Page 40 of Not Ready

“Okay,” she agrees. “Maybe I should grab my meds on the way.”

“We can do that.”

We stop by the kitchen and grab a bottle of water, along with Vale’s prescriptions. She starts to feel warm against my skin before we even make it up the stairs. I realize I forgot both my cell phone and the house phone about the time I walk us into the main bedroom.

“This one isn’t mine. I’ve been in the room next to Bishop.” Her warm breath fans over my neck as her nails dig into my back. “But goodness, you do smell really good. I want to wallow around in your scent and lick your sweat… God, why am I still talking?”

I chuckle. “This is the primary suite. Mercy’s family is coming soon. The plan has always been to move you in here.”

“I still feel like that’s going to make his omega very unhappy one day,” she says with a huff. “But I guess there are always professional cleaning options. Hopefully, he picks a very understanding omega. Otherwise, he might have to buy a new house.”

“You’re cute.” I kick off my shoes near the entryway to the hall that leads to the nest. “Right side of the hall is the closet. Well, closets. The first door on the left is the bathroom. It connects to the nest through a tiny hallway.” I nod to the cabinets lining the wall on the left. “See, that’s where the hall is, but it’s an interior connection.”

“I’ve never seen a pack bedroom in person, but this entire house is unreal.”

My hand leaves her hip to open the door, and we head into the nest.

The back wall is a den-style nest with stairs leading up to it, but the feature I like the most is on the right wall. It’s got a huge bay window seat with a cushion about the size of a full-size bed. There’s a curtain the size of a sliding glass door that can be pulled to close it off from the room.

I yank the bar to open it and carefully sit Vale down on the edge. The blinds are up on the windows, giving a view of the yard and the trees in the distance. “Would this be okay? It’s smaller than the den nest. It’s also got a pretty killer view, so you won’t feel claustrophobic.”

“Oh, are you leaving me?” she asks. She’s got the bottle of water and her prescriptions cradled to her chest.

Yeah, right.

Like my instincts would let me walk away from an omega who is so clearly in distress.

I haven’t had a lot of one-on-one experience with omegas.

I grew up with a beta single mom. My dad is an alpha, but he dipped before my mom gave birth. The more I think about it, the more I realize how big of an asshole I really am. Ultimately, I’ve been trying to look out for my friend, but I’m not sure that justifies the shit I’ve talked about Vale.

Maybe I should let Bishop take a swing at me.

Ehh, just one, though.

Otherwise, I might not recover.

“No, I’m not leaving,” I assure her. “Are you sure you don’t want me to take a quick shower?”

“Absolutely not.” Her hair bounces around as her head shakes.

“Right. That would wash away the pheromones. Okay, let’s go. You get comfortable.” I grab the stuff she’s holding and nod to the side closest to the window.

“This is going to be embarrassing,” she mutters, pulling her legs up slowly.

I drop the meds and water on the floor. Then I get my shit together to help her up. There are giant bed pillows along the wall to the left, and she scoots closest to the window, resting her head on them.

Once she’s settled, I kneel on the edge and grab the wand to pull the curtain closed. See, I can be a decent alpha. I even thought to close in the space to help her feel safe.

I stretch out, and my sweats hang low on my hips as I toss an arm above my head. This bench nest seemed super spacious the couple of times I checked it out, but it’s a tight fit with the two of us. I mean, that could be because there’s like a foot of space between us.

I clear my throat. “Are you feeling any better?” Her head shakes, and I focus on her bright pink cheeks. I roll on my side, facing her, and run my fingers over the redness. “Damn, you do feel warm. Is this a normal thing?”

“I’m okay,” she croaks. “Can I have the water?”

“Yeah.” I roll over and stretch a hand down to grab it from the floor before bringing it up and handing it to her.

“Thanks.” She struggles to sit up enough to drink it.

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