There's an easy laugh from Seb, but James is silent. His mouth draws back into a hard line.
Zeke turns his head to me and fixes me with a stern look. "And just to be a thousand percent clear, you owe menothingand I would never be entitled to anything you didn't want to share with me. My alpha is kind of a needy asshole, and it's my job to keep his assholishness under control. Just saying, you're beautiful and sweet and you smell amazing and I really liked, um, sitting next to you in the car, and I was really looking forward to, uh, spending time with you and—" he clears his throat, "getting to know you better."
He glares at James, and flicks his eyes back to mine, almost shyly. His neck and ears have gone bright pink. I can't help smiling. My omega is relieved and smug. She was fretting that maybe Zeke didn't like me very much.
… I don't need perfect words to be worth hearing.
"Hey. I was looking forward to, um, getting to know you better, too." I can feel my face starting to glow. "With clothes on… as well as..."
Seb nudges me. "And here's me feeling like we've barely been introduced."
I elbow him, snorting. "You've literally had your tongue inside me!" He laughs, throws a relaxed arm around me and kisses my cheek with an easy grace, and leans his chin on my shoulder.
"Seriously, though," he murmurs once I stop giggling, "not many people see what you noticed."
My face relaxes. I lean my shoulder back into his chest and rub my cheek against him. He gathers the loose strands of my hair behind me. I'm nestled between James and Seb. It's seemingly transported me to a basil field after a fresh spring shower.
I glance over at Zeke, who's staring at something in the distance in quiet contemplation, his lavender scent soft and muted.
There's a soft click as the door opens. Allen's tousled head emerges from behind the door.
"Is everything okay in here?"
Seb pulls his arm tighter around me and extends a lazy thumbs up in Allen's direction. "All good. Just some mild asphyxiation and a near miss with a concussion and a testicular crush injury. Y'know, standard Saturday night stuff." His voice is completely deadpan as he winks at me. Allen winces. Blushing, James rolls his eyes at Seb.
Leaning back against the bedhead, Seb pulls me towards the crook of his shoulder. I lean against the little hollow where his chest meets his arm. My head fits perfectly.
Idly, Seb strokes my hair. "Ralph okay?" It feels like the most natural thing in the world.
Allen nods, holding a finger to his lips. "Passed out on the couch." I have to strain to hear what he's saying. "I don't think he's been so relaxed in a long time." He's smiling as his eyes flick towards me and Seb, but his expression falters when his eyes dart across James' face. "… is James?"
Striding towards us, he grabs a handful of blankets from the bottom of the bed and wraps one of them around James' shoulders.
James' lips tug at the corners. "Just a bit embarrassed about nearly hospitalizing half the pack. I'm fine."
Although the pinch of his lips suggests he doesn't quite believe James, Allen nods, and swathes another blanket around Zeke, then tucks one around Seb and me.
James is still blushing. Nobody is saying anything.
"One sec," I murmur in Seb's ear. Crawling out of his embrace towards James, I lean against James' shoulder, my chin resting on his collarbone. "I'm glad you're fine. It's okay if you're not, though," I murmur in his ear.
There's a pause in the rise and fall of his chest. His cheek presses into mine.
"Mmmmm." The rumble from his chest makes my torso vibrate.
I let my lips graze across the tip of his shoulder. "Thank you for looking after all of us," I whisper, then sit back on my heels.
The room seems quieter than it did before as I snuggle back into Seb's waiting arms, into the hollow where my head just fits. Seb pulls the blanket back over both of us.
Zeke's curled up against James, his muscular arm wrapped around James' shoulders as they lean against each other. I shouldn't stare, but I can't help but savour the sight. I can't remember ever seeing two men, let alone alphas as strong as they are, being so comfortable supporting each other. A greedy, grasping part of me wants to intrude on their moment, but I stuff the impulse down and force my gaze away.
Allen is staring at me, his mouth half open, his expression unreadable. He takes a hesitant half-step back, then freezes.
Oh. He's upset—I must have hurt his feelings before when I asked him to check in on Ralph.
"Sorry!" I try to keep my voice to a whisper, but it blurts out louder than I meant it to. I hope it doesn't accidentally wake Ralph. "I'm really sorry. I promise I wasn't kicking you out before! Not out of your own bed! And it's not like… I mean, you're gorgeous…uh, I mean, I just thought… uh, Ralph just looked like he needed—"
The snorting laugh that bursts out of Allen shocks me into silence. Shaking his head, he pads over to the head of the bed, reaching out towards me and gently turning my face towards him. "I didn't feel kicked out. I felt supported in doing something I… I was worried you wouldn't want me to do. You are very good at noticing…" Those warm brown eyes of his flick away from my face. There's something that in a poor light might be mistaken for vulnerability that flashes over his face.
