28. Ember
Ember
I woke up the next morning to the most epic snuggles. Ben was curled to my side, West and Rian had switched positions in the night, and the bed was super soft and comfy.
My body felt amazing. If this is how happy people were with a pack, I could see why they bonded each other.
I pushed the idea away like it was a hot coal. It was too soon to think about bonding, but I wouldn’t poke holes into something amazing either.
Last night had been…incredible. Everything felt right. I woke up in Rian’s nest, and it didn’t feel like I was borrowing another omega’s space. It smelled like mine, and for the first time since I scented Ben and Rian, my instincts were happy.
I had all of their scents on me and more orgasms than I could count, and they were sweet and funny. What wasn’t there to be over the moon about?
Ben shifted position, tightening his arm around my waist. I wiggled against him, discovering not all of him was asleep.
I wiggled again, and he nipped my shoulder. “Keep doing that and you won’t make it out of the nest.” His voice was husky, pure sex, and my pussy clenched at the prospect of him inside me again.
Alejandro rolled over, his dark hair tousled. He looked like an underwear model and I wanted to lick him. Again. He saw me looking and gave me a sleepy smile. “Breakfast?”
“Mmm.” I gave him a saucy look so he knew exactly what was on my mind. “Yes.”
Ben grumbled, trying to get me to lie back down. I couldn’t go back to sleep, so I settled for cuddles. And tickles. I alternated between Ben and Alejandro until West rolled on top of me, pinning me. “Are you going to be a menace until we all wake up?”
I gave him an innocent look and stole a quick kiss. “Alejandro’s awake. So no, only you, Ben, and Rian.”
West settled his weight on me. “If you want us up, I can think of better things to do.”
He made good on his threat, and we had brain-meltingly-good sex again. It was the best way to wake up and by the time we were ready to leave the nest, we worked up an appetite.
We made waffles and bacon with scrambled eggs and spent the day lazing around. Alejandro was off work on Mondays, so West and I made sure to schedule Mondays off if we could.
We watched movies, listened to music, cuddled, and then had more sex, which led to more knotting, and when it was time for bed again, I was pleasantly exhausted.
The next day at work, I couldn’t stop grinning. Our group chat was pinging, between Alejandro showing us pictures of food he was making, Rian complaining about having to wait for a sound check, Ben giving us song suggestions, and my random snapshots of places around Cosmic Bonds.
West commented with his usual snark that we should all be actually working but then shared an office meme.
After lunch, Stella poked her head into my office. She had a massive bouquet of roses in her arms. “I take it things are going well?”
“You could say that.” I shoved a piece of cheese in my mouth. Alejandro had sent us all to work with lunch boxes filled with food and snacks.
I got that swooping feeling again at how well it was going. I was flying in the wind and hoping like hell the wings I’d made wouldn’t melt when I got too close to the sun.
Stella set the bouquet on my desk. “They must not know you well enough yet.”
I wrinkled my nose, coming to their defense. “We haven’t talked about flowers.” The roses were pretty, dark red, with the standard arrangement of baby’s breath and greenery. The heavy scent of roses started to fill the room, souring my stomach.
While I had been in the hospital recovering from the plane crash, people had sent so many flower arrangements. It was impossible not to associate the scent of hothouse roses with being in pain and grieving.
When Luna put fresh-cut flowers in the waiting room, they didn’t bother me because they smelled like the outdoors, like sunlight and air. Flowers from flower shops always had a weird under-smell, something I associated with grief and pain.
People had sent us cards: sorry for your loss, get better soon. Because apparently a bouquet of lilies was the right choice for saying sorry for becoming an orphan .
I picked up the white card. Whoever sent it didn’t know better, and I would be happy for the gesture at least.
I turned the card over. Inside it read, ‘You smell sweeter than any rose. Signed, your secret admirer.’
I pulled out my phone. I snapped a photo of the roses and sent a text to our group chat.
