Chapter 25
Luna
Two hours later
I bury my face in the collar of Bram’s flannel.
Dark leather. Bitter black coffee.
It hits the back of my sinuses like premium, top-shelf coke (which I’ve never done, but still).
I purr. More.
I turn my head on the couch cushions, dragging my nose across the wool blanket over my knees toward Ash, who’s sitting beside me. I press my face right into the crook of his neck.
Cedar. Sweet chocolate.
“Ohhh,” I mumble into the cotton of his shirt.
Reed sits on the coffee table in front of me. I catch his woodsmoke and musk, and my body instantly jerks, rearranging itself to drag me closer to him, blindly dumping my legs across to my left. Then, the sensory overload whites everything out for a second.
“Smell me all you need, beautiful,” Reed says, pushing a sweating glass of ice water into my hands. “Anything else I can get you?”
When the white haze clears, my focus locks onto the three of them.
Bram is on my right, his arm slung along the back of the couch behind my head. Ash is practically wearing my legs as a scarf. Reed is right in front of me, knees wide on the coffee table.
It’s an absurd picture, but given the state I was in before they carried me onto this couch, I’m too exhausted to care. I spent the ride home from the retreat half-unconscious, feeling a desperate, biological greed for all three.
“I think I’m short-circuiting,” I say, taking a sip of the water. “My brain is actively melting out of my ears.”
“Scent sickness is something else,” Ash says. He rubs his jaw, the fake blond mustache mercifully gone. “The doctor said our scents would hit you even harder over the next few hours, but it’s a good sign of recovery.”
“She also told me you guys wrestled six security guards,” I say, a smile tugging at my mouth. “Just to make sure I got proper care.”
Reed coughs, suddenly fascinated by a loose thread on the rug. “Yeah. Sorry about that. The class I’d just taught had me kind of pumped up.”
“I actually think it’s hot,” I admit, leaning back into Bram’s arm. “Good thing they weren’t cops, though. Something tells me I wouldn’t be tucked up this comfy right now if they had been.”
Bram laughs, a deep, chesty rumble that vibrates against my shoulder.
He reaches over, gently tucking a stray piece of hair behind my ear.
“Good thing the retreat sits practically in the same jurisdiction as Honeycreek Hollow, too. By the time the real deputies showed, they recognized me. The fake-name stunt could’ve gone bad for Reed if I hadn’t been there to smooth it over. ”
“Right,” I let out a chuckle, turning my attention to Reed. “And Bruce Jovi? What was that about?”
“We were going incognito,” Reed says. “Figured I might as well pick something with some flair.” He shrugs. “First thing that came to mind.”
“No wonder they bought it when I told them my baby brother’s a little slow,” Bram says, his chest still shaking against my shoulder.
“Hey!” Reed protests.
“And we got lucky they signed us on as staff,” Ash adds. “A trespassing charge could’ve been bad.”
I drop my head back against the cushions. “You’re all insane.”
“Maybe,” Ash says, settling his weight back against my shins. “But you’re stuck with us for a week minimum, doctor’s orders. Expect lots of pampering.”
And they already are. There’s tea, water, and an alarming amount of snacks stacked on the coffee table. Every time I so much as twitch, they lean in and ask what I need, their scents wrapping around me in an intoxicating cocoon.
I love it.
But a slow knot of guilt ties itself off in my stomach, right under the unfamiliar yet warm hum of being looked after.
“Okay, but don’t forget you have an orchard to run,” I say. “You can’t just sit here watching me breathe all day.”
“Watch us,” Reed says instantly.
“No, seriously.” I push myself a little straighter. “It’s harvest season and you’re short-handed. I’d be out there picking apples right now if my body didn’t short-circuit the second I step ten feet away from you.”
“I won’t pretend we don’t have a lot on our plate,” Bram says. “But I’d rather be here with you and make the work up at night. Most of it’ll keep.”
Ash and Reed nod in unison.
“Here’s my idea, though,” I say. “I can’t be away from you.
That part’s not up for debate. But I’m pretty sure I’ll hold together fine with just one of you around.
” I pause. Bram looks at Ash. Ash looks at Reed.
“So why don’t we rotate? I don’t want to be the reason any of you can’t work.
And since I actually want to make myself useful, I was thinking I could tag along with one of you at a time. ”
Reed tilts his head. “Tag along.”
“You’ve all got your own thing, right? Your specialties.” I shrug. “I shadow one of you for a day, pitch in, then the next day I move to the next alpha.”
Bram chuckles. “Like playing musical chair?”
“I mean it. I have a master’s in library science. I can be useful,” I say, deadpan. “Put me to work. Otherwise I’m going to start alphabetizing your pantry, and nobody wants that.”
Ash lets out a low laugh. “Honestly? The pantry’s a disaster, so...”
“I’m serious,” I say. “I can start tomorrow.”
The three of them exchange a glance. Some whole silent, brother-level conversation happens over my head.
“Alright then,” Bram says finally. “Tomorrow then. Today’s mostly gone.”
“And you tell us,” Ash cuts in, leaning forward over my shins. “The second your body does anything strange about not having all three of us close. The second. No toughing it out, Luna.”
“Promise,” I say.
Reed’s grin returns, wide and sudden, his eyes locking onto mine. “Oh, I’m looking forward to this, beautiful. We’re going to have one hell of a time...”