Chapter Six #2
She tried to think back to her childhood. Had her father ever treated her mother this way?
No. Mom did all the work. If anything, she’d be the one feeding him…
The thought did what it always did—made her tense. She recalled being in that house, always doing everything wrong, never living up to who she was supposed to be. What would he think if he saw her now?
He’d be happy to see me collared…
Fingers caught her chin the way her father used to and tugged until she met Kyle’s blue eyes.
The touch was the worst part of it. She was playing a stupid part, and she couldn’t even do that right. The way Kyle’s fingers gripped her chin—not hard enough to hurt, but then again, her father had never hurt her physically either—took her back to being that same kid.
“Whoa there, pet,” Trent said before taking the plate from her lap. She’d forgotten all about it and had nearly toppled it to the tiled floor.
Kyle held her chin, studying her expression. It was only then she realized how shallow her breathing had become.
She wanted to yank backward. She wanted to shove his hand away and tell him to never grasp her chin like that again, but the words wouldn’t come.
Be a good girl. Her father’s voice repeated in her head like an echo of a life she’d thought she’d killed and buried.
Telling Kyle to stop would mean admitting she couldn’t handle it, giving in, proving she wasn’t up to the task.
And the part of her that strove for perfection wouldn’t allow her to do it.
He let her go after another moment, and Alison curled forward, closing her eyes to slow her breathing. In. Out. Nice and slow.
None of the alphas rushed her. They didn’t tell her to get over it, didn’t even ask what it was. They only stayed there, like solid, unmoving presences, giving her the time to get her shit back in line.
When she finally shuddered, the last of that panicky energy slipping from her, Trent held up another piece of food. “Still hungry?”
Alison shook her head, not trusting her voice.
He set the food on the plate and placed it all beside him, then turned his focus on Daniel, whose gaze seemed locked solidly on Alison. “I’m thinking lasagne for dinner. We should make a list, because whoever stocked this place didn’t know shit about feeding people.”
The warmth of Kyle’s arm, the way Trent had shifted to talking about mundane things, all helped her regain her footing.
And wonder exactly how far she’d be able to take this.
* * * *
“Fuck,” Kyle muttered as he paced the length of the pool.
Trent sat back and let him storm about. That was Kyle’s way. Daniel was the sort to see a problem and try to fix it immediately. Kyle liked to talk it through until he all but killed it. Trent? He preferred to sit back and examine it until he had what he saw as a great idea.
So after Alison had gone upstairs after breakfast, ready to shower and get prepared for the day, the three of them had gone to the indoor pool.
Best place to talk without being overheard.
“She’s clearly lying about a past,” Kyle said.
“Maybe.” Daniel sat in one of the lounge chairs, at the foot so he was still upright. “Maybe it’s just a reaction to being around alphas for the first time?”
Kyle gave Daniel the sort of look that said he thought he was an idiot. “No. Nerves, those are one thing. I know what nerves look like. Her? That’s fucking panic.” He ran his fingers through his hair, pushing it back.
Kyle so often looked like the go-with-the-flow sort of person, and he was in a lot of ways, but give that man something he couldn’t fix, and he lost his shit.
“I walked into that kitchen and she was totally frozen, thinking we were expecting her to wake up early and cook us all breakfast.”
Trent snorted softly. When the other two turned their gazes to him, he continued.
“She’s fucking difficult. She doesn’t want to talk, but look what happens she doesn’t know what she’s supposed to do.
Girl has herself a panic attack. Clearly we fucked up and need to actually give her our expectations. ”
Daniel rubbed his hands against each other, staring at them as though they’d make the whole situation easier. “I’m going to be honest here and say… I’m not feeling entirely professional about her.”
I sure as hell get that.
Kyle huffed. “Who could? Girl looks way too tempting in a collar and cuffs.”
“We’re talking about giving her expectations, but that feels way too much like getting close to a line I’m not sure we can walk.”
“So what? We throw in the towel?” Kyle crossed his arms, pausing only long enough to send Daniel a withering look.
“No. We just need to be aware of it. Treat her like we would a sub we were watching for someone else.”
Sure, in a perfect world that would work. If she had a Dom of her own, if they were only supposed to be taking care of her, they’d have clear boundaries. In reality, he didn’t lie to himself well, and he knew she didn’t belong to anyone. I want her to belong to me.
