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“No.” He replies just as stubbornly, his jaw clenching.
Dammit!
I scream, throwing my hands up before stomping out of the nest. Well, it isn’t a very satisfying stomp, considering my steps make no noise thanks to the plush foam floor. Fucking nest. When I make it to the stairs, I make sure my stomps can be heard this time, the petty omega in me coming out for a moment and wanting him to know my displeasure at this entire fiasco. Syn, Kian, Knight, and Nico are all in the family room and look at me when I come in, throwing myself down on the couch between Nico and Syn without a single thought or care. I’m too busy grumbling about stubborn omegas and them not listening to even care that I just slung myself between them or that I’m interrupting their movie.
“Everything okay?” Knight asks from his spot on the floor beside Kian.
“Yes,” I answer quickly, before sighing and changing my answer. “No. River is being unreasonable and won’t give me my shirt back.” I grumble, crossing my arms against my chest petulantly.
There’s a bit of a theme beginning here with him stealing my clothes. I’d almost prefer he’d steal my panties again. I can go home in one of his shirts or I’m sure Syn will loan me one, but that’s not the point.
Maybe I should call Mom and discuss this with her. Ask her for her advice. She’s always been my sounding board.
They all chuckle at my pouting before Knight asks, “What’s he being unreasonable about this time?” He wears a slight grin, like he’s totally used to River’s stubbornness by now, and he may very well be.
I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m an omega, so I know damn well I can be a stubborn shit just like the rest of them. Guess I just wasn’t prepared to have a stubborn omega of my own to contend with. Maybe I am the one being unreasonable?
Another sigh slips out as I fling my head back, looking up at the ceiling before mumbling out, “He wants me to stay again, but I told him I need to go home. I need my own clothes, and I’m sure my parents miss me. Plus, over the last four days, I’ve intruded on your guys’ time with him. This is ridiculous. If I was at the Center still, this wouldn’t even be an argument. I’m almost positive if it was solely up to him, I’d already be moved in. I don’t know why I didn’t expect this. Us omegas are notorious for being stubborn little brats that rush headlong into things. I guess I just wasn’t completely prepared for an omega of my own. And River is decidedly very un-omega like most of the time with me.” I whine out the last little bit of my tirade.
I catch them giving each other looks out of the corner of my eye and lift my head back up so I can look at them properly. Syn is biting her lip, trying to hide her amusement. Kian forgoes formalities and outright laughs. Knight has a thoughtful look on his face. And Nico, well, Nico looks like he completely agrees with River. I groan when I look at him last and see his expression.
“Not you too. Come on!” I complain.
He just shrugs, kisses my temple, and goes back to watching the movie without a word. I see I will not be getting his assistance on this. Fucking quiet alpha.
“Agh! Asshole,” I mutter under my breath, and he chuckles. Syn is the most reasonable of the bunch, so I look at her next, a pleading look on my face. She grimaces and gives me an apologetic glance before speaking.
“You’re not imposing on us, Ripley. We’ve all spent plenty of time with River, even with you being here. Not to mention all the time we had with him before you came along. He’s playing catch up with you. Look, you guys are new, and new relationships bring that inevitable urge to be with that person all the time. If you really want to go home, one of us can take you, and he’ll get over it, eventually. But if you want to stay, please do. We honestly don’t mind.” She shrugs nonchalantly, patting my thigh.
Well, shit. I didn’t think of it like that. He’s had years with his bonded. Then he finds me and, in true omega fashion, wants to dive headfirst into everything without taking a breath. I worry my lip with my teeth, practically gnawing a hole in it.
“Am I the one being unreasonable?” I ask no one in particular, feeling a little defeated.
I don’t really want to leave, but I feel like I’m imposing, despite how much they tell me I’m not. Syn is right. That urge to be with River constantly is there. Fuck. Now I feel bad for snapping at him and storming away without discussing my thoughts.
“Nevermind. Don’t answer that. None of you,” I huff out.
“Just talk to him. I don’t think either of you is being unreasonable. You’re both learning how to navigate this new relationship with each other, and River is getting a tiny taste of his own medicine,” Kian says, trying to keep his amusement in check. He’s failing, in case you were wondering. Badly.
I move to get up to do just that when Nico grabs me around the waist and pulls me into his lap. He wraps his arms around me, kissing my shoulder before he presses his lips to my ear and whispers, “Don’t be so hard on him, Kitten. He’s falling in love with you and wants to see you as much as possible. I get it because I do, too.”
Be still my heart. Now I feel like a giant asshole. Dammit.
Syn is watching us, the heat in those gorgeous gray orbs of hers searing into me and making me squirm in Nico’s grip. He lets loose a barely perceptible groan in my ear as my movement rubs against his quickly hardening cock. She’s been much more expressive around me lately, ever since that mind-blowing kiss. She almost looks like she wants to snatch me from Nico’s arms and pull me into her own. Maybe she does, but still isn’t quite sure where we stand. When she catches me staring at her, she runs her tongue along her bottom lip, and I’m on the verge of flooding this entire room with my perfume. I’ve got to get my needy ass back up to that nest so I can make up with the stubborn omega that I’m quickly falling for before I give everyone in this room a show.
I clamber from Nico’s lap after subtly rubbing my face against his and run out of there like my ass is on fire. The sound of all their chuckles follows me as I beeline for the stairs. At the entrance of the nest, I breathe in deeply. I can smell River’s scent, just barely, letting me know he’s feeling pretty upset right now. Can’t have that.
As I walk in, my feet sinking into the foam, it takes me a minute to find him. He’s curled up in a darker corner under a pile of blankets. He hasn’t even made a little nest with them, just lying under the pile with his face hidden. I walk toward him and climb in slowly beside him, so he knows I’m coming. It takes me forever to dig through all the different layers, and I’m nearly out of breath by the time I finally tunnel my way to him. Under the covers and face to face with him, his miserable expression breaks a little piece of my soul.
“Hey,” I whisper.
“Hey,” he mumbles sullenly, looking away from me and staring at nothing.
I tuck my lips behind my teeth before scooting as close to him as I can, aligning my body against his so I can feel all of him and he can feel all of me. His body is rigid instead of relaxed like usual, and I hate that, so I grab his hair and pull his face to mine, putting us nose to nose, staring directly into his chocolate eyes.
Even upset, he’s so beautiful. River wears his heart on his sleeve, and every emotion shines out of him unapologetically. There’s never a guessing game trying to figure out how he’s feeling, and I love that about him.
I don’t like that he doesn’t have a smile on his face like usual right now. I don’t enjoy seeing him look so miserable, and all because I feel like I need to go home to give him time with his other lovers. I’m trying not to be selfish with him, but in the end, all I’ve done is hurt his feelings.
