Carter snorts. “You’re trouble, my dear. If you pull something like this tonight, I might not stop at fucking your throat.”
“Promises, promises.” I scramble to my feet and look down at the already freezing cum I contributed to this exchange. “Ugh. We’ll have to scrub this whole place down once the weather clears.”
Then I remember our audience and turn to the window again. And there is Emma, her expression blissed out, leaning back on Troy’s broad, hairy chest. He’s wearing a smug grin and licking his fingers, which tells me he made her come without even putting his dick inside her. The lucky bastard. But I can’t begrudge him that pleasure since he clearly made Emma feel amazing.
“Come on,” Carter says. “Let’s get inside. We’ll shower and get something to eat before we have to do this again.”
I don’t know about the eating part. I could do this again right now, especially if I get my hands on Emma and Troy. I’ve been away from them for too long. What the fuck was I thinking, leaving the house for hours when they needed me here?
I barrel right past Carter and toward my other two mates who have been alone without us all this time and?—
An arm loops around my waist, and Carter hauls me back against him. I whine in protest and try to shake him off, but he wraps his other hand around my throat and gives me a light squeeze.
“Calm down,” he murmurs. “We both need to shower first. You’re wet and half frozen and covered in spunk.”
Emma approaches us slowly, her gaze on my face. “Hey, Sebastian. I missed you, too. But Carter’s right. You need to warm up, baby. Your fur is covered in clumps of snow.”
I glance down at myself and see that she’s right. Little globules of snow have stuck themselves to the hair on my legs—and probably my back, from where Carter pushed me down into a snowdrift to fuck me earlier.
“Breathe.”
Carter’s voice soothes my instincts, and having Emma so close is helping as well. I glance over at Troy, and he walks closer, too, then leans in to kiss my cheek.
“I took good care of her,” he rumbles. “We’re both okay. Now go shower, and we’ll get your breakfast ready.”
Carter releases my throat and gives me a tug in the direction of the bathroom. “And don’t forget, once you’re showered, you get to give Emma her Christmas present.”
My mind clears up, and I grin, anticipation rising. “Right, I forgot all about that.”
Overnight, when we couldn’t sleep but Emma was resting in our bed, we had a meeting in the kitchen. Troy told us the basics of what Emma confided in him, and I came up with whatI hope will be a good enough present for her, considering the fact that we couldn’t exactly drive out into the snowstorm and go Christmas shopping. Our mate surprised us just before the holidays, so she’ll have to make do with a symbolic sort of gift this year. But I’m already looking forward to spoiling her for every birthday, Christmas, and anniversary for the rest of our lives.
“A present?” Emma squeaks somewhere behind us. “What present?”
I throw her a grin over my shoulder. “You’ll just have to wait and see!”
Chapter
Twenty-Four
EMMA
I try to sneak to the Christmas tree by the couch and root through the small pile of wrapped presents like the gremlin I am, but Troy catches me by the hand and shakes his head, a smile tugging at his lips. He shifted back to his human form before he made me come earlier—he said he didn’t want to hurt me with his claws when he stuffed three fingers into my dripping pussy. It was very nice of him, of course, though I begged for his cock, too, but he didn’t want to tire me out while he still had enough control to resist me.
I let out a dramatic sigh and trail after him into the kitchen. We set out plates of food for Carter and Sebastian, and Troy pulls a large covered dish from the freezer and puts it to thaw in the fridge.
“Lasagna for tomorrow,” he explains after sniffing it. “So we’ll have a meal ready once we come down from the high.”
I watch him as he works in the kitchen, his movements controlled, every action efficient. He’s thinking about tomorrow and already anticipating his pack’s needs. I thought it would only be Carter who made sure we were all happy and content,but the guys all share the duties, pitching in wherever they’re needed. I won’t deny that I enjoy being pampered, but one thing we’ll have to figure out is how I’ll fit into their schedule, how I can take care of them the way they’re taking care of me.
Carter and Sebastian join us at the kitchen table and fall on the food we’d prepared. I nurse my second cup of coffee and watch them eat, biting the inside of my cheek to hold back the questions about that present they mentioned.
But there’s an issue I have to address before they do anything more, so I take a deep breath and blurt out, “I didn’t get you guys any presents.”
Carter looks up from his meal, his mouth full. He chews slowly, then swallows and wipes his mouth on a napkin. “Of course you didn’t. How could you have?”
I glance quickly at Sebastian, who’s watching me with a soft look in his eyes, then focus back on our alpha. “But you got me something.”
“We did,” he confirms. “Does that bother you?”