Which was exactly the wrong thought to have.
“Ground rules for us,” Daniel said, listing them while lifting a finger for each, counting them off. “No kissing. Nothing sexual. Even if she offers, we don’t take her up on it.”
“Do you really think you’ll be able to say no if that girl offers anything?” Kyle asked.
Daniel pressed his lips together, then sighed. “I’m trying to keep us all from getting fucked over here. You’ve seen her react already. Do you really think she’s going to be in any state of mind to decide anything in the moment?”
Trent wanted to argue that point, but it was fair.
Subs who got a taste of something they liked, who had never experienced it before, often craved it.
Normally that wasn’t a bad thing. Hell, how many had he shared with Daniel and Kyle over the years?
Women who had begged for a little more, ones who Trent had been able to watch as they experienced it for the first time?
Too many to count.
Still, Daniel wasn’t wrong.
When Alison had her pupils blown wide, when she smelled like delectable arousal, that wasn’t the time for her to make any decisions.
“Anything sexual has to be agreed on by us all,” Trent offered as a compromise.
At their looks, he shrugged. “I’m not an idiot.
If that girl decides she actually wants any of us, we aren’t going to be able to just turn her down forever.
But if we all agree beforehand, it gives her time to rethink it and makes sure it’s all on the up and up.
Fuck, maybe dealing with all three of us will help her stay on good behavior, too. ”
Daniel and Kyle exchanged looks, the closeness of the two grating on Trent’s nerves. Hell, it pissed him off. After everything, he was the outsider. He was the one cut off from the trio they’d been.
He pushed that hurt from his mind—now wasn’t the time to deal with it—as he waited for them to make up their minds.
Finally, both other alphas nodded.
“Sounds like as good a plan as any other,” Kyle said.
Even as they agreed, as Trent’s idea seemed to please everyone, he winced as he thought about just how appealing the stubborn, surprisingly fragile omega was turning out to be.
If she did want to try anything with them, if they explored that together, how the fuck would they walk away at the end of the case?
He only had to hope she had more sense than it seemed he did, because he doubted there was any fucking way he could resist her.
* * * *
Daniel went over the list with the other two alphas a few times until they’d all agreed, which wasn’t something that was always easy for alphas.
They tended to like to get their own way, and even when they were a group, even when they didn’t get jealous, when they were closer than brothers, they still wanted to win.
However, after some push and pull, they’d come up with a general idea of expectations for Alison.
They’d decided to give it to Daniel to deliver.
Probably because I look the least threatening.
Which was funny, because anyone who got to know him realized that wasn’t an entirely accurate description. After spending some time with him, most women realized he was the one to be the most nervous around.
Alison was on the swing in the small outside area, the one hidden from prying eyes.
Her hair was still damp, and it made it seem longer and darker, the curls lengthening beneath the weight of the water.
She wore a pair of leggings and a long-sleeved shirt—both black.
If that wasn’t a ‘stay away’ statement, he had no idea what was.
He closed the door louder than needed to signal his arrival without startling her.
Sure enough, her eyes popped open, and the look she gave him was chilling. Well, it was probably supposed to be, but his body warmed beneath the unhappy glare.
“If you’re here to talk about earlier—”
“I’m not. Not exactly, at least.” He pulled a chair from the table over toward the swing, then sat in it so he was facing her and their knees brushed. He could have picked the seat beside her, but he wanted her to look at him, and he needed to read her expression.
She was a difficult woman to pin down.
Don’t think about pinning her down.
“I had a talk with the others, and we figured you struggled this morning because you don’t have clear expectations. You don’t know what we want, and you don’t care for doing things blind.”
She sat up straighter but didn’t respond. A tightening in her jaw was set off by relief in her eyes.
This was why he wanted to be in front of her. The girl was a constant contradiction. She didn’t want to admit she needed boundaries, yet she did need them.
Difficult omega.
Still, Daniel kept on, figuring they didn’t need to call her out for each little tell of hers.
“I printed up a list for you, so you know exactly what we want. Anything on that list you don’t agree with, speak up and we’ll discuss it.
” He handed a paper to her, then tapped at the first line.
“Which brings us to the first one. Honesty.”