Ember:
Thanks to whoever is clever enough to say “Secret Admirer,” but all four of your dicks were inside me yesterday, pretty sure your admiration isn’t a secret anymore.
There, that was witty.
Stella cocked her head. “You like these guys.”
“Yes.” I moved the flowers to the table near the couch. The smell was already cloying in my office, and I wasn’t sure how long I could stand it.
Deal with it , I told my stupid brain. One of your men sent you roses . Well, okay, West knew better, so it was one of the other three. My omega instincts preened at the thought of gifts, even if the scent made me want to crawl in a hole.
My phone buzzed.
Alejandro:
Not me, carina. He sent a picture of a cake halfway frosted. I’m more into food gifts.
Ember:
Oooooh cake
West texted me directly, knowing I hated the scent.
Sexy hot omega lovin:
Are you okay?
Ember: I’m fine. It was really sweet. They didn’t know better.
Sexy hot omega lovin: Secret admirer is silly. As you said, it’s pretty obvious they are all obsessed with you. As is your due.
Ember:
It’s fine. They’re allowed to be silly.
I went about the rest of my workday. I managed to tolerate the flowers for another hour before sending them into the waiting room. Let the clients enjoy the stinky flowers that smelled like death and hospitals.
Ben and Rian didn’t reply for a few hours, presumably having to work.
Rian:
Sorry we were in a session. We didn’t send flowers either. Didn’t know where you fell on the “they will just die” scale. I got you some blankets and Squishmallows, and Ben is making you a mix CD because he’s old and stuck in his ways.
We also bought a bunch of kitchen stuff and a sexy chef hat for Alejandro, and West some soft clothes since he likes to be an enigma wrapped up in a mystery.
I immediately replied, throwing West under the bus.
Ember:
Soft clothes are a great idea for West. I’ll also tattle and say he loves pillows. Like, this man has more pillows than a Nesting and Knots store.
West: those pillows in our nest are yours
Ember: emoji tongue sticking out
West: I have ideas for your mouth
I picked up the card again. It wasn’t signed; it was typed-out print from the flower shop.
Ben:
Got another side piece sending you flowers? Side eye emoji
Ember: Hell no, you four are more than enough. I’m just lovable. That’s got to be why someone sent me flowers.
There was a chorus of yes you are, of course , and so on from the group chat and I smiled. They were all pretty great.
Maybe it was a client that I helped? But then they would have signed their name.
It didn’t feel sweet. It felt weird, now that I was allowed to discount the men I was dating.
I finished my day, stopped by my cottage to get some clothes and a few essential blankets and Squishmallows since Rian said it was okay, and then drove over to their house.
West was stuck in traffic and Alejandro was still at work, so when I pulled in, it was just Rian and Ben. “Hey.” Rian pulled me into a kiss, wrapping his arms around me like we’d been parted for days and not hours. He let me go and steered me over to Ben, who also kissed me like a dying man.
When Ben pulled away, I blinked. “If that’s how I get greeted all the time, we can spend the night a lot.”
“Yes.” Rian took my bag. “Make yourself as comfy as you want.”
I shouldn’t have been tired considering how deeply I slept, but I was. “Couch cuddle time?”
“Please.” Ben sounded relieved. “Today was grueling.”
Ben brought me over to the couch and wrapped me up with a blanket. Rian sat on my other side, and I sighed.
Rian nudged the coffee table with his foot. “Your presents are there, but we’re going to make you wait until West and Alejandro get home.”
I grumbled. My brain paused. He said home, like this was our home. Again, I was shocked he didn’t mind us here.
I played with Rian’s hair, finally allowed to touch it. I pulled it out of the man bun and began braiding it. It was too short to do a long braid, but I could work with the inch or so he had. “You don’t have to share all your nests. I won’t be upset.”
“I know.” Rian relaxed. “I thought I would feel a lot more territorial than I do. But honestly, I’m glad the house smells like you three now.”
“We can spend time at the cottage too if you want.” I rubbed my face on Ben’s chest. “I’m not trying to keep you away from it.”
