AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“… missed you so fuckin’ much.”
“We were worried sick, Sunshine.”
“… you okay?”
“Fuck, you scared us!”
“… been wrecked without you, Love.”
Emotions ran thick in each sentiment, echoing the desperation I’d felt during our separation.
Hands smoothed over my hair, down my back, some touching my arms and others wrapping around me and Jamison in a group hug I never wanted to be released from. Good on the promise he made, Jamison never let me go. He held me steady, kissing my forehead and face, drinking me in like I was an apparition he was afraid would disappear. I understood because I felt the same exact way about all of them.
Their combined scents surrounded me—coconut, citrus, spices, apple pie, chocolate, caramel, campfires, and whiskey. It was musk and man and everything right in the world. These men were pure comfort, and for the first time in weeks, I felt safe.
“Share,” another growly Alpha demanded a moment before I was ripped out of Jamison’s arms. I giggled as Knox stole me, and the sound was almost foreign after two weeks of hell. Two weeks of not knowing whether my mates were dead or alive. Two weeks of torture, worry, and heartache from being apart.
Knox grunted as I melted into him, and I glanced up at his ruggedly handsome face, worried because the sound had been tinted with pain. The only answer I got was a kiss on the crown of my head as he cradled me against him as though I were a precious, breakable, priceless artifact.
“Sunshine.” The name was nothing more than a choked murmur rife with emotion. The feeling behind those syllables sent another wave of tears blurring my vision.
I slid my hands up his chest and dug my fingers into his platinum blond hair, reveling in the juxtaposition of the nearly shaved sides and longer locks on top. The man was built like a Viking god. A warrior. A protector. I pulled his forehead down to rest against mine, just breathing him in. Knox was all muscle and strength. A perfect shelter. A safe refuge. His coconut and sweet cream signature washed over me, reassuring me I was home in his arms.
It didn’t matter where I was as long as I had my pack at my side.
“I thought we’d lost you. You were right there, within arm’s reach, and then you were just fucking gone. I could live a thousand lifetimes and never experience more crushing heartbreak than I did when I woke up and found you were missing. I’m so—” Knox choked, the words living and dying on his tongue before he tried again. “I’m so fucking sorry I didn’t protect you.”
“It wasn’t even remotely your fault,” I promised, kissing one cheek, then the other. I ran my nose along his and my next sentiment ghosted over his lips. “You’re what kept me alive. You kept me going. I knew you’d come for me. I could hear you in my dreams, promising you’d find me.”
“Always, Sunshine. I will always come for you. You’re a living, breathing part of my soul, Demi Leigh. I love you. I love you so fucking much.”
“I love you too. More than you know.”
With a possessive groan, Knox bent me backward with the force and magnitude of his kiss. Every stroke of his tongue was a promise, every growling moan a vow. I was breathless by the time he was done with me, my head spinning all over again—presently, from the sweet lack of oxygen.
“That’s lovely and all,” Thane teased from where he patiently waited, giving his pack-brother time to kiss the shit out of me, but there was a harrowed edge to his voice. “But we’re never going to need to find her again because there’s no way we’re ever going to do a repeat of the last two weeks.”
I reached for my sweet chef and stepped into his open arms.
“Come here, darling,” he commanded, and I whole-heartedly obeyed. His blue eyes swam with the same emotion that made the world suddenly blur behind a fresh sheen of tears. I blinked them back.
Cupping his face, I smoothed my thumbs over the course, golden stubble shadowing his strong jawline as his hand went to the back of my neck and gripped me firmly. Pleasant shivers rolled through me from the dominant contact. Popping onto my toes, I kissed him sweetly, pouring all the love I felt for him into every soft movement of my lips. He matched every motion, and when I pulled back, I stared into his cerulean blue eyes, making sure he saw the truth swimming in my green ones.
“Never again,” I promised, fully intending to never be separated from him or the others as long as I still breathed.
seven
DEMI
“Gods.”My voice wavered as my fingers skimmed over a massive wound that cut across the side of Thane’s head. It wrapped around part of his forehead. While it was scabbed over and clearly healing, it remained red and angry. “The last time I saw you, I couldn’t tell if you were still breathing.” My throat swelled with the memory, making it ache to swallow. “I was so scared. I thought you were…. I thought you might be….”
“Shhh.”
Thane’s arms tightened around me, one hand smoothing down my spine as he buried his head into the crux of my neck and inhaled deeply. I did the same, taking a drugging hit of his chocolate and caramel scent. He smelled like decadent hot cocoa on a cold winter’s day. I wanted nothing more than to curl up with him and forget all the bad things in the world.
“It’s just a scratch.”
An inelegant, purely sarcastic snort escaped me. “That is not just a scratch,” I scolded. “That’s a wound that most likely came with a little side effect called a concussion. I should know. I had one myself.”
