Page 79 of All In

“Be nice.” Laken smiles, lifting her leg and placing her foot on my stomach. “You can check my cuts and clean my toes.”

“I can do that.” Grabbing the bottle of body wash, I give it a liberal squeeze and move to assess if she has any open areas on the wound on her ankle.

Tanner growls, planting a hand on the omega’s stomach. “You’re a wiggly little thing.”

“Sorry.” She smiles at him over her shoulder, and I fight the urge to rip her out of his grasp.

My thumb digs into the arch on the bottom of her foot as Tanner reaches for his own pump of body wash.

“The housekeepers come tomorrow?” he asks, running his soapy hand down Laken’s shoulder. Her hair is wet, but I’m unsure if that’s from the rain or the shower they shared, because it’s currently up in a bun to keep it out of the water.

I nod, carefully avoiding putting too much pressure on the area that’s still raw and healing as I move up her calf.

“Good.” Tanner cups a handful of water, rinsing the soap away. “Kate’s scent sent Laken into a panic attack.”

My head tilts as I study her face. “It’s truly bothering you? I assumed it was the?—”

“We’re not getting into the other stuff right now,” Tanner growls, startling my omega. “This talk is about making Laken as comfortable as she can be under the circumstances.”

I bare my teeth at him, growling a warning that equals pain and suffering if he doesn’t leash his attitude.

“Enough,” he says, like he has a death wish. He moves his palm to Laken’s sternum, holding her in place before stretching to grab more soap. “You should know better. Omegas don’t share their alphas, and they certainly don’t allow unknown, unbonded omegas in their nest when they have a heat coming.”

“Kate has never stepped inside my room, let alone the nest,” I grind out.

Apparently, everyone thinks they can get away with lecturing me tonight, and it feels very much like a challenge to my authority.

Laken pats Tanner’s arm, and he releases her. She pulls her leg down and floats toward me. Once she’s within reach, she kneels on either side of my thighs and her hands come to rest on my shoulders.

“Logically, I understand that.” She nuzzles her cheek to mine. “My instincts…not so much.”

“I will ask them to air out the house tomorrow,” I assure her as my hands caress her soft hips. “We could rent a hotel room for a few days if that would help.”

“I’m not sure if all that is necessary,” she says, spinning around until her back hits my chest. “But I would like the three of us to snuggle together in the nest tonight.”

Tanner smirks, giving me a look that seems to indicate he thinks he’s won something.

“I can’t wait to see if it’s up to your standards,” I say, kissing Laken’s wet temple.

My gaze stays on the alpha on my last motherfucking nerve.

I give him a dangerous smile.

She has to sleep sometime, meaning she won’t be able to protect him from my wrath forever.

I’m not even sure what exactly he’s done to gain my ire to this level, but I’m sure he’ll remind me shortly.

The nest is directly off the pack bedroom, with a door that attaches to the bathroom.

Laken seems tiny when wrapped up with one of the bath sheets, but Tanner’s muscular form makes the same size towel seem small.

The back wall of the nest is like a den, with walls on three sides and no windows. At the top of the three steps, there are two large armoires on the left and right. They house extra sheets, pillows, blankets, and a variety of other heat necessities, like an omega thermometer and ice packs.

Farther past those is the platform-style mattress. It’s already made with a waterproof pad and sheets.

Either side of the nest mattress has a small end table, and one side has a touch panel to close the curtain and to work the lighting fixtures and the noise machine.

The den has a wall-sized curtain that can be pulled to fully enclose the small room.

---