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“Um, may I come in?” Riley was standing nervously at the doorway, wringing her hands.
“Yes! You don’t have to ask; this is your space too.” Then, I grimaced. “Sorry, I kind of took over. If you don’t like anything, we can fix it!”
Riley’s eyes were wide as she looked around the room. She stepped down into the center gently, so as not to disturb my work. She was silent, taking it all in. For the first time, I felt nervous. What if she didn’t like it? I really wanted her to feel comfy here.
Her eyes clashed with mine, a smile tugging at her lips. “This is beautiful. I love it.”
“Yeah?” I asked, tension easing in my chest.
“Yeah.”
I released a sigh of relief. “Well, come on in here. I’m having trouble deciding where to put these other blankets. Nothing feels . . . right.”
I ducked back into the den and felt the space get a little smaller as Riley’s form followed me in. Instead of feeling claustrophobic, I found I really liked her in my space. Inourspace.
“Oh, I see what you mean. May I?” she said, breaking my musings.
“Of course, please!”
“I’ve never built a nest before. I might mess it up,” she confessed quietly.
“Impossible. You’re an omega; you’ll know what to do. It’s instinctual. Go ahead.”
I sat back and watched her as she picked up a blanket, threading it through her hands in much the same way I had. I could feel the nerves pouring off her as she looked around the space. She began pushing and pulling the blankets and pillows, bunching them up on the sides, pulling them back down and flattening them on the ground, then bunching them up again.
I was in awe as I watched her work. I was witnessing an omega coming into herself and her instinct in real time, and it was inspiring. I took the time to see exactly what Riley was doing with the items she moved.
Each blanket she weaved into the nest made me more and more relaxed. It was right. They belonged where she was putting them, no doubt about it. How I hadn’t seen it, I didn’t know, but now that she was putting them in their places, I was breathing easier.
Finally, she stopped. She had placed the last blanket in its new home. She sat back on her knees, looking at me for approval. Not wanting to give her the impression that I hadn’t looked at what she had done, I took everything in.
“It’s perfect,” I breathed out reverently. “I absolutely love it.”
I would do anything to see the smile that lit up Riley’s face at my words. I was in so much trouble.
Chapter10
Riley
After building the nest last night, Storm and I ended up falling asleep inside the den. When I closed my eyes, I had intended it to just be a quick nap, but apparently, we slept through the night. I woke up cuddled up against Storm once again. My head was tucked into her neck, my nose pressed to her scent gland.
The nest itself already smelled like the perfect mixture of her and me. It made my omega senses happy. Beside me, I felt Storm stir, and I rushed to pull my face back from her neck. Her eyes opened, and she blinked several times before her gaze focused on me.
“Good morning! I can’t believe we fell asleep in here,” Storm said, stretching her arms over her head. “Although, it is quite comfortable, isn’t it?”
I nodded. “Yeah, it really is. I like this nest . . . a lot.”
“Me too.” Storm looked around at the walls we had constructed, a small smile playing on her lips. “First day of classes today.”
I swallowed. “Yeah.”
“Are you nervous?”
“A little.”
“Don’t be! We have the entire morning and lunch together. I’ll sit next to you for everything.”
“Okay, that makes me feel better.”
