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I turn my head, pressing my lips to his cheek, breathing him in slowly, simply existing in this beautiful space.

Scott holds my hand as he shows me around the house. There’s two large bedrooms on the lower level, one full bathroom including a large bath, and a large storage closet at the back. “There’s a spa bath out the front, on the deck,” he adds, and I nod, having noticed that earlier. “This house is larger than a typical Kiwi bach, but it was built with a pack in mind, to stay at for family vacations. We lived here every summer, and it was a tight fit, but we loved it.”

He saves the mezzanine for last. We climb the steep staircase while Barry wisely waits on the lower floor.

“Oh, this is lovely.”

Covering the back half of the house, we step onto a large landing that overlooks the lounge and the amazing sea view. It’s bright and light, and that lightness extends even into the next room, walled off, but with large double doors and a huge window panel that extends over much of the right-hand side from floor to ceiling.

Peering inside the glass makes my omega beyond excited. “Is that a nest?” I ask, doing my best to sound calm.

“Yes. Come on.”

The large room is empty save for a single dining chair sitting near the centre. I turn, surprised to find another small room walled off within it on the opposite side of the internal window. “Toilet and shower,” Scott explains, sliding open the door to it. “Basic, but all you need in the middle of a heat. We kids were never here for that, obviously,” he adds, reminding me that this was of course used by his parents. “What do you think?”

“It’s a lovely space.” It is. It’s not modern, but it doesn’t need to be. In fact, this is exactly what I like, what I realise I’ve been craving in my previous iterations of nests. Warm wood. The height of the ceiling’s peak. The forced cosiness created by the A-frame walls, hugging all that are inside. The windows, allowing light to stream through at both ends. “It’s perfect.”

“I stopped off at Nest and Beyond on my way up to Auckland,” he says. “I knew there was nothing up here now. I’ve got one of those expanding mattresses in the back of the ute, some sheets and blankets and cushions, a set of drawers, a couple of side tables, some fairy lights. We’ll have to build the furniture, but it’s a start. I just guessed the colours, I hope that’s okay. I went with what vibed based off our conversation.”

“You bought me nest supplies?”

“Yeah, of course.”

Yeah, of course. He says it as if it’s so simple, as if it’s every day that an alpha purchases nest supplies for an omega they’ve only spoken to on the phone once. I squeeze his hand, leaning against his shoulder.

“Thank you, Scott. Truly.”

When time comes to move everything into the nest space, Scott doesn’t let me help carry anything up into the nest, not even the huge mattress that’s currently contained within a clear plastic wrap. “I’m the one who builds the nest!” I argue, so he throws me a bone, and I’m tasked with washing the new supersized sheets and accompanying pillowcases. I smile, warmth bubbling in my chest at the pale lemon colour he picked.

As I watch him carry the packets of unmade furniture up the stairs one by one, a slight sheen of sweat on his skin and his biceps looking deliciously biteable, I have to admit that my help isn’t necessary.

“Okay, time to open this bad boy,” Scott declares, patting the massive tube of compressed foam bedding. “You want it back here under the window, right?”

“Yeah, there looks good. But maybe we should check the instructions?”

“Nah, she’ll be right. It’s not rocket science.” He grabs his scissors, piercing the plastic wrap. “Let’s see how long this takes to inflate. They say instant, but I bet it’s still something like twelve hours.”

He adjusts the large package slightly, and I catch a glimpse of the telltale block letters of a large WARNING label hidden on the underside. Before I can even say wait! he begins to cut through the plastic wrap. The first three inches do nothing, and with a level of overconfidence only a man could ever have, the scissors slice through the long edge of the plastic film.

The mattress expands rapidly, tearing its way out of its packaging, heedless of the alpha that freed it. Scott’s panicked “Oh shit!” echoes off the rafters as he’s pushed at speed by the expanding foam, his body disappearing between the mattress and the back wall and window with a thud, the glass shuddering with the impact. On my end of the room, the flat packs of furniture, propped up against the single dining chair in the space, topple with a heavy thud.

“Scott!” I cry. Only a single arm is visible, and I grab the side of the mattress, yanking it backwards with all my might. “Fuck!” I scramble across the fully expanded foam, falling to my knees, hovering over his prone form. He’s awake, lucid, and I can’t smell blood, so that’s a start. I take a proper look at him, determine he’s okay, and start laughing.

“I’m sorry,” I say between giggles. “Are you hurt?”

“Only my pride.” He’s laughing too, dragging his hands down his face with an emphatic “Oh god.”

“It’s not rocket science,” I tease, putting on my impression of a man’s voice, and he shakes his head.

“Bloody famous last words, weren’t they? Go on Scott, impress the omega by making her a nice nest… Nah, just get fuckin’ taken out by the fuckin’ mattress instead. Jesus fucking Christ that was smooth of me, eh? What a way to seduce a girl… first I fall asleep last night after getting a blowie, now this.”

I’m laughing so hard that I have to lie down, and so I do, on top of the new bed. Scott joins me, wiping tears of laughter from his eyes, his “Oh god, I can’t breathe!” making me crack up further. I pull him down for a kiss but ruin it at the last moment, accidentally blowing raspberries in his face as I break into another fit of giggles. He collapses on top of me, laughing into my neck, and that’s how we remain until we both finally calm down.

This is the most lighthearted I’ve felt in years.

“Okay,” I finally dare to ask. “Do we tackle the flat pack furniture today?”

“Fuck no. I need a beer.” He kisses me quickly, pulling back momentarily before coming back for more, his suddenly desperate energy matching my own. I moan into his mouth, one hand buried in his scalp and another digging into the muscle of his back, my perfume blooming around us, thick and sweet. His hand is on my bare knee, my legs falling open in an invitation he takes with an appreciative growl. “Fuck,” he hisses as his fingers find my slick-soaked thighs, the damp fabric of my thong no longer holding up against a very turned on omega.