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I laughed, but obeyed, grabbing Roman’s clothes and my phone. It felt a bit weird to be walking through the house naked, but there wasn’t anyone here who wasn’t allowed to see me.
Like I suspected, the bags from Nest, Inc. were already in my bedroom upstairs. Frothy bags with tissue paper and fun colors. The purple dress I bought was what I wanted. To pair with black leggings and boots for warmth. It wasn’t even deep fall yet, but fall was my favorite season, and I couldn’t wait to be able to dress in absolutely nothing but sweaters.
A luxurious hot shower later, I felt remarkably more human. Lighter, too, after I cried everything out. Amazing how tears could do that. They never felt good while you were in the middle of them. But purging pain and sorrow never did.
The makeup I had them send wasn’t much, but it was enough. I let my mind wander as I touched up my face. I was here. In a house withmyAlphas.
We’re not bonded… yet.
Petra, Eva, and Esme all bonded quickly once they met their packs. I think Eva had taken the longest, and it was only because of her true celebrity status and the public’s interest in her relationships that she’d waited for her bonding ceremony to be public.
The others hadn’t wanted a bonding ceremony. Esme because while her sister lived in the limelight, she hated it. Petra because it needed to happen quickly to protect her. Not only from the people who were trying to harm her, but to prevent her stepmother from forcing her into a bond she didn’t want.
Where did I fall?
Definitely not in the camp of wanting what Eva had. People knew who I was, but I didn’t need the entire world to see me bond. But having a ceremony? The dress and them seeing me appear? Yeah. I wanted that. The same piece of me that craved being chosen wanted that choice to be shouted to the world. If I happened to look fucking fantastic at the same time, so be it.
Granted, a public bonding ceremony meant prolonging the absolutefuckfestthat came afterwards. But all of us already knew we could handle waiting, and I wasn’t going to argue that the week we spent barely hanging on hadn’t made my heatexquisite.
I left my hair down. Something I did often since I lived half my life with my hair in a ballet bun. Bending over in the elevator, I fluffed my hair until the bell chimed, which left me completely unprepared to stand up and see Roman in dark jeans and a white button-down with the sleeves rolled up.
Holy hell.
The door started to close on me because I was just staring at him, and he smirked when I had to force it back open. “Morning.”
My hands had minds of their own, and I couldn’t stop myself from grabbing those forearms and making sure they were firmly around me. “I didn’t think I’d find something I like as much as you naked, but I’m proven wrong.”
“Really?” One eyebrow quirked.
“Never underestimate the power of forearm porn, Alpha.”
He rumbled his approval, his hair curtaining around us as he kissed me hello. We both tasted like minty toothpaste, and I didn’t care that he was ruining my lipstick. I had it in my bag. Lipstick could be fixed as many times as it needed. Kisses, however, could only happen right then.
“You cried?” He asked against my lips.
It made me smile. “It’s been known to happen. Won’t be the last time.”
“It will if I have anything to say about it.”
God, these men. My stomach tumbled into butterflies.
“You look beautiful, firefly.”
I let him tuck me into an embrace. “Thank you.”
Footsteps entered the kitchen. “Ready to be a backpack?”
Pulling back, I stared at Ash where he stood in the entrance of the kitchen, looking just as good as Roman did. But the shirt he wore was tighter—showing off his physique without screaming about it.
Well, not screaming at everyone else. It wasvery muchscreaming at me. And it was saying ‘climb me like a tree, Grandma can wait.’ He was looking at me the same way, gaze traveling down the dress and all the way back up. It slid over my skin like sunshine, warming wherever he looked.
Gabriel hit him lightly on the back of the head with an eye roll. “We’re taking the car.”
“Bikes are more fun, and you know it.”
“Maybe,” I said. “But I’d rather not peel you off the pavement before we see Grandma.”
Ash shook his head, smiling the whole time. “Your grandmother loves me.”
