There’s no way to miss the snarl that curls Sam’s lip before he shakes himself and regains control. Taking a deep breath, he says, “Yes, it’s just us three. If you want to help me feed them, come this way.” He waves his hand towards the kitchen before marching off, Garret following close behind. I briefly wonder if Ican ask him to make a hot soup again. This weather makes me want soup, but I don’t want to impose.
Teddy and Steve are watching each other warily, but nobody’s talking. Touching Teddy lightly on the shoulder makes him startle. “Sorry, but I need to go get changed out of these wet clothes. I just wanted to let you know.”
Teddy looks at me, then down at himself. “Yeah, that’s probably a good idea.” He looks over at Steve. “Can you let them know we went to get cleaned up and dried off?” He turns away before Steve can give a reply and takes my hand, leading me down the hallway to the first door on the right. I haven’t really been in here, but he closes the door as soon as we’re inside, leaning heavily against it and wrapping his arms around me.
“Fuck, Pixie, I’m sorry. I panicked.” I turn in his embrace, my hands coming up to his cheeks, pulling him down so I can pepper his face with kisses.
“Don’t apologize, please. I saw what happened earlier. I’m sorry I couldn’t make it better. I didn’t know what was going on. Do you want me to sic Jake on ’em?”
He laughs against my lips, his arms squeezing me tighter before his whole body relaxes. “You really think the slobber monster has a mean bone in his body? Well, ok, maybe for you he does. Pretty sure that he’s like the rest of us and would do anything to keep you safe and happy.” He brings his head down to mine, pressing our foreheads together, and kissing the tip of my nose. His lips barely curl up at the corners. “I just realized your clothes are next door, aren’t they?”
It’s so nice to see him smile again. “Yeah, and I’m not sure which bathrooms work down here other than the main one, but I just kinda want to stay here with you for a couple minutes sharing your body heat. Is that ok?” His arms tighten again, and before I know it, he’s picked me up completely and carries me over to the bed. It’s nothing special, not when comparedto Sam’s big bed upstairs, but it still has a soft comforter and pillows.
Teddy perches me on his lap and reaches over to undo the laces on my sneakers before pulling them and my socks off. If Mom could see me leaving my wet shoes on in the house, I’d get the lecture of a lifetime.
Once my cold sneakers are off, Teddy stands me up, slowly unbuttoning my nice work jeans and sliding them down. He hums in irritation at the goosebumps running up and down my legs. Standing up, he toes his own black sneakers off and marches to the bathroom.
I hear the water come on and then he comes back, pulling his shirt off over his head. He blushes for a minute, holding it in front of him, trying to cover up his stomach. But here’s the thing. Teddy is strong. He’s not alpha strong, but from what we’ve talked about he still goes to the gym regularly with his friend Sarah. While he doesn’t have a washboard stomach, he isn’t fat either. He’s a little padded but still so hot. I squirm a little as he finally drops his shirt to the floor and stalks across the room, his hands going under my shirt to slide it over my head before gathering me up and carrying me to the bathroom.
We both have too much on our minds to really be playful. But it’s still comforting to have Teddy take care of me, stripping us both completely and then holding me as the hot water warms up my whole body. He washes and conditions my hair with his horse shampoo and then bends down so I can return the favor. I thought he was joking when he told me about it, but no, it’s in these two huge bottles with horses on the packaging. Plus, it makes his hair super soft, and it doesn’t hinder his own scent. He lets me borrow his soap while he rinses his hair out, and then takes it back and washes my back for me. By the time we finish, I’m just about ready to curl up and sleep for the rest of the day. But Sam’s making dinner, so that would be mean.
Teddy dries me off by blotting the water off my skin gently, running a detangling brush through my hair and blotting it with a towel until it is mostly dry. He’s making it hard not to drag him over to the bed and demand all the cuddles. Once I’m as dry as I can get, he pulls one of his T-shirts over my head, fluffing my hair out behind me. “Sorry, Pixie, I don’t think my underwear will really fit you, but this should do until you can get to your own clothes. I’m gonna go see what I can help Sam with.” He kisses me on the forehead before leaving and I scurry down the hallway to the room I claimed.
If it were just the three of us, I wouldn’t even worry about it. It’s only been a couple of days, but I already know that they’re my family now, which means that I’m completely comfortable walking around without a bra on. But now these two new guys—Teddy knows them, and I don’t want to embarrass him. I go over and pull out a sports bra and a pair of fleece pajama pants covered in snowflakes. It seems highly appropriate, and soon I’m completely warm and toasty, and hunting down my guys to see what I can do for them.
Stepping out of my room, I hear a low growl and grunting—I hurry down the hall towards the living room. Worrying that Jake got tired of having new people in his house and tried to take a chunk out of someone, I don’t expect to see Teddy pinning Steve to the couch, hands fisted in his hair, plundering his mouth like some kind of pirate god. But that’s what it is.
