Page 26 of Mates: Posy

"Um, I want to, uh—" I stopped and pinched my lips together.

"Anything, Posy. You can do anything you want to do," Cole said.

"Could I please get a shower?" I whispered. "I know I already had one this week, but I’d like to wash my hair again."

They were all silent, and I made myself be brave and look at them. Except for Jayden, all their eyes glowed as their wolves fought to ascend.

Oh, no. I made them mad. I’m going to get punished! Why do I always ruