Page 53 of Wild Card

Thorne snorts as Shera jumps on him, her paws landing on his chest. “I already did. She’s terribly out of shape. I thought she was going to keel over before we got to the grocery store.”

“You better not let Bear find out you left her tied up out front when you went in. He will try to murder you.”

He laughs and gives Shera a gentle shove off until her feet hit the wooden flooring with a clack.

“She came in with me, but on the way back, I thought I might have to carry her and the groceries.” He shrugs. “It’s getting late. Are you helping or not?”

My eyes narrow.

“We have a ladder in the garage by the pool.” No way is he doing everything and taking all the credit. “Come on. I’ll show you the way.”

Chapter Seventeen

Lennox

Bear is the ultimate caregiver. I’ve never experienced anything like it. It settles my frayed edges, and I can only hope that I’ve figured out the bond enough to send all my affection and appreciation back to him through the link.

Rush and Thorne brought my bags over last night. Bear helps me into a very festive long sleeve T-shirt that I normally sleep in, but it’s such a soft material that I’m not complaining.

It has Santa’s sleigh and says, “Is it too late to be good?” The matching pajama pants have a “Dear Santa, define naughty…” print. I get myself into those as Bear frowns, typing away on his phone before shoving it into his back pocket.

I watch carefully as he comes over, wrapping his arms around my lower back. “Apparently, there’s a problem with the hot water heater at the bed-and-breakfast. Janet already called the company we use, and someone is on the way, but she said Rush isn’t there, so I need to head over and help them handle that.”

“Do you want me to come with you?”

“No, you need to nest,” he says, running his hand up and down my spine. “And I hogged you yesterday. It might be nice for you and Rush to spend some time together.”

My head tilts. “If you’re sure you’re comfortable with that.”

I told him about my late-night run-in with his twin while we took a quick shower, and he’s been consistently supportive about wanting me to explore things with Rush.

“Absolutely.” He bends low enough he can brush his lips against mine, and his contentment flows through the bond as we share a quick kiss.

Holy crap.

Feeling his emotions is addictive.

It takes until I’m walking down the back stairs with Bear to realize Thorne is still here somewhere, and he doesn’t know Bear and I bonded.

My chest gets tight, but I do my best to shake off that anxiety.

Thorne and I are highly compatible, and I care about him deeply. That doesn’t change the reality of things. The omega builds their pack. If he doesn’t like it, he can choose to leave before my heat, but Bear and I are a package deal.

“Oh, shit. I’m telling you, this thing is a death trap!” Rush hisses.

Bear hits the bottom step and guides us toward the back living room. I’ve only seen it passing through because it’s closer to the garage. It seems more like a family room, where everyone can congregate and hang out. It’s less formal than the one by the front door.

My head tilts as I look up at Bear. “Did you purposely sleep on the less comfortable couch in the front living room because you were trying to catch me if I snuck out that morning?”

He chuckles. “Yup.”

That makes it even sweeter, especially since the back living room has a massive sectional that I spotted last time we came through.

“I’m going to land flat on my face,” Rush grumbles.

My jaw falls as soon as we make it into the doorway. I tilt my head up to understand exactly what I’m looking at. The entire house has high ceilings that give it a fancy feel.

Rush struggles against the silks that hang all the way to the floor. He’s probably six or seven feet off the ground, and he’s rolled up in the silk, holding on for dear life.

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