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The curtains were still closed so I had no idea how much time had passed, but neither Jasper nor Hana were home yet, so it had probably only been a couple of hours.
I kissed the back of Billie's neck, and their stirring sent a ripple through the cuddle pile, waking Nicky and Tony.
Nicky groaned and stretched, and Spud walked over us to slam down his tiny weight down between Nicky and Billie.
“He's as bad as Roscoe,” I said, laughing quietly.
“Roscoe is a voyeur,” said Billie. “Spud is a polite little prince who waits till we’re all done before invading our space.”
Nicky giggled and stroked Spud's ears, snaring him into her arms as she wiggled herself more firmly between the others with a happy little sigh. She was a far cry from the buttoned up librarian who had arrived for breakfast.
I watched her body slowly tense as she came further into the waking world, and I reached over Billie to wrap my hand around her wrist.
“How are you feeling, Nicky?” I asked.
“Um…kind of whipping back and forth between bliss and panic, if I’m being honest.”
That wasn’t difficult to tell given that her scent had soured now that she was fully awake.
“Trade places with Billie.”
My beta rolled right over top of Nicky and wedged themself next to Tony, avoiding crushing Spud in the process. The cat protested anyway and slipped away to lay near our feet. Nicky looked at me with wide eyes.
She wasn’tmybeta, but the alpha instinct to soothe and protect was there regardless. I pushed my scent towards her and wrapped an arm lightly over her waist.
“Walk me through your feelings.”
She tucked her face against my chest and melted, looping her arm around my back. “It's just a lot. I’m used to living life in slow mode, and I feel like I’ve been racing since the moment I met Billie and Tony. It's sort of like my body outran my brain.”
“And now that we’ve slowed down again it's catching up to you?”
“I didn’t mean to rush you, Books,” Billie said, nervously fidgeting.
“You didn’t. Not really. Everything we did was something I wanted to do, but it's still a lot to process.”
“Could I interest you in a bath?” I asked, tracing over Nicky’s cheek.
“A bath sounds nice,” she murmured.
“Would you like the others to join us?”
Her moment of hesitation was enough of an answer.
“Billie will survive without you for half an hour,” I said. “Come with me.”
We didn’t keep much for luxurious supplies in the main floor bathroom, so I opted to bring her upstairs to my room where I had everything we’d need.
I climbed out of the nest, not bothering with anything to cover myself, and watched Nicky tuck a blanket carefully around herself like a dress. Her fingers flexed and squeezed the fabric as she stood, looking to me for guidance. I held out my hand and she took it with a shy smile, letting me lead her upstairs. I’d been naked in this house so often I didn’t even think about it anymore, but I could feel her gaze on my ass as she followed me.
My room was on the top level along with Hana's, while Billie's, Tony's, and Jasper's were on the second level. Roscoe greeted us the moment I opened my door.
Nicky’s eyes lit up. “Oh my goodness! Hello sweet baby.” She reached down, letting him sniff her before she gave him some scratches from head to hip. Roscoe would do any work that I couldn’t in calming her down.
I got Nicky situated on my bed while I got the bath running. It was more of a hot tub than a bath by size which made it perfect for our needs.
Nicky looked so small wrapped up with her toes sticking out the bottom of her blanket. Roscoe forced his way onto her lap and she stroked his orange and black patterned fur while she waited for me, looking around the room, taking in the space—cream walls with a grey-blue feature wall behind the double king-sized bed, brown leather headboard, earth-toned fabrics, photos of the pack and I reaching nearly up to the ceiling over my desk in polished brown frames, and a handful of landscape paintings Billie had done for me—eyes darting to and fro.
“Do you regret anything that happened?” I asked, sitting down next to her.
