Chapter 19 Sofia
Sofia
I’m lying on my back on the porch. Mack is leaning over me, his expression soft. At this point, if he were anyone else, I’d probably be freaked out, but it’s Mack.
“It’s a new day; just past midnight,” Elijah murmurs. He looks at me fondly but stands up and goes to walk away.
I twist and grab his ankle.
“Teach me how to cook something simple.”
Elijah’s eyebrows raise. “Now?”
“Yes. Right now. A midnight snack, something.” I don’t know why I feel this urgency to make sure this night doesn’t end.
His expression softens. “How could I say no?”
I get to my feet but stumble. He catches me up against his chest. His shirt is open so my hands land on warm skin. I stare at the spot just below his collarbone. There are so many impulsing words in my brain wanting to come out, but I don’t dare let them.
All I can do is stand, feeling him, lost in the scent of him. Vanilla, coffee with just a hint of sandalwood stealing all logical thoughts.
The wind chimes hanging from the porch get caught in the wind, tinkling over our heads.
I sway closer to him, closing my eyes. He’s like a dream I used to have. I don’t want to lose this gentle alpha. I try to imagine leaving and not seeing him again, and it makes my heart throb. No, I don’t want that. I let out an unconscious whine.
With one arm wrapped around me, and the other pressed against the back of my head, he pulls me into a hug.
“It will be okay no matter what happens; it will work out.”
I slide my hands around his body and hold on to him, trembling. The fear of four years worth of lonely nights presses at me. The future is uncertain, but I’m so tired of being strong.
“I know what we’re going to bake.”
“Yeah?” I mumble against his chest.
“At close to dawn the night we met, we were lying on the beach, and you looked at me and said you wanted a cookie.”
I smile. “Your scent makes me hungry.”
“Let me teach you how to make cookies.”
“Vanilla and coffee ones?”
His ‘yes’ is a strangled sound. Instead of breaking away from me, Elijah picks me up and carries me into the house. He sets me on the island and pulls back only to smooth my hair away from my face.
“No crying,” he whispers and touches his lips to mine.
I wrap my arms around his neck, deepening the kiss before he can retreat.
I don’t know how long we stand there, but when he pulls away, Devon and Mack are talking quietly, and all the things we need for baking are out.
“Come on, you get to be the baker today.”
“Me? I’ll have you know I burn water.”
Elijah smiles and starts moving efficiently around the kitchen. He’s a swan in the kitchen. Where he might be uncertain everywhere else, when he’s in his element, he’s graceful, comfortable, and confident.
He gets everything organised, props out a hip, and gives me a sultry look. “Come here.”
My mouth waters. I’d crawl on my knees if he wanted me to.
I slide off the bench as he watches and amble over to him. He pulls me in front of him and leans over me. His hands on the island, trapping me between the heat of him and the counter.
“Preheat the oven,” he purrs in my ear.
I shudder. “Mack, preheat the oven.”
Mack laughs. “Cheating.”
“I’ll do the trays,” Devon says.
Elijah growls in my ear. I shiver again, hyper aware of him. “All the dry ingredients go into this big bowl.”
“Why does everything you say sound so sexy?”
“Come on, Sofia, there will be a test at the end of this.”
I gasp in mock outrage. “I’m not doing tests. I suck at tests. Can I earn extra credit?”
“No extra credit. If you pass, you get a treat.”
I hum suspiciously. “What kind of treat?”
“What do you want?”
My mind explodes with images that I’m not even sure I can speak out loud. Any one of them, though, would be amazing.
“Huh, I would love to be a fly on the wall of your filthy mind, Omega,” Devon teases with a wink.
I blink back and realise Elijah is tense behind me, and all I can smell are our scents crowding around each other in a blistering and sultry heat.
Just to check, I shift back, and my ass comes into contact with the evidence of Elijah’s arousal. My omega nature surges to the front, possessive and pleased over it.
“Wet ingredients next,” Elijah says in a strained voice.
I carefully weigh them out, but I have no idea what’s going on. All I can focus on is the way he’s pressed against me. Each movement sends jolts of pleasure through me.
“Focus,” he whispers and runs his nose down the side of my throat.
“I’m trying, but it’s so hard.”
“Oh, ho! You’re a comedian now!” Devon crows, laughing.
I wink at him, and the laughter falls away.
“Do that again, Omega, and we’re going to be in big trouble,” Devon hisses and bites his lower lip.
Mack slams a hand across my eyes. “Not. In. Here.”
Oh, right. Yep. “Thank you, Mack. We lost our heads.”
“Not yet, but we can,” Devon mutters.
“Mix the wet and dry ingredients,” Elijah says over us.
“Why aren’t you using the electric mixer?” Mack asks.
“It’s loud, and I prefer to do it this way.”
He grabs a massive wooden spoon, and we start stirring everything together.
Every movement is torture.
I’m panting by the end of it.
“Right. Now we need to roll our balls.”
“Devon, not a single word,” Mack barks.
Devon collapses in silent laughter. I watch him for a long moment, bemused by how happy he is.
“Focus, or we’ll be here until dawn.”
“We should sit up and watch the sunset and sunrise one night,” I say. “I haven’t done that since I was a teenager.”
“We can do that,” Mack assures her.
“Right, focus, the balls.”
I snicker, but Elijah grabs my hands and guides them down to the bowl. He helps me pick up a bit of dough and then, using my hands, shapes the ball.
There is something heartbreakingly sexy about doing it like this. I lean back into his chest as he murmurs instructions.
“Right, gently. We don’t need to squish them, just quick, even pressure. Roll it in your palm.”
Devon puts his chin on his hand and watches us from where he’s slouching over the island on the other side. I can see all the wicked thoughts wanting to just slide out of his mouth and into the world, but somehow, he’s resisting.
Mack grabs the finished tray and puts it in the oven while we fill the second.
When the bowl is empty, I grab the last little and put it in my mouth. Elijah growls, tilts my head back, and claims my lips.
My head spins, and when he backs off, I have to blink a few times before I see that he’s on the other side of the kitchen watching me with hungry eyes.
Devon walks past and hits my ass with a tea towel. I jump, letting out a squeak.
“Oh, my god, are you still doing that?”
He snickers and turns to the sink, filling it up with water.
I hug him from behind, not like Elijah hugged me, but with all the feelings I’d shoved into a box in my mind.
He strokes my arm. “What’s wrong?”
“You’re so happy, you weren’t like this when I left.”
He’s quiet.
“Like, I really missed you,” I admit. “Being away from everyone was hard, but missing you never got easier. Just so you know. With all of you.”
He sighs. “It was the same for me. I stopped doing all the stupid things when you left. I thought if I can just be the person, the alpha that everyone says I can be, maybe you’d come back, and I’d get my chance.”
Does he have a chance?
Is that what this is?
It’s fake, right? Temporary. It’s got an end date because I’ll have to leave.
I don’t want to.
I let go of him and step back. Mack hoists me back up onto the island and steps between my legs.
“What was your favourite memory of living in the city?”
I consider that for a long moment. “Ah, I know. I remember this one night I was completely drenched; it had just finished raining. I was walking home, and the city was lit up. All these colours; the vibrant reds of the signs, the greens, whites, neon blues, windows, the world was just this chaos of riotous colour. And then I stopped, and I looked at this scene at this perfect angle where I could see the entire world reflected in the water that sat on the road. It was only for a few minutes before the cars came, but it was like the city was endless, infinite, and it was the first time I was able to find the beauty in it. After that, if I looked, I could always find something to like.”
Mack stares at me with a perplexed expression. “Not the pack?”
Oh.
“Well, I mean, I have good memories of them, too.” I try to think of some, but I can’t come up with a single one.
I frown. “They, uh...hmm.”
“What were their names?”
“Daniel, Liam, Desmond, John, and Sam,” I say quickly.
“And did you love them?”
I stare at Mack, not wanting to tell him the truth.
“Did you even like them?”
I open my mouth, but I can’t lie to Mack, so I shut it again and watch him cautiously.
“Did they treat you well?”
“They were polite, and they brought me flowers once.”
I can feel the gazes of the other alphas staring at me.
“They brought you flowers once?” Mack repeats in obvious anger.
“We weren’t right for each other. It ended. It’s all good.”
Mack scowls at me. “What happened in that city, Omega?”
I have to tell him; I have to-
“Cookies!”
I jerk away from him as Daphne and Ivy come bouncing into the room, squealing loud enough to wake the house.
Mack gives me a long look before turning to my sisters with a huge smile. “Ah, the sweet tooth is a family trait, is it? Do all Sol omegas require midnight cookies to sleep?”
“We do!” They shout together.
“Well, lucky for you, we have cookies to spare. A massive, giant batch made by Sofia herself.”
They hesitate, which is really offensive.
“Supervised by the master baker Elijah.”
“Yay!”
“Mack, that’s too loud; everyone will wake up,” I say, waving my hands to get his attention.
“Too late,” Sebastian grumbles.
Imogen slinks into the room, inhaling deeply. “Oh, they smell so good. We’re going to need ice cream.”
“Mum is going to kill me,” I mutter.
“I’m thinking strongly about it, but it’s going to depend on how good these cookies are.”
Mum, with my dads behind her, walks into the kitchen and gets bowls out of the cupboard.
Devon grips my shoulders and massages them. “Another lucky escape,” he whispers in my ear. I slide my hand back, and his fingers tangle with mine.
“I’m not escaping. I’m right here being caught.”
Devon chuckles. “I’m not going to let you be the one that got away, not a second time.”
“Call me a white whale, and we’re going to have our first argument, Alpha.”
He shudders. “Call me that again?”
“What? Alpha?”
He leans his head against my upper arm and then pulls me off the counter and across the room where he deposits me in Elijah’s lap.
“Watch her. She’s being irresistible, and I do not have the strength.”
“Where are you going?” I shout as he walks away.
“For a swim.”
Elijah laughs, but I just stare at the spot where he disappeared, smiling.