“I don’t mind either, but our bed is bigger.”
“There is that,” I said, listening to Ben’s purr. West came home next and sat next to Rian and pulled his laptop out. His projects were acting squirrelly too. Maybe we were cursed.
Alejandro arrived a bit later, and I received my presents, records, chocolate, and Squishmallows and hugged each man in turn.
West glanced. “Can I tell them now? Bullet dodged?”
I sighed. “Sure. But, I mean, it’s not a no.”
We were back to cuddling on the couch. Alejandro snorted. “That sounds like a no.”
“Ember doesn’t like store-bought flower arrangements.” West looked up from his laptop and then back to his screen.
“It’s not that I don’t like them.” I fiddled with my new ultra-soft, plush blanket.
On the TV, a group of amateur chefs were trying to dice onions. We put the show on to unwind because Alejandro judged them and it amused me.
“Which is why they didn’t come home with you?” Ben asked, brushing his fingertips down my arm.
“I couldn’t stand the smell anymore.” I debated for a minute just ripping off the Band-Aid and talking about being in the hospital. Just a quick heads-up. But every time I brushed against the subject, the thought of explaining anything made me tired.
“Noted.” Ben patted my arm. “No store-bought cheap flowers like some basic mouth-breathing alpha.”
I laughed.
“What about flowers picked by the side of the road?” Rian asked.
“Wildflowers are fine,” I said. “Flowers from a hothouse have this weird smell.”
West gave me a side eye, like he knew I was dancing around the subject because I couldn’t make up my mind.
“No problem, omega gifts are better anyway. Soft blankets, pillows.” Rian looked smug that I liked my blanket.
“And extra clothes to steal for your alphas,” Ben said.
“That too,” I replied, only feeling a little bit forced.
The amateur chef was getting berated on TV for breaking a sauce, and Alejandro shook his head. “Who goes on a cooking show that doesn’t know how to make a béarnaise?”
“I would,” Rian said, watching the show with interest. “I would show up for the fun of it, just be like, I’m here, ready to cook you something delicious. Oops, I don’t know how to boil water.”
“And that’s why you and Ember get along so well,” West muttered.
I shared a grin with Rian, and we focused on the show.
The box under the TV narrated exactly what each person was doing, so Ben knew what was happening. I already liked using subtitles anyway, but having a voice narrate what was happening made it easier for me to focus on the TV show. With the added bonus of Rian or West giving snarky commentary.
I couldn’t believe I’d dodged the bullet again. It was starting to sink in that maybe they wouldn’t pry when I was uncomfortable. They weren’t going to force me to drag up my grief.
They weren’t going to pin my sorrow to the table for dissection, asking where it hurt, where that scar came from, all the while saying it was because they wanted to make me feel better.
When all it really did was make me sad.
But they hadn’t once dug in when they touched on a sensitive subject. Maybe that was why I felt so comfortable. We didn’t have conversational landmines to work around. We could avoid talking about something, like I chose not to press Rian into telling me why he hadn’t recorded more songs.
He clearly loved music, but something else was holding him back.
Same for Ben. I knew he was blind, in the way that I needed to know that someone had a food allergy, but I didn’t need to drag him into a conversation about the shitty things that went with it, or even what his prognosis was.
I wouldn’t mind listening if he wanted to share, but it wasn’t my right to know just because we were dating.
My phone dinged, and I reached over Ben to get it.
An unknown number had texted me.
I hope you enjoyed the flowers. That pack doesn’t take care of you like they should. Someday you’ll know true love the way you deserve.
Ben squeezed his arm around me. “What’s wrong?”
I deleted the text and set my phone down. “Wrong number.”
I did not want to derail my happy evening just because some idiot randomly texted me.
“Who?” West looked up from his computer. Alejandro shifted next to him, looking at me too.
“It was a wrong number,” I said, my face flushing. “I’ll put my number on the block list again.”
Working with the public, I occasionally got wrong or random texts. I ignored the shiver of unease and focused on roasting the amateur chefs.