Page 57 of Becoming His

“It’s fine, really. I made almost ten pounds of meatballs,” I say, trying to comfort him.

Masen is the last to enter the room, and he doesn’t look happy. “I made the mistake of saying I was coming home to eat when all these assholes” —he looks at the four extra men in the room in disgust— “decide they want to come.” His eyes laser to Sniffer. “Apparently, Cass doesn’t know how to keep his mouth shut, so everybody wants my food,” he gripes.

I’m so happy he’s home. I laugh at the absurdity of him worrying about food. “Well, is it over? How’d it go?” I ask eagerly.

Masen’s eyes meet mine, and he shakes his head. “No, Little One, they were gone. Which can only mean one of three things. Rob and Jeff are lying, they panicked when they didn’t return tonight, or the worst of the three, someone from my Pack warned them we were coming,” he says grimly. I can feel his distress.

“Well, let’s set five more plates, and you can tell me about what you found after you eat. Go wash up, boys.” Like a group of teenagers, they all push and shove to get to the bathroom first. I lead Masen to the kitchen sink, so he can wash his hands. “Do you want noodles or mashed potatoes with your meatballs, Masen?”

He looks at the plate. “Both,” he glowers. I pile his plate with both and lots of meatballs, and he rants under his breath when everyone lines up behind my helpers.

The table’s not big enough for everyone to sit, so a few of the guys stand or sit at the bar and shovel the food in like they haven’t eaten in months. Masen growls at anyone brave enough to try for seconds. Once every morsel of food is gone, they all thank me for their full bellies. “I am not buying a bigger table!” Masen spouts sullenly. I roll my eyes.

“No need, brother, we can’t have all these assholes taking all our food. That would just encourage them,” Sniffers says while giving the stink eye to everyone but Sam and Masen.

“Good Lord, tell me what happened,” I say, throwing my hands in the air.

“Not too much more to tell. They were tipped off we were coming, so they left in a hurry, leaving behind almost everything. I have a few men watching the place, hoping they’ll return for their stuff, but I’m not hopeful. We spent most of the time sorting through their shit to see if there was any clue who they’re working with or where they’re headed next but came up empty.” The joking mood from before fades quickly.

“Was there any evidence that they’ve done this before? Are all the women with them willingly?” I question in a hushed tone.

“No Sophia, I don’t think this is something they’ve done before. I don’t think any of them are forced to be there, but I don’t think they know what they’re supposed Alpha is up to either.”

The dishes are cleared and the dishwasher is loaded while Masen and Michael continue talking at the table. Sam leaves quickly after dinner saying since Masen’s home he made plans with David. Sid and Sniffer pour a few drinks and join the rest of the fellas at the table. After the day I’ve had, I’m beat, so I give Masen a kiss and tell him I’m going to shower and go to bed. He stands and walks me to the room where he goes in the bathroom and runs the water in the tub for me instead.

“No falling asleep in here, or no more baths for you, understand?” I mumble my assertion, strip, and climb in. The water is almost too hot, just the way I like it. I sigh in contentment then Masen leans down and kisses my brow. “I’ll be back in thirty minutes to make sure you’re out. If you need me just yell or” —he tilts his head to the side thinking— “just call my name loudly up here,” he taps my forehead and smiles. “I love you, Little One. I’m sorry I didn’t finish it tonight.”

I cup his jaw with my wet hand, leaving drops of water on his shirt as it trickles down from my arm. “It’s fine. I was so worried about you. I’m just glad you’re home. I love you, too. Now, go visit your friends.” I pat his cheek.

“I’ll be back soon,” he promises before standing and leaving. After ten minutes my face is sweating so badly I can’t stand it any longer. I drain the tub and rinse quickly in the shower. I dry and lotion up before pawing through Masen’s shirts so I’ll have something to wear to bed. I’m asleep almost as soon as my head hits the pillow.

CHAPTER27

Ijolt awake suddenly from a dream I can’t remember. My heart is racing, and my cheeks are wet from tears. Masen stirs next to me, rumpling the sheet from his bottom half. He’s sleeping on his stomach with his arms and a pillow folded under his head. I blow out a couple of deep breaths, and Masen’s thick sleep voice fills the silence, “What’s wrong, baby?”

I cringe. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you. It was just a bad dream.” I sniffle a little.

His eyes pop open, and he lifts up on his elbows. “Why are you crying?”

I shake my head. “I don’t know. I can’t remember the dream. I just remember being really sad,” I mumble.

He rolls over and sits up beside me, pulling me over to his chest. “Don’t cry, Little One,” he says, sounding pained. I relax into him, accepting his comfort. He lays us back down and rubs his fingers through my hair until I eventually fall back asleep.

I’m still draped across Masen when I wake up hours later to the bright morning sun filtering through the curtains. I roll over, stretch, and enjoy watching Masen sleep. His face is soft and relaxed. With his intense eyes hidden, I take in his rugged features and marvel at his masculine beauty, which seems like such a strange word to use to describe him but I find no other words that convey the truth more than those. Masen’s face is turned toward me. His lips are barely parted, and his dark lashes that are longer than mine fan his high cheekbone. His jaw is shadowed with his overnight stubble. One hand rests on his bare stomach while the other is folded behind his head. The black sheet is covering him from just below his belly button down. My hand itches to inch the fabric lower so my view would be uninterrupted.

I’ve been staring for a while when my bladder demands I get out of bed. Slowly, I move from the bed and leave the room, I’ll use another bathroom. I don’t want to wake Masen. I’m not sure what time he got to bed, but I know he was awake with me for a while through the night. I use the same bathroom we used yesterday. After washing my hands, I head to the kitchen to make some coffee in the new machine Masen bought yesterday. I still don’t have my liquid creamer, but at least the coffee’s good, and there’s some powder crap in the cupboard. I need to go grocery shopping, today.

When I turn, Sniffer is standing two feet away from me. I jump back, slamming into the counter with my hip and scream from the shock. Luckily, I hadn’t picked up my coffee yet. I have a feeling he’d be wearing the scalding hot brew. He was so silent, I didn’t hear him sneak up behind me. “What are you doing!” I ask breathlessly. “You scared the piss outta me!”

Masen comes flying down the hallway and skids into the kitchen, naked and pissed. He has his brother pinned to the wall within seconds.

“Wait, wait!” I shout at Masen, who clearly isn’t even awake yet. I put my hand over the arm that holds Sniffer to the wall by his throat. He looks over and down to me, blinking, then he looks back to his brother’s purpling face before he lets go and takes a step back, pulling me with him.

“Why’d you scream?” his rough voice asks. He’s still eyeing Sniffer with distrust.

“I just got startled. I didn’t even know he was still here. I was making coffee, and when I turned around, he was just there. It freaked me out for a second. I’m sorry. It’s okay, really.” He folds his arms over his chest and watches as Sniffer shakes out his limbs and clears his throat, giving him a look that says he thinks it’s all his fault.

Remembering he doesn’t have clothes on, I grab the towel hanging from the stove and try to cover him. He scoffs and tosses the towel to the counter. My mouth hangs open at his unabashed nudity while Sniffer looks properly shamed. “I wasn’t trying to scare you, Sophie. You just didn’t hear me.”

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