Is it hot in here?
Chapter 29
Jake prances around my feet, waiting to see if I drop any food off the counter. I heard him scratching at the back door when I came in to start dinner and immediately let him in. He ran a tight circle around the kitchen island and then slid under the table to roll around on his back. But he only took a couple of minutes to defrost and by the time Garret walked in, Jake was already in full on begging mode.
With two extra people, I’m going to need to extend the table for this…and hope I have a couple of extra chairs.
Maybe we should just eat in the living room.
I set Garret to pulling out ingredients for a potato and leek soup. It’s hearty and should be easy to make enough for everybody, and it gives me an excuse to make a side salad. Kelly needs more leafy greens.
Just as I start to chop up the potatoes Steven walks in and tells us that Teddy and Kelly went to get cleaned up and into dry clothes. My mouth waters and my dick twitches in my pants imagining what they might be doing in the shower together. Icast a surly eye over my “houseguests” because if they weren’t here, I could go join my pack.
Having delivered his message, Steven meanders back towards the living room, while Garret just stands there being useless. Is that a fair assessment? No. But I don’t rightly give a shit after how my omega reacted to them earlier today. I would have been totally fine leaving them in their fucking car if it didn’t upset Teddy.
That’s a lie…I don’t know what I would have done, but bringing them home was sure as hell not my first choice. Cutting the bottom end of the leeks, I open and clean them, before passing them off to Garret to dice for the soup. Then I put some bacon in the oven for toppings and finish cutting up potatoes. Putting everything in the Dutch oven, I leave Garret to stir it—on pain of no food—and go to check on my pack.
Walking into the living room, I immediately see why Teddy says he’s a switch, as he’s very aggressively kissing the whimpering alpha on the couch. The man has turned into a sodden puddle of need as he begs repeatedly for something, his whispered words nothing but a jumble of pleas as Teddy’s hand fist his hair. Holding him in place to bite and suck down his throat, leaving red marks along his jaw and neck—there is a clear outline of teeth marks to be seen where the collar of his shirt is pulled aside.
A small moan draws my attention to the other side of the room—Kelly is staring intently at the two on the couch. Her front teeth are sunk into her bottom lip, and I want to go replace it with my own, pull her close and nibble on it. Her scent isn’t as strong as Teddy’s, but her arousal is clear in the air. I’m torn for a moment, wanting to mark them both, stake my claim on each of my pack members. But Teddy seems to be doing well enough on his own, so I stride across the room, scooping Kelly into my arms and carrying her back to Teddy’s room. The room itself smellslike a shower, and I can scent him on the shirt she’s wearing. Fuck, I need to claim her now, need her to smell like me too. Double fuck, all the condoms are upstairs.
I was worried on Saturday; I didn’t want to do anything to scare them away. But the way they reacted to my taking control was promising, more so after seeing Teddy on the couch earlier. He looks like he understands the need for control: aggression, pleasure with just the hint of pain to help it blossom. And that’s what it is, a need. I need to take care of them in every way possible, my alpha won’t let me be any other way. I hope they’re willing to give up control, at least in this. Willing to let me take care of them.
I sit down on the bed, turning her to straddle my lap. Rubbing my jaw along hers, I start trailing kisses down the column of her neck. I wonder if she would be upset if I marked her neck like Teddy was doing to Steven on the couch. Scraping my teeth over the skin at the base of her throat, I’m rewarded with a low moan and her tiny body wriggling against me. I lick over the same place, but this time she giggles, her chin coming down to block my access. Ahh, she’s ticklish. That could be fun for later, but not now. I need to use firmer pressure.
I trail kisses up her neck, causing more squirming and giggling. It’s adorable, but not really what I’m going for right now. A quick nip on her earlobe makes her twitch in a different way and moan again. I’m starting to wonder if my little beta likes a little pain with her pleasure. Running my hands down her sides, I cup her ass and squeeze a little harder than would be comfortable. Her shocked gasp and roll of her hips against my stiff cock is a good sign and I bury my face in her shoulder, nipping and sucking on the tender skin there.
I need to mark her, need to make sure everyone who sees her knows she’s taken. Even if that’s only in the house. If I can’t leave a permanent mark right now, I’m gonna do my damnedest to atleast leave a few temporary ones. I bite down harder where her neck meets her shoulder and she shudders against me, a loud whimper slipping out, her hips grinding down on me. I grab her ass in a bruising grip, pulling her against me and thrusting against her heated core as her movements grow more frantic. Her hands come up to tangle in my hair, pulling and twisting against my scalp...and I am about to embarrass myself.
Holy Fuck.
