Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
It starts as an itch, crawling across my skin.
A faint hint of discomfort.
I brush it aside, chalking the feeling up to being in a new place. But it grows stronger. Rougher. Until my chest aches with the weight of it.
My eyes pinch shut, breaths puffing out in rapid bursts as I press my palm over my heart. When I concentrate it becomes clearer.
This whirlwind of emotion? It isn’t coming from me.
I’m out of the room and up the stairs before I can catch my breath. Skye needs me. She’s hurting, and after what her mates told me the other night, I know this is my fault.
I have to get to her. To make the pain go away.
At the top of the stairs, a door flies open, and Quentin storms out. He freezes, light gray eyes narrowing. One finger points down the hall as he glares. “Go.”
I never stopped moving.
Skye’s bedroom is empty, but her closet door is cracked open. I push it further, wincing when it slams against the shelves, making her jump.
“C-Caleb?” She brushes away the tears lining her cheeks.
I tangle my hands in her hair and pull her against my chest. We collapse onto the bench that runs down the middle of the room, her legs straddling my hips as I hold her. “I’m so sorry.” I whisper the words over and over as I rock her. She clings to me, hands twisted in the front of my shirt.
I’m a fucking bastard for ever leaving her.
“Stop apologizing,” she says, frowning up at me. “This isn’t your fault. I’m just being stupid-”
My growl stops her, as does the hand that drops to cover her mouth. “You’re hurting. Because of me. You have bond sickness. Because of me. None of this is your fault.”
Her head shakes, tongue darting out to lick my palm.
I don’t move my hand until she reaches up to pry it away.
“It wasn’t the bond sickness.” She glances down at herself and sighs.
Her lips are pursed when she looks up at me.
“I still haven’t gained any weight. As you can tell.
” She pinches the skin over her hip, and it clicks.
Running my tongue over my teeth, I take a quick look out the door. Fuck it. If anyone comes to check on us, they can help me show Skye just how much we adore her body.
Flipping her around, I grip her chin in my hand and make her face the mirror. She winces, trying to shift off my lap, but I bind my other arm around her waist and hold her still.
“Caleb, your legs.”
“Are fine. You aren’t hurting me. I love having you in my arms. Your ass pressed against my lap.” I grind up, letting her feel how hard I am. Her lips pop open, and I hate myself for making this beautiful woman ever doubt how obsessed with her I am.
Keeping my grip on her chin, my other hand travels from her waist up to splay between her breasts. I can feel the rapid pounding of her heart, see it in the flutter of her pulse in the curve of her throat.
“I know there are no words that will convince you to see yourself the way I do. The way we do. So I’m going to show you. Watch,” I motion toward the mirror, “as I make you fall apart.”
Distracting her with an orgasm might not be the best way to approach her body image issues, but it’s a start.
Her skin pebbles beneath my fingers as I glide them down her stomach, dipping into her belly button to make her giggle. I widen my legs, hooking her knees outside mine so she’s on display. She sucks in a sharp breath, a flush crawling up her chest as I force her to stare at her reflection.
When my hand reaches her core, I cup her, letting her slick coat my palm before I spread my fingers and open her up. “Such a pretty pink pussy,” I whisper against her skin, lips pressed to her shoulder.
“Caleb,” she whimpers my name, her scent swelling with the honey sweetness of arousal.
One finger circles her clit, teasing her with the light touch. Noise behind us has both our eyes flying to the doorway, where Emmett leans against the frame, his eyes heavy-lidded and his hand gripping his dick through his jeans.
“Damn, sweetheart, look at you. So fucking gorgeous.”
He meets my eyes, a question burning in them. I tip my chin, slowly accepting his silent plea to join us. It’s weird to share Skye with him, but this is something I will have to get used to.
It isn’t just her and me against the world anymore; she has a whole pack to protect her.
Emmett sits on the bench beside me, his lips meeting her other shoulder as one of his hands glides up the inside of her thigh. He pushes a finger into her core, chuckling when her hips buck.
