Chapter Eighteen
York
I sat outside with Isabella on a beautiful sunny morning while the others were out working on a small job.
We’d agreed not to leave her alone, if possible, for obvious reasons.
The man she’d been abused by had agreed to free her in all ways but divorce, so in theory, there should have been no worries.
But I didn’t believe for a minute that he was an honorable man, and anyone who behaved the way he had toward our omega could not be trusted.
Sketchbook on my lap, I drew the things she described, her wishes for her nest. Although a nest was a right for all omegas, she’d never been given the ability to have one for herself.
She’d grown up to expect one, even been promised one, but it never came to be.
And without one, no omega was ever going to be happy, safe, and, according to her, pregnant. She’d been taught that growing up.
“He wouldn’t give me one because he didn’t want kids,” she asserted. “I wanted babies so badly. As many as I could give birth to, but maybe it was for the best. He’d never have let me go, or he’d have held the children hostage.”
I paused, my pen tapping on the pad. I wasn’t sure whether it worked like that, whether a nest was necessary for fertility, but I was grateful she had not had a family with him.
For many reasons. “I think you’re right.
” And if the reason she hadn’t had children was that she just wasn’t able, we could adopt or foster or anything else our omega preferred.
But something in my heart, or maybe it was my grumbling bear, hoped children were in our future.
Isabella would be the best mother with her kind heart and amazing belief in the goodness of people despite her past. “All right, so what else do you envision? I think you know we have to be a little cautious with money, so it might take time to buy everything. We can do all the work though. We are handy bears.”
“I have money,” she said. “But I need an ID to be able to get to it.”
This was news. She’d certainly not had access to anything of her own before now, and I was relieved to think she had something if she needed it. “We don’t want your money, but we will help you to get it back.”
We would do whatever it took to ensure our mate’s security, and I particularly loved the idea of her having money of her own.
We’d saved for the time we had an omega, never realizing we’d essentially have to buy her freedom.
But it was worth it. Cash was adamant that we not go back to our previous jobs now, that we could make it work, and I believed him.
“I appreciate that.” She stretched out on the lounger, tipping her face up to the sun. “But for right now, I just want to enjoy the afternoon. With you.”
“That’s such a nice thing to say.” I set my pad on the table between us. “Want more iced tea?”
“No, not just now.” She closed her eyes, relaxed. So different from the female we’d seen at that mansion. “York, would you…that is, could you and I…”
I hoped I knew what she wanted to say, but she’d fallen silent. Waiting a few minutes, I finally asked, “Isabella, would you like to come and sit with me?”
“Yes, please.” She stood up and I took her hand and brought her down next to me. I took up most of the chair, but she was still so slim, she didn’t take much more of it.
I wrapped an arm over her shoulders, though, to make sure she didn’t fall off, and we lay there together for a few minutes before she asked in a very quiet voice, “Would you kiss me?”
I didn’t waste time on words, just pressed my lips to hers. Soft kisses deepened, and her body pressed to mine made me desperate for more. We’d all agreed not to rush our omega, to let her set the pace, but that didn’t make it easy.
My bear rumbled, pleased with the closeness, and as our kissing grew more frantic, Isabella started to slip off the edge of the chair. Before she could hit the ground, I lifted her on top of me. She blushed, wincing. “I’ve always been clumsy.”
“Whoever told you that was an ass. You’re graceful, and the only reason you nearly landed on the concrete was because I take up too much space.”
We went back and forth, arguing cheerfully, until playful kisses turned into serious kisses, and touching.
Before things went too far, I pulled back enough to say, “I don’t want to read anything into this if you don’t mean it to be more than a few kisses.
It’s fine either way, but, omega, you’re going to have to say it. ”
“I want you to be next. Would you mind if I did want it to be more?”
“Mind? No. Ecstatic? Yes.”
We kissed again for a few minutes, her body stretched out over mine, her heart fluttering against my chest, the sun beaming down on us.
Did we need to go inside? She’d said she wanted to be with just one of us at a time, at least at first, but my friends would be gone until dinnertime.
Nobody was close enough to see into our backyard, and the idea of making love with our omega in the sunshine appealed. A lot.
Kissing phased into making out, and one thing to another as we explored one another, clothing falling to the ground on either side of the chair until we were skin to skin in the sunlight.
Our omega’s slick made it easy for us to come together, my cock sliding into her body.
I gripped her hips and lifted her, moving her up and down, our breathing growing harsh, hearts pounding, limbs trembling.
I’d never been with anyone who made me feel like Isabella.
I’d never be with anyone but her again because she was our omega, our mate, and the only person for me and my friends. Together, we were a family, and waiting for this moment had been hard. But worth it. Her sheath, slicked and scented, encased me, driving me toward the peak.
“You feel so good, Isabella,” I gasped.
“York, I’m going to…”
“Come, omega mine. Let me feel you come while I’m inside you.”
She didn’t reply, just convulsed, writhing on top of me while I held on, keeping her from flying off, and then I was coming too, swelling, knotting, clinging to her, and bending to place my mark next to Cash’s.
We clung together while the sun lowered in the sky. Until a cool breeze drove us to stand up and gather our clothes. “Lucky you didn’t fall,” I teased. “It could have kept us from having such a nice afternoon.”
“It would be just one more bruise,” she said cheerfully. “I’m used to it.”
Reeling back, I studied her, seeing what my haze of lust and the fact we were pressed together had hidden. Fading bruises over her torso and upper arms, thighs, where her clothes had hidden them from me before now.
“I’ll kill him,” I growled. “Rip the bastard into pieces and scatter them for the buzzards to eat.”
“No, you won’t. I’d miss you too much.”
“If I went to jail.” I kissed her forehead. “So sweet of you.”
“No, when his people killed you. He’s not just a rich asshole. He’s connected.”
“But he can’t get away with hurting you like this.”
“Let’s not let him into our afternoon, York. Question?”
“Yes?”
“Can bears make love more than once in the same day?”
Scooping her up, I tossed her over my shoulder. “Yes, but inside. I don’t want you to get a chill.”