Chapter 10
Chapter ten
The Prince
Preston
The house felt wonderfully different as I stood in the kitchen, cooking breakfast for everyone. Ivy chose to spend the night here, and I couldn’t have been more elated; just one step closer to her moving in and bonding with the pack.
Her scent was everywhere this morning: on the couch, down the halls, in the bathroom. It was so intoxicating that I had to keep refocusing myself on the task at hand. Well, the eggs were a little overcooked, but no other major mistakes—oh crap, the bacon!
Pulling the bacon out of the oven, my entire body felt tired this morning.
Ivy kept us awake all night playing games until she eventually passed out in Dem’s arms. Once he carried her up to her room, it took every fiber of my being not to enter her room and snuggle up to her in bed.
I didn’t even want to acknowledge the intense, nonstop fantasies running through my mind of her in my bed.
I exhaled loudly, placing my hands on the counter as I did a mental check for breakfast. Apart from dance, cooking was my second passion.
It gave me a free space to let me focus while tuning out the world.
It also kept me from having to do any other obnoxious chores around the house.
There was something about the repetition of perfecting one’s technique in the kitchen that was eerily similar to how dancers trained.
“That smells really good.”
I turned my head to see a half-awake Ivy standing barefoot at the bottom of the stairs, still in yesterday’s clothes with her hair all tousled from sleeping. Seeing her all sleepy and unkempt brought a smile to my face. She was slowly letting her guard down.
“Morning! Hungry?” I asked as I set out plates full of scrambled eggs, fresh fruit, bacon, sausages, and orange juice.
“Starving—this looks delicious!” She inhaled deeply before picking up a piece of fruit and plopping it in her mouth.
“What would you like to eat?” I waved a pair of tongs at her before grabbing a clean plate.
She shook her head with a chuckle. “You don’t have to serve me. I can get it myself.”
“I want to serve you,” I said as I dramatically pressed my hands to my heart. “It fulfills me greatly to know you’ve eaten my food. Plus, it’s like an alpha thing, so just accept it and be spoiled, little omega.”
She rolled her eyes at me, but smiled in agreement. I looked at everything and pointed to each one. She liked bacon and sausages, loved the fruit, and orange juice. No to the eggs.
“You don’t like eggs?”
She shrugged softly.
I guessed again. “You don’t like scrambled eggs?”
She agreed with that statement.
“What kind do you like?”
She thought for a minute before replying. “My favorite is medium eggs on top of buttered toast, so the yolk can soak up into the bread.”
“I can make that for you!” I exclaimed, snapping my tongs and turning back to the stove top. I'd gladly make anything she desired.
“No!” she laughed, running over and grabbing my arm. “Please sit and eat with me.”
“How can I refuse you?” I softly said to her, gently brushing her hair.
Setting down the tongs, I grabbed both our plates and carried them to the table.
She held our drinks, and we found a spot looking out over the windows to the patio.
A slight breeze outside gently swayed a few palm trees that dotted our property, creating a sense of tranquility.
“It’s so peaceful here…” she mused in a half-whisper, staring out to the patio. “I almost don’t want to…”
Leave. She didn’t have to say it, but I felt it too.
I thought for a moment, not quite sure what to say. I didn’t want her to feel rushed to be with us, but I wanted her to feel welcomed. “That room upstairs is yours and no one else’s. Whenever you’re ready, we’ll be ready for you.”
She turned and smiled at me before bumping into my shoulder playfully.
Just as she was about to take the first bite of her food, two pairs of footsteps sounded out as they walked down the stairs in the living room. Ivy and I looked to see Lukas and Isaac entering the kitchen, looking as tired as I felt.
As soon as Lukas saw Ivy, his energy shot straight up as he bounced over to greet her. “Good morning, Ivy!”
“Hello, lovely,” Isaac followed behind, kissing the other cheek in between two yawns. “It took all my willpower last night not to snuggle up to you in bed.”
Both Lukas and I laughed in agreement as Ivy blushed deeply. Her skin burst with her sweet scent, and just like that, any control I had snapped like an overused stretch band.
I pressed my nose against her neck and inhaled deeply. I wanted to indulge in this scent forever, bury myself inside her, and claim her as my own. Her scent was so intoxicating…it fogged my brain and left nothing but desire for her.
But even then, it wasn’t just her scent—I was starting to really like her. She made me laugh, she listened to me, and the more she talked with me (when she could), the more I wanted to share with her. My tongue moved on its own, tracing the curve of her neck.
Lukas looked at her with hunger in his eyes from across the table. On the other side of her, Isaac was trying to kiss her neck as his hands wrapped around her head. A soft little moan escaped from Ivy’s lips, making me hard as a rock.
“What’s going on here?” Dem's voice loudly radiated throughout the room. He was standing over us, his arms crossed with a combined look of shock and amusement. Apparently, he entered the room at some point.
His tone snapped me right out of my fog, though I was still rock hard. Ivy’s hand shot up to her face as her whole body turned beet red. I should have felt embarrassed, but all I wanted to do was throw her over my shoulder and carry her upstairs.
“I see we’re starting dessert a little early today. Did we all sleep well?”
Ivy regained her composure and gestured yes while the three of us shook our heads no.
Dem eyed us in understanding as he joined the table. I could see him taking in her scent, yet he didn’t even blink. God, he had immense willpower.
“Ivy, do you still want to join Preston for his morning ballet class today?”
“Yes, although I don’t have anything to wear,” she replied, gesturing to her outfit from yesterday.
Of course, my mind immediately drifted to her dancing naked in front of me.
“I believe we have a box of leotards in the garage from last year. We toured with this contemporary piece and haven’t brought the leotards back to the studio yet. Everything’s clean,” Demetrius said.
“You can borrow some sweatpants and socks from me,” Lukas added. “They might be a little big, but probably fine for today.”
“Sounds great,” Ivy smiled. “It’ll be nice to move a bit after gaming all night…of which I dominated.” She pointed to Lukas and me with a wickedly cute smile on her face. Her playfulness continued to catch me off guard.
“There’s no way you won,” Lukas playfully gasped, pointing a piece of bacon back at her. “I whomped you every round!”
“Whatever…” Ivy rolled her eyes, her smile still teasing us. “Everyone has their version of reality, I guess.”
She looked over to me with a wink, which took my breath away. She was growing more and more comfortable teasing back at us, and every look she gave me stirred something up inside me—not just lust, but something dangerously close to love.
Lukas grinned wickedly at Ivy. “Careful, little liar—if I catch you, I might just have to spank the truth out of you.”
Another burst of perfume erupted from Ivy. I shot out of my chair, followed by Lukas, Isaac, and Ivy. Dem chuckled at the four of us, shaking his head in amusement.
“I’m going to warm up the ballet studio.” I pointed down the hall.
“Yeah, I’ll get those sweats I was talking about.” Lukas stood and quickly bolted out of the room.
“Yep, bathroom for me, I’ll be back down in a minute.” Ivy took off upstairs.
“I guess I’ll get the leotards. Can we just start fucking yet?” Isaac mumbled under his breath as he walked away.
***
I sat inside the ballet studio, stretching my legs, when Ivy walked in wearing a black leotard along with a pair of Lukas’s sweatpants all synched up.
On her feet were a pair of socks a little too big for her.
Even with the oversized clothing, my interest was immediately peeked—I could imagine her wearing my shirt after a fun session in my bed.
“I can’t do center, just barre and maybe some jumps,” she said, pointing to her feet.
Working to stay focused, I replied, “That’s fine. I usually just like to keep my body moving on Sunday. We can do a cooldown stretch afterwards.” I stood and moved to the barre, beckoning her over to join me. “I was joking yesterday, you can stand wherever you want at the barre.”
She took a few steps farther into the room before pausing. “Where will I be the least distracting for you?”
That was a good question. I rested my hand on the barre as I chuckled. “Fuck if I know, I’m curious if I can even get through barre without attacking you. I brought a cup of cold water right there—just throw it at me if I get aggressive.”
She glanced at the water, then raised her eyebrows to me, shaking her head. “That would only be useful if I were of sound mind to use it.” Walking over to the barre, she pointed to the spot behind me. “I’ll stand here so I can watch your steps on the first side.”
“Sounds good,” I said.
Ballet class with just two people progressed very quickly. I briefly showed her the steps for each combination, then we turned the music on and practiced. Ivy learned very quickly, only messing up a few times with what I’d shown, not that it mattered since it was just the two of us.
Her scent quickly permeated the room—that beautiful rosewater and white chocolate scent was everywhere, tickling my nose while hints of it settled in my mouth.
Thankfully, I was able to focus through it.
In a way, it enhanced my efforts in class as I pushed for a higher lift of my leg, bent just a little bit farther, and softened my lines just a bit more.