that I barely feel it. I reach up to touch my lips as I stare at him with wide eyes. “I will always want you, Cherry. You’re my mate.”
I lick my lips and swallow the lump in my throat, suddenly feeling very warm all over.
“Is it hot in here?” I ask, glancing at Bain and Hunter, who are in eyesight.
“Maybe now is a good time to get some answers?” Gage suggests after a moment of silence.
“I want to hold her,” Hunter demands with a frown, and I smile at him, loving the way they all seem to want to be closer to me, the way I do to them.
“Switch spots with Chase,” Maddox tells him.