Chapter 21 - Bridget
I kept my eyes closed when I woke up. The night before had to have been a dream, conjured by my overactive, horny imagination. It all seemed like a feverish hallucination.
Who was I kidding? My imagination wasn’t that good. Which meant it was very real, and now I had to deal with the consequences.
It had been an accident. I’d been unable to sleep. Andrew’s scent had sunk into my hair, and someone had jacked up the heat. I’d been sweaty and uncomfortable. Finally I got up for a glass of water.
I hadn’t been trying to hear anything. I hadn’t expected to. But I paused when I heard a soft moan coming from the bedroom Andrew and Gabriel shared. Silence fell again until I heard Andrew’s voice, soft but unmistakable, say, “You like that, don’t you?”
A torrent of uncontrollable desire had taken my breath away. I had to grip the counter as my knees buckled.
Standing outside their door, brushing my fingers softly over my clit as I listened to their soft groans, to Gabriel’s whispered begging, had been the most deliciously wicked thing I’d ever done. Until the door opened, of course.
I suspected there had been some kind of pheromonal component to my behavior. There had to be. It was so out of character that it felt like I’d been wearing someone else’s skin. Clearly, such close quarters with Andrew’s Alpha scent affected even my weak Omega instincts.
The room was still dark. Deep, measured breaths sounded in front of and behind me while I waited for my eyes to adjust. I could make out Gabriel, one arm thrown carelessly over his head, one leg thrust out of the covers.
During the night, Andrew had moved closer. I could feel the heat of him behind me, though we were not quite touching. Sleep had mellowed his clove and amber scent, but it was still heady enough to make my thighs clench.
A flash from last night. His fingers inside me while those green eyes bored into mine. Gabriel behind me, hard all over even while he whispered soft praise in my ear.
But along with the memory of the pleasure came the shame.
I put my hands over my face and gritted my teeth, as if that could help. The embarrassment was physically painful. I needed to get out and back to Maggie’s house before I did anything else so insanely selfish and stupid. Omega hormones were no excuse.
Andrew stirred behind me. One of his hands snaked across my hip and over my waist, heavy and warm. He pulled me closer until my back hit his chest. I froze.
Surely he was still asleep, or he wouldn’t be touching me like that. Gabriel hadn’t moved, either. Maybe I could extricate myself and get out the door before they realized I was gone.
“Don’t even think about it,” Andrew’s voice rumbled from behind me. I felt it vibrate through my torso.
“You’re supposed to be sleeping,” I whispered, annoyed that he could somehow read my mind.
“I was,” he said, giving me another squeeze. “Is this… okay?”
I wanted to laugh. Was it okay? His touching me, the feeling of his breath tickling my ear as he spoke, the smooth heat of his bare skin was more than okay.
I didn’t say that, but I placed my arm over his.
It was easier to touch him when I couldn’t see his face.
“How did you know I was going to get up?”
“Your whole body tensed.” His thumb was now brushing against me in rhythmic sweeps. Gabriel was still fast asleep, and I watched his chest rise and fall. A layer of coarse, dark hair that I wanted to touch curled across his chest.
“I can’t stay here,” I said after a moment. “I’ll die of embarrassment. Actually, I might already be dead.”
“I know you don’t believe me right now, but there’s nothing to be embarrassed about.” His thumb was brushing higher on my ribs, almost to the underside of my breast.
“That’s easy for you to say,” I hissed. “You caught me…” I veered away from that minefield. “I told you I was a virgin.”
Andrew’s answering purr was not what I expected. He shifted slightly behind me. “It’s very caveman of me, but… Baby, do you know what that does to me?”
It felt like I’d stepped off a ledge. “No,” I whispered.
He inhaled sharply. “I’m honored you trusted me. Trusted us.”
I gathered my courage and turned slowly to face him. His hand slid around to my upper back, and our knees bumped. “You trusted me to be in your home, and I betrayed that.”
My eyes had adjusted to the dim light from the window behind him, but Andrew’s face was still in shadow. I could only see his profile — one sharp cheekbone and the outside edge of his lips, which curved into a smile. “You’re right. Your punishment is staying here with us.”
There was something else bothering me. I knew Andrew was at least attracted to me, even if that was obviously just a function of our compatible biological markers, but Gabriel was another story. Last night had just confused me even more.
