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“My favorite.” Claire helped me to my feet and gave me a hug. “Call me if you need me. Otherwise, I’ll see you in class?”
“I’ll be there.” They were on the way out of the room when the thought struck me. “Addison?”
She turned. “When you guys are moving stuff in… just be careful? I don’t know if Craig—”
“Don’t worry,” she said. “I know everyone I work with personally. I’ll bring some of our security as well, just to keep an eye on things.”
“Thank you.”
Her smile told me Claire was right. I didn’t want to mess with her. “No one fucks with my friends on my watch.”
They made their way to the elevator, and I made my way to the shower. I needed a long one. And I let myself soak in the warmth for a long time, pampering everything I could.
I rubbed some shimmery oil into my skin when I finished, using some of the stuff I had delivered, and finally put on a nightgown. Not unlike the one I teased Ash with in my apartment. But this one was an icy blue.
Then I went to my nest. The guys knew where I was, and they would find me eventually. It really was beautiful, the actual light of sunset streaming through the one small window.
The metallic gold blanket laid on the edge of the nest, and that was what I grabbed. The nest had been cleaned, and I wasn’t sure when that happened, but it made me smile. They took care of things without me even noticing, and I loved it.
It was nice not to have to think abouteverythingall the time.
Curling up in the corner, I snuggled down into the blanket and let myself breathe. No one really knew why we needed this—the warmth and the darkness and all the soft things, but we did. There was no denying how safe nesting made me feel. Like the world couldn’t touch me in here, and it was exactly what I needed.
A soft knock came from behind me.
I turned over to find Gabriel leaning in the doorway, hands in his pockets. The others were nowhere to be found.
Smiling, I just looked at him and enjoyed the view. He did the same. “I thought we all needed nest time?”
“They’ll be here in a bit.”
Untangling myself from the blanket, I went to him, instincts driving me. Until I had to look up to meet his eyes. “Is this where you spank me?”
I was teasing, but I didn’t know for sure. If he wanted to, I would let him. Something told me we both needed it. Or would, at some point.
Gabriel’s mouth smiled, but his eyes were serious. He reached out, fingers curling around the back of my neck. “I’d rather not tonight, little one.”
“Why not?”
He smirked. “Is my Omega eager for that?”
“I… don’t know.”
With that hand on my neck, he tugged me into his body, his forehead on mine. Then, like something collapsed in him, he gathered me up in his arms, my feet lifting off the floor as he held me. “I can’t bear it right now,” he whispered. “Causing you any kind of pain.”
The admission struck me in the chest. The urge to apologize rose, and I shoved it right down where it belonged. Instead, I held him right back.
Gabriel kicked his shoes off and carried me into the nest, sweeping me down into the cushions. His scent was richer tonight. Not as sweet. The darker notes of tobacco lingered at the top. My Alpha had a darker edge to him, and I wanted that.
Was tonight the night for it?
“There will be times when I spank you,” he said. Not a request or tease. Simply a statement of fact, along with a hint of a smile. “And I’m sure you will deserve it. But tonight, little one, I just want to make you feel good.”
He kissed me. At once gentle and unyielding. My Alpha of delicious contradictions. There was something so hot about him still fully dressed and me in this scrap of silk, the heat of his hands sinking through it to my skin.
“I’m not apologizing,” I said when we broke apart. “I just hate that he was there. I hate that he was anywhere near you. I hate every decision I made that led to me letting him in again. It’s so fuckingfrustrating.”
Gabriel made a rough sound in the back of his throat, his teeth coming down on my shoulder. Not biting—not breaking the skin—but making me freeze, an Omega beneath her Alpha. He licked over the place his teeth grazed. “One favor for me, little one.”
