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He didn’t want to start swimming last night since it had already been dark, so instead he led me up to his room and requested I use it to sleep in. Rook’s face turned bright pink when I asked him why, and seeing this huge, intimidating man blush melted my heart a bit.
“It’s just… well. You slept in Kairo’s room last night and that’s totally fine. My instincts are just demanding I keep you safe after everything we talked about tonight, and I would really like it if you would stay in here. I can either stay on the floor or I can room with D, whatever you’re comfortable with. I wasn’t sure if you would be nervous staying alone in a new place now that you’re clear-headed. But if I’m overstepping or being too Alpha, please just—”
I stop his rambling by stepping close and hesitantly wrapping my arms around his middle. “Rook?”
He clears his throat and hugs me back, letting out a deep sigh. “Yeah, Angel?”
Giving him a small smile, I tilt my head back to look up at his pretty eyes. “I would love to stay in your room with you.”
His eyes go wide and he chokes. “Wait, really? You’d let me stay in here with you?”
Nodding quickly, I start to explain, “I trust you, Rook. I’ve been here less than two days and you’ve done nothing but show me you’ll put my needs first. Even when you were asking me to talk to Hades, you made it clear that you respected my need to wait. You haven’t pushed me on it once. And when I told you I didn’t know something mostchildrenknow, you explained it to me in the gentlest way possible without making me feel dumb. I’m not ready to talk about everything, but if I can make you feel better by sleeping in here, then I’m going to. And honestly, I am nervous. So, I would really like it if you would stay. Please.”
The smile that takes over his face steals the breath from my lungs. He looks like I just gave him the world, when all I did was agree to let him comfort me and soothe his instincts. We get ready for bed separately. He gives me one of his t-shirts and a brand-new pink toothbrush. Then, he heads off to the bathroom in the hall, leaving me to use the massive bathroom attached to his bedroom.
After brushing my teeth and throwing my hair into a messy bun, I put on a pair of boy shorts. The soft navy-blue shirt is absolutelycoveredin Rook’s orange creamsicle scent. I bring it to my nose, breathing it in so it fills my lungs and eases my nerves. It’s so soft, but not like it was made that way, more like it’s been through the wash so many times it lost all structure. I know it has to be one of his favorites, and the fact that he wants me to wear it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
A knock on the bedroom door startles me out of my thoughts and forces me to pull the shirt away from my nose and hop into the bed. Getting under the covers and calling out that I’m decent, Rook walks back into the room. His eyes darken, and his nostrils flare when he sees me in his shirt. The vanilla in his sweet creamsicle scent deepening until it’s almost caramelized in its intensity.
“Good lord, Angel. You look better in my favorite shirt than I do. I may have to insist you keep that.” His eyes trail down my upper body, making me shiver despite the thick comforter covering my legs.
With a tilt of my head, I study him, wondering why he would want me to keep his favorite shirt. “But… it’s your favorite. I can’t keep something you love so much. Why would you want to get rid of it?”
Smiling softly, he sits down on the edge of the bed facing me so we’re only inches apart.
“You are the first person I’ve ever met, aside from my family and this pack, that hasn’t asked me for anything, even once. And you don’texpect meto take care of you or buy you things. Growing up wealthy the way I did, I never knew if people wanted to be around me forme,or if they were just trying to get something from me. You’re not like that, though, and it makes mewantto do things for you. Especially when those things involve seeing you in my favorite shirt.” He ends his speech with a sexy smirk.
At this point, I think my cheeks may be permanently pink with how much I’ve been blushing, and I grab his hand, looking up at him through my eyelashes.
“Rook… I want you to know I wouldneverexpect anything from you. And I have some money saved up, so you don’t need to feel you have to buy me things or buy my lo— affection.” I say, quickly changing what I was about to say, because what kind of crazy person falls in love in two days?
His eyes soften, and I’m pretty sure he knows what I was about to say, but he doesn’t push. Getting up off the side of the bed, he makes a bed on the floor using an air mattress I didn’t see him bring in.
When he’s finished, he turns back to me and says, “Let’s get some sleep. We’ll start your swimming lessons first thing in the morning.”
I nod, laying down and curling up on my side so I can see him down on his makeshift bed. Leaning up, he turns out the lamp and rolls to face me. After a few minutes of silence, he speaks.
“I know you don’t expect anything, Angel. That’s why I’m going to do everything in my power to give you the world.”
He reaches up and twines our fingers together, and I fall asleep with his hand in mine and a smile on my face for the first time in seven years.
* * *
I’m trying to work up the courage to walk out there in a bathing suit. Rook picked me out a modest one-piece, saying I was already going to be vulnerable in the water, and he didn’t want me to feel exposed on top of that. He also said that once we got back to their home in Lockwood, we would go shopping since my wardrobe only contains clothes I grew out of five years ago. I’m not gonna lie. I cried after trying to refuse and being firmly but gently shot down. Nobody has ever put my feelings or needs first before, except for maybe Hades, before he abandoned me.
But I’m not going to think about that today, or the looming heavy conversation. Today I’m going to enjoy what I was told by Kairo and Kasper would be “the most epicly amazing swimming lessons in the history of water”. I couldn’t help but laugh at their antics, because they had been going out of their way all morning to make me laugh.
It started with breakfast when the twins started a food fight, managing to peg Hades in the face with an over-easy egg. I probably laughed harder than I should have but come on. He deserved it a little. I also caught a wistful smile on his face when I laughed, so I don’t feel too bad.
Rook let me try his coffee since I’d never had it before, and I think I might be in love. He told me we would try new coffee in every place we go, because apparently, we’re going places. I don’t really know how or when it happened, but apparently this pack of gorgeous men has taken me in as their own, and I’m starting to think it might not be so bad.
* * *
“What if I drown?” I don’t mean to whine, but it comes out anyway.
Rook snorts, looking at me with a single eyebrow raised. “Angel, we’ve been over this no less than a dozen times now. Not a single man in this pool would let you drown. Hell, neither would the two saps sitting over there pretending not to watch your every move.”
He points to Hades and Achilles, who are currently perched in beach chairs and, if I listen to Rook, pretending to read while actually watching me. When all five men came out in just their swim trunks half an hour ago, I nearly fainted. I’d never seen a man shirtless before, let alone five of the most perfect men I’ve ever seen. But did I say that? Or something equally nice?
