Chapter 34
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Mia
Iwake up drowning in warmth.
For a disorienting moment, I don’t know where I am. The room is dark and the air is thick with the scent of pack.
Then the weight registers. Three sleeping alphas who seem determined to merge their bodies with mine. I couldn’t move if I wanted to.
I shift slightly, blinking when I realize Eli is awake.
He’s sitting up against the headboard, my head pillowed on his thigh, his hand in my hair, fingers threading through the tangled strands in a slow, soothing rhythm.
I tilt my head back to look at him, and his gaze drops immediately, those steady blue eyes softening when they meet mine.
“Morning,” he murmurs, voice rough with sleep.
“Hi,” I whisper, my throat raw.
His thumb traces the shell of my ear. “How do you feel?”
My body is sore in places I didn’t know could be sore. The bite marks on my neck throb with a dull, pleasant heat. And my thighs are sticky.
“Heavy,” I say finally, and it’s the truth.
Eli’s mouth quirks. “Good.”
“I can’t move.”
“You’re not supposed to.” Knox’s voice is a sleepy rumble against my shoulder. He doesn’t lift his head, just nuzzles deeper into the crook of my neck. “You’re pinned. Permanently.”
“Pretty sure I need to pee at some point.”
“Overruled,” Rhys mutters, his arm tightening around my waist.
I huff a laugh, and the sound makes Declan stir at the foot of the bed. He lifts his head, blinking blearily, his red hair sticking up in seventeen different directions.
His eyes find mine, and his whole face transforms.
“You’re still here,” he says, wonder in his voice.
“Where else would I be?”
“I don’t know. I keep thinking I’m going to wake up and this was all a fever dream.” He crawls up the bed, wedging himself between my thighs, and presses a kiss to my forehead.
Knox shifts, groaning as he nuzzles some more into me. He blinks open one eye to look at me, and a slow, wicked grin spreads across his face.
“Wife,” he says.
My face flames. “I am not your wife.”
“You’re marked.” He eases up on one elbow until he’s hovering over me. “That’s more binding than a ring. You’re stuck, sunshine.”
He dips his head, licking a stripe up my throat, right over the marks. The sensation is electric, and my hips buck up involuntarily.
“Hungry,” Declan mumbles into my shoulder.
“Food or sex?” I ask, my fingers threading through his messy hair.
“Yes.”
Eli laughs, sitting up and stretching his back. The sheet falls to his waist, and I take a moment to appreciate the view. Broad shoulders, defined chest, the faint scratches on his ribs where I must have held on for dear life last night.
“Food first.” Eli swings his legs out of bed. “She needs protein. She lost a lot of calories yesterday.”
“I can cook.” Rhys says it against my neck, but he stays right where he is, tightening his hold on me.
“I’ve got it.” Eli stands, completely unselfconscious in his nakedness, and grabs a pair of sweatpants from the floor. “You guys get her to the shower. Gently. She’s going to be stiff.”
He’s right. When I try to sit up, my muscles protest in a chorus of aches. My inner thighs are tender, my back is sore, and my neck throbs with every beat of my heart.
But I’ve never felt better.
“Shower.” Knox scoops me up, lifting me out of the nest in one smooth motion.
“I can walk.”
“Why walk when you can be carried?” He presses a kiss to my nose. “Besides, I like holding you. Get used to it.”
They crowd into the bathroom. Rhys adjusts the water temperature. Declan washes my hair, his fingers massaging my scalp until I’m practically purring. Knox washes my body, his hands big and soapy and thorough, lingering on every bruise, every mark, every piece of evidence that they own me.
By the time they carry me downstairs, the smell of bacon and coffee fills the house. Eli is at the stove, flipping omelets. He looks over his shoulder as Knox sets me on the kitchen island.
“Sit.” Knox steps between my spread knees, resting his hands on my thighs as his thumbs rub soothing circles into the sore muscles there.
I’m wearing one of Rhys’s t-shirts and nothing else. It hangs off one shoulder, exposing the bites for everyone to see.
And they do look.
Declan leans against the fridge, coffee mug in hand, his gaze fixed on my neck. Rhys stands behind me, drying my hair with a towel, his eyes catching mine in the reflection of the patio door.
The air in the kitchen is thick enough, I could cut it with a blade.
“Eat,” Eli says, sliding a plate next to my hip.
I take a bite of bacon, humming at the taste. “This is amazing.”
“It’s bacon,” Knox teases, leaning forward to steal a bite from my fork. “Hard to mess up.”
“Hey! Get your own.”
“Yours tastes better.”
He leans in, licking a drop of grease from my lower lip. But as his tongue touches my lip, the playful atmosphere shifts.
Knox freezes. His pupils expand, swallowing the gray irises. He pulls back just an inch, his breath hot on my mouth.
“You smell sweet.”
“I just showered.”
“Not soap.” He drags his nose along my jawline, down my neck where the bites are fresh. “Slick. You smell like you’re going into heat again.”
I swallow hard. “I can’t be.”
“The bond is new,” Rhys murmurs from behind me, his hands sliding down to rest on my waist. “Her body is adjusting to the claim.”
My heart kicks against my ribs. Because he’s right.
Beneath the soreness and the exhaustion, there’s a low, humming need building. Declan’s hands slide up my thighs, pushing the hem of the t-shirt up.
“Dek,” Eli warns from the stove, though he doesn’t sound like he plans to stop it. “She’s sore.”
“I’ll be careful.” He presses a kiss to the inside of my knee, as he takes Knox’s place between my legs. “I just need to taste her. Just for a minute.”
He nudges my knees wider and steps in, burying his face between my thighs.
I gasp, my head falling back against Rhys’s chest. Rhys’s arm bands across my collarbone, holding me up as Declan’s tongue finds me.
It’s slow. Long, broad strokes. He hums against me, the vibration traveling straight to my spine.
Knox moves in on my left, lifting my hand to his mouth. He sucks my fingers, one by one, watching Declan work with heavy-lidded eyes.
I’m surrounded.
“Pack,” I whisper, the word tumbling out on a sigh.
Declan groans against me, sliding two fingers inside to stretch me, just a little. Just enough to remind my body that it’s occupied.
I climax quickly, a sweet, rolling wave that leaves me limp against Rhys.
Declan pulls back, kissing my inner thigh before standing up.
“Better.” He licks his lips, eyes still dark as he smiles at me.
Eli cuts through the haze, lifting the fork himself to emphasize the point. “Now. Eat.”
I shake my head, still vibrating. “I don’t even know what to do with you.”
“Keep us.” Rhys drops a kiss to my hair. “We’re yours.”
I eat my breakfast sitting on the counter, my legs tangled with Dek’s, Knox stealing my toast, Rhys stealing my coffee, and Eli watching over all of us.
I trace the bite marks on my neck, whining at the tender sting.
It’s going to be a good life.
Loud. Chaotic. Messy.
And absolutely perfect.