Page 16 of Pixel Perfect Pack

Tears sparkle in Jess’s eyes, it’s as if Orion’s words mean more to her than anything else. She nods, sniffling a little.

“But first we eat,” Adair adds. “I’ll go shopping tomorrow and get supplies but in the meantime, scrambled eggs and toasted focaccia it is.”

“Thanks, guys,” Jess says in a small voice that tugs at my heartstrings. “I really appreciate you being here. Embarrassed or not, I don’t regret letting you through my front door.”

Orion whispers, “Hey, princess… there’s nowhere else we’d rather be.”

We eat in comfortable silence, huddled around the too-small dining table, our elbows touching and our legs tangled underneath the worn wood. Jess is still perched on my knee, her body lax and curled into mine as I spoon-feed her scrambled eggs and lift slices of toasted focaccia to her parted lips. She hums as she chews and swallows like it’s the best thing she’s ever tasted.

“Shall we run through those boundaries?” Orion asks as he finishes up, taking the empty plates to the sink and running them under hot water. Jess isn’t quite finished but she’s slowed down, which I’m taking as her starting to get full. I bring a glass of water to her mouth and watch her throat bob up and down as she gulps it.

“It’s embarrassing,” she grumbles and I feel the vibrations through her back where she’s pressed against my chest. My arm tightens around her middle, running soothing circles with my fingers on her ribcage.

“You don’t have to be embarrassed around us, honey,” I soothe, perching my chin on her shoulder. “We’ve seen you march your character off the cliff at level twenty-three more than ten times. That’s way more embarrassing than this.”

“Hey!” she snaps, slapping at my hand where it lingers on her waist. “It’s hard to see that cliff edge and you know it.”

“Just give us some pointers,” Orion goes on, keeping his tone respectful and serious. “Is there anything you don’t like?”

“So far aside from the obvious, no.” It’s a curt reply from our girl but we take it.

“The obvious being?” Adair asks, his blonde eyebrow arched.

Jess sighs and wiggles in my lap, which does things to me I know it isn’t the right time to act upon. “I don’t mind being dominated, but my heat is making me more sensitive. I want to be told what to do but not forced. My body doesn’t always react how it should and I don’t want to find myself in a position where I’m uncomfortable or flaring up.”

She pauses, chewing on the inside of her cheek. “I don’t have a lot of experience in the whole sex department but I know I just want to feel safe.”

“We can do safe, princess.” Orion smiles, all wolfish white teeth and dimples.

“I trust you, the three of you. I just don’t trust my body.” The sadness in her tone is impossible to miss and it settles like a grey cloud over all of us. No matter what happens, we need to make sure Jess is well looked after and her body isn’t overwhelmed. Still, I can’t help but wallow in the warm joy that settles in my stomach. She’s letting us be the ones to help her through her heat and that is the biggest honour I’ve ever had. I know for a fact none of us will do anything to jeopardise that.

Eleven

Jess

My eyes spring open sometime in the early morning. The sun is shining in through the living room windows and there’s the usual singsong chatter of the birds on the roof. It’s familiar, almost normal, until I see the three hulking alphas asleep all over the tiny room.

Orion is sprawled across the cushionless sofa, legs slung over the arm and dangerously close to hitting my Tiffany lamp off the sideboard. Kito is snoring at the edge of my nest, a spare hand towel from the kitchen cupboard tossed over his middle as a makeshift blanket. And Adair is… awake.

“Morning,” I say when our eyes meet, stretching my arms and legs and not enjoying the cracking in my joints. That’s only mildly embarrassing. He’s packing shopping bags into one another. His shoes are on and, despite his messy golden curls, he looks relatively well put together.

“Did you sleep well?” He asks politely, shuffling from foot to foot as if he didn’t play a part in my orgasm a few hours ago.

“Despite all these duvets, I still feel like I’m missing something,” I say, pushing myself up to sit cross-legged. “Do you want coffee or…” my voice trails off, my stomach ravaged by cramps and nausea. A chill takes over me, like a strong gust of icy wind has just blown in off the sea and settled right in my living room.

Adair drops the empty bags and rushes over, pressing his large, soft palm to my forehead and frowning. “You’re burning up; your heat is progressing.”

“Yeah, no shit,” I grunt through gritted teeth, immediately feeling bad for swearing in front of Adair. It isn’t his fault my heat is going to be the death of me.

Kito wakes with a start, a loud snort erupting from him in surprise. “What’d I miss?”

With Kito’s loud awakening, Orion stirs too, immediately rolling to the side and falling off of the sofa and onto the hardwood floor with a loud thump. It’s a comedic run of events and even though I feel like my uterus is about to tear its way out of my belly button I can’t help but erupt into a fit of giggles.

“Are you okay?” Orion is still half asleep when he appears at my side, dark eyes heavy with exhaustion.

“I’m fine, it’s just-“ I can’t finish my sentence as another roll of pain rattles through me and I pull in a deep breath. Suddenly I’m drowning in an antique bookstore, the musty pages mingling with freshly ground coffee. It fills my lungs, making my head float. A gush of slick floods my PJ bottoms, sticking them to my thighs and making me even more uncomfortable. My hands find their own way to Orion’s t-shirt and I pull, slamming our bodies together.

“I need you,” I whine, breathing heavily. “I need you now.”

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