Andrew’s hand left my back. His thumb pressed gently between my brows, smoothing out the furrow there, before gliding across my left eyebrow. “Don’t overthink it. Please?”
Maggie would take me back in a heartbeat. Or I could go to a different Center. There was one up north, outside the City.
But then Andrew just smelled so good. And he seemed to genuinely not care about my bread of privacy. And Gabriel was… Even if his attention was platonic, it felt wonderful to be cared for by him.
“Okay. For now.”
He smiled again. “We’d better tell him the good news. Want to wake him up?”
I didn’t. Whatever spell Andrew and my scent had cast last night had dissipated. What if Gabriels wasn’t as forgiving? On the other hand, what if he was? Was it wrong to want his affection?
Gabriel was difficult to wake. I tried poking him in the shoulder and he didn’t react, so I poked him again in the stomach. Still nothing. I shook his entire body, my hand on his shoulder. He groaned, but slept on.
“He’d sleep through an earthquake,” Andrew murmured. His voice was so tender, I felt like I was intruding all over again. “You’ll have to do something more drastic.”
“This is ridiculous,” I muttered, then scooted closer on my stomach and elbows.
My hand against his chest looked ghostly white in the bluish gray light.
I meant to just shake him again, but I got distracted by the hair under my palm.
It was coarse, thicker at his sternum and fading as it spread to the outside of his chest and down his abdomen.
There was also a thicker line down the middle of his stomach, following the center of his rectus abdominis, which was incredibly well developed, scientifically speaking.
I let my finger follow that line until I reached his belly button.
He finally stirred. I pulled my hand away. There was a split second where he didn’t react and my heart stopped.
This was it. He’d push me away for good.
Well, if he did, I would just leave and pretend none of it had ever happened. Maybe I could move states and completely start over. There were Ph.D. programs on the west coast that might accept me. Whoever was trying to hurt me probably wouldn’t follow me out there.
“Ah, you stayed,” he said, his voice rough with sleep. And then he smiled and stroked the back of my head. “I admit I was worried.”
“She thought about it,” Andrew said behind me. “But I’ve convinced her not to run for the time being.”
I needed to get this over with as quickly as possible. “I’m so sorry about last night. It was completely inappropriate, and it won’t happen again.”
Gabriel’s smile didn’t waver. “Mai dire mai, tesoro. You surprised us, but it was a good one.”
My face burned. I flopped onto my back to look at Andrew, too. “Can we just… go back to normal? And pretend my lapse in sanity didn’t happen?”
There was silence for a moment. “If that’s what you want,” Andrew said. His voice sounded strained, and I felt guilty and ashamed all over again. “Of course.”
“It is,” I said, trying to sound firm. I think I failed.
Gabriel reached for my hand and intertwined our fingers. I didn’t pull away because I was weak. “I do not want you to feel ashamed. Or awkward. You are still welcome here, carissima.”
“Thank you,” I whispered. “I’m going to shower.”
I fled the room and their scents as fast as possible.
True to their word, Andrew and Gabriel didn’t mention anything about the previous night. Andrew made breakfast: scrambled eggs with cheese and turkey sausage. He let me serve myself instead of bringing me a loaded plate like he’d done the day before.
Weirdly, them knowing about my recovery made it easier to eat in front of them. They already knew the worst. So what if I ate everything in a specific order or had to think too hard about what a normal amount of chewing was? It’s not like I was trying to impress them anymore.
Maggie called my burner phone in the early afternoon.
“So, good news, bad news. We found what your coworker was arrested for,” Maggie said.
“It was just for breaking and entering at her high school. Apparently she broke into the science lab after hours, and the school pressed charges to ‘make an example.’ She did some community service, and that was it.”
“Thank god,” I said. Of course it was something like that; Anvi was too excitable to be a real criminal.
“Right, but that’s the bad news part. That was kind of our only lead. At least until the software is up and running on your boss’s computer, which should honestly be any minute now if your guy comes through.”
Anxiety for Nathan hit me again. This was so unfair to him. If he got into trouble because of me, I’d never forgive myself. Or Maggie.
Andrew must have seen my expression. “Keep us posted on when you hear from him.”
“Will do,” Maggie said. “I’ll call you soon. Hang in there, Bridge. We’ll handle it.”