“Does that feel good? Having the attention of two of your mates?” One finger quickly becomes two. Squelching fills the air alongside Skye’s panting moans. Slick shines on Emmett’s hand and my fingers where I continue to toy with her clit.
“Please,” she whines, trying to fuck herself on his fingers.
I shift my head up, tongue darting out to lick the shell of her ear. “Watching you come is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. Better than any sunrise or sunset. You’re magnificent, even if you don’t feel it here.” I drop my hand from her chin and point to her heart.
She’s a good girl and keeps her attention on the mirror as we double our efforts.
“That’s right, baby, so close, aren’t you?” Emmett takes one of her peaked nipples into his mouth, his wrist moving faster as she starts shaking in my arms.
“So beautiful.” He whispers the words as he pops off her breast, staring up at her with love-filled eyes.
Skye shatters, a scream tearing from her throat as she writhes against me. I grunt, barely holding myself back from coming in my pants. She just feels too good.
“Feel better?” Emmett asks, pulling his fingers out of her. He licks her slick from them, winking when she tries to squeeze her thighs together.
“I do. Thank you.” Skye turns to me over her shoulder, cheeks flushing a darker shade of pink. “Both of you.”
Gripping her chin, I press my lips to hers, savoring the sweet kiss. “I’m here now, bunny. I won’t leave you again. Promise.”
She pushes off my lap with a wince. “I should change…”
Emmett twirls her into his arms. “Absolutely not. Onyx and Sterling will lose their minds seeing you in this. I’ll grab you a rag to clean up, but leave it on.”
She slides toward her vanity and slips a soft white sweater over her head. I should leave her to finish getting ready, but I find myself unable to move. I stare as she styles her hair and puts on a light layer of makeup.
Her eyes flicker to mine, full of emotion. I can feel pieces of it through our connection, but they’re jumbled.
I get it. What’s happened the past few weeks has been a lot. Not knowing how to feel is natural in this situation.
Sterling knocks on the open door, a soft smile on his lips when he sees Skye sliding her shoes on. He’s handsome in his dark green jeans and tan jacket; his braids pulled back into a low bun.
The same burst of attraction from before flows through my veins like honey, and I shake my head. It’s still really fucking weird to feel Skye’s attraction like this. Lust I get, because that’s an emotion, but I never would have considered attraction an emotion.
“Ready to go, precious?”
Skye dances over to him, her arms locking around his waist. Two fingers pinch her chin, his eyes searching her face before he brushes a kiss to her forehead.
“Have fun tonight, Caleb.”
I walk them out, shutting off the lights as I go. Skye gives me a quick kiss before she disappears, heading to the car where Onyx waits for her.
An arm wraps around my shoulders, the scent of sandalwood and vetiver flooding my nose.
“We’re going to have a blast tonight, dude.
” Bellamy’s joyous energy is infectious, and I peer down at my feet to hide my reaction.
“You need to change or anything? Emmett said we can leave as soon as you’re ready. ”
Glancing sideways, my brows shoot up when I see his white cropped t-shirt. In thick red letters, the front reads ‘sit on my face.’ This guy has no chill. And I kind of love it. His energy makes it hard to feel down about the mistakes I’ve made in my life, and his confidence bolsters my own.
A quick peek at my outfit and I decide to change. Especially after spending the morning in the water-logged apartment with Joey, Lee, and Matt. “Give me five minutes and I’ll be good.”
Quentin, Emmett, and Bellamy are standing in the foyer when I come back. “Time to party.” Bellamy shouts, tossing a fist in the air as he throws the front door open.
Hanging out with the three of them tonight will give me an idea of where I fit in with their pack. If I do.
Fates, I hope I do.
I don’t remember the last time I laughed this much.
We’re at the local science center’s adult-only night. It’s a monthly event with different themes, tonight’s being pre-designation music. There are tables set up throughout the three-story building offering cocktails and mocktails named after popular bands.
All the normal exhibits are open for us to explore, which is cool, but the temporary experiences they set up for the night are the real highlight.
Quentin and Emmett kicked ass at the music trivia, and Bellamy outshined us in a touch screen rhythm game. I had my moment to show off when we found a room where they were teaching pre-designation dances. The moves were easy to master after years of Zumba classes.
“Dude, try this.” Bellamy shoves a foamy magenta drink into my hand, his eyes bright. The brush of our fingers has electricity crawling across my skin and my brow furrowing. All night my body has reacted to him, and I don’t understand it. Am I… attracted to him?
Until now, I assumed what I was feeling came from Skye, but she’s back in Starburgh with her other Alphas. The connection between us has been silent because of the distance, so this cannot be secondhand arousal from her.
Can it?
Sipping the drink, I understand why he wanted me to try it. It’s smooth and sweet with some sort of berry flavoring.
“That’s good.”
I pass it back to him, trying not to stare as he downs the rest of it. Watching his throat work each time he swallows has my cock thickening.
Spinning on my heel, I lead us further onto the floor. We started at the top of the building and have worked our way down, enjoying each of the interactive exhibits as we went.
“Hell yeah.” Bee wraps an arm around my shoulders, something he’s done a lot tonight.
His concept of personal space is nonexistent.
He steers me through an open set of double doors to our left, into a giant theater.
On the screen is the menu for a rhythm game where you use special guitar controllers.
“You versus me, then Emmett can battle the winner.”
“I’ll sit this one out,” Quentin adds. He shrugs when I peek back at him. “I have precisely zero musical talent and as much rhythm as a newborn.”
“We all have our talents. You carried us through the historical parts of the trivia earlier.”
“That we do.” His relaxed smile is weird to see. I haven’t known any of these guys for long, but in that short time I don’t think I’ve seen a genuine one out of him.
“Come on, Cay,” Bellamy claps his hands, glancing between the controllers before passing me the black one and taking the red for himself.
I don’t know how I feel about him shortening my name, but I let it slide. We’ve all been drinking and having fun, so I doubt it will stick.
“What song should we do first?”
He flips through the options before we settle on a classic metal song. Time flies as we play, taunting each other as we fly through the playlist on expert. I’m sweaty and tired when we give up the controllers for another group that stumbles in.
As I observe Skye’s other mates, I can’t hide the content spreading across my face. This is what I always dreamed a pack would feel like. The easy camaraderie, the sense of kinship. This is what I’ve been missing.
“Ready to head home?” Quentin asks, his phone out to order us a ride share.
“I’m wiped, dude. Let’s bail,” Bellamy leans against me, his head on my shoulder. “If I’m lucky, I can sneak into the nest and wake up knotted.”
I nearly choke on my tongue, stumbling over my feet as we follow the others to the exit.
My cock is so fucking hard just imagining watching him take one of the other Alpha’s knots.
Sterling said he’s a brat, and after tonight I know he has a mouth on him.
I bet he’d taunt them the entire time. Riling them until they snap and pin him to the mattress. And I could join them.
No. Fuck. I might have accepted I’m attracted to Bellamy, but my focus needs to be on Skye. I have to fix things between us. She is most important.
After that…I guess we’ll see what happens. I’m not going to dwell on maybe when I have a definite waiting at home.
Home. I’ve only spent one night at the estate, yet it feels like I belong there. I’m more comfortable walking their stone floors than I ever was in the tiny apartment I shared with Joey, Matt, and Lee.
Every moment spent with this pack reminds me how out of place I’ve felt over the past eight years.
And now I’m back where I belong. With Skye.
“I’m glad you joined us tonight.” Quentin stops me in the foyer, one foot on the stairs. “We want you to feel welcome in our pack, Caleb. Not just as Skye’s mate, but as our friend.”
“I’m starting to see that.”
He leaves me to make my way to my new bedroom alone.
The house is quiet. Peaceful. I groan when I push open my bedroom door and remember I never finished unpacking. Dropping the boxes against the wall by the desk, I leave them for tomorrow.
I don’t bother to pull the covers over my body before I pass out, my mind blissfully free of regrets for once.