Chapter Seventeen
Isabella
I woke in Cash’s arms, feeling safe and snug and more like myself than I had in years.
I never knew sex could be like that. In the past, I’d have been satisfied if it just didn’t hurt, but my body came alive and I felt worshiped and loved.
I’d never connected any of that to intimacy before.
I wanted to experience it again and again.
Deciding who to mate first was something I hadn’t looked forward to.
Having no ability to decide the small things made figuring out the big ones daunting.
I hadn’t wanted to hurt anyone’s feelings, and the human in me couldn’t see a path that would avoid that.
But then suddenly I knew, and all because of a nickname.
He had to be my first the second he stopped being Cashel in my brain and started being Cash.
My first instinct when I opened my eyes was to leave, go sleep in another room, and avoid the jealousy and wrath to come.
I had to calm down, remember that this wasn’t Mark’s world anymore.
They weren’t going to get jealous. It wasn’t like my former life where my ex would get mad at me because he thought my eyes lingered too long on somebody accidentally.
My other mates all knew what we were doing last night, although I really hoped they didn’t know exactly exactly, but still, we had their blessing.
I rolled over, wanting to see Cash’s sleeping face, and was surprised his eyes were open, a sweet smile blooming on his face when my glance fell to his lips.
“I wasn’t sure if I should wake you,” he said. “I can smell breakfast cooking, and I personally like my eggs hot.” He winked.
“They’re making us breakfast.” I hadn’t expected that.
“Of course. We told you you’re not our servant. Did you think you were going to have to get up and make all our food today?”
That was exactly what I thought. I didn’t respond.
He kissed my forehead. “Let’s get cleaned up and get ourselves fed.
We’re going to work on the kitchen today, get it organized in a way that makes sense for you.
That way, when you are cooking, you won’t want to hurl the spatula across the room because it jammed in a drawer or eat soup from the pot because you couldn’t find the bowls. ”
I giggled, strongly suspecting both of his examples had happened. I climbed out of bed, stretching and enjoying the feeling of a good night’s sleep. The scent of bacon slammed into me the second I opened the door. I could not wait to devour it.
When I found my way to the kitchen after the world’s quickest shower, York had a cup of coffee poured for me, and Lyon was putting forks at each of our spots at the table.
“Perfect timing. It’s just about ready.”
“It smells delicious.” I took the cup. It was just the way I liked it.
They paid attention. All three of them did, and for the better, not the worse.
I wasn’t used to it yet, at least not being done in this way.
Mark paid attention, too, but only so that he could find something to punish me for or find a reason why it was my fault he was stepping out.
And maybe it was. Maybe I wasn’t who he wanted in his bed, but good freaking riddance. I didn’t want to be there anyway.
I pushed the thought of him out of my head. Today was a good day. I wasn’t going to ruin it by thinking of him.
They insisted they didn’t need any help and told me to take a seat.
I drained my coffee, listening to the banter back and forth as they tried to navigate co-cooking, a skill difficult for everyone, especially those who weren’t so great in the kitchen.
York seemed to have some decent cooking skills. Lyon, not so much.
When we all sat down, it was to plates of scrambled eggs, mounds of bacon, toast, and frozen French fries they had baked in the oven, saying they didn’t know how to make hash browns.
“I like French fries better anyway,” I said.
“Me too,” Cash added.
I dipped one into a blob of ketchup, coating it liberally before putting it in my mouth. I liked all potatoes, but there was something about frozen French fries. They were their own unique wonder, something I’d never been allowed to have at the mansion and missed.
“I told you she’d like the fries.” Lyon elbowed York.
“Fine, you were right. And your prize is dish duty.”
Lyon didn’t argue, instead grunting and grabbing another piece of toast.
I liked that they didn’t try to be perfect in front of me, that they still jabbed at each other, teased, and had fun. Sharing a meal like this at the start of the day was so much more than just eating food together It shouldn’t be that deep, but also, it was.
I ended up insisting on dish duty, not because they wanted me to or because I thought I owed it to them but because I wanted to get a feel for the utensils they used.
To assess the weight of the pots and the pans, to see what was worth keeping near the front of the cabinets and what had to be pushed to the back.
There weren’t a lot of things I was snobby about, but my kitchen tools were among them. They didn’t need to be the fancy top-of-the-line items, either. My favorite whisk was one Millie and I had found while we were cruising the yard sales in college. I was all about being utilitarian.
“So, do you think we’re going to get the kitchen all done today?” It seemed daunting, but there were four of us.
“Maybe.” Cash took the last frying pan from the rack and dried it. “And I was thinking maybe we could talk about what you’d like for your nest while we’re doing it, ’cause right now—”
He didn’t finish. I knew they all felt a sense of disappointment in themselves over it not being ready. They didn’t believe me when I insisted I didn’t need a nest. They had already done so much for me. If I never had one, I’d still be happier than I’d ever been.
“You broke her, Cashel,” Lyon said, wrapping his arms around me, my eyes filled with tears of joy. “You broke our omega.”
I leaned into him, noting it was the first time he’d ever been affectionate in this way. “He didn’t break me. You all made me happy. No one ever cared what I wanted before.”
Not my family. Not my friends. Not my husband. No one, except Millie, and I’d been so used to not being asked, I didn’t take advantage of it at the time.
I wasn’t going to make that mistake again, not with my mates. We were going to take care of each other. That was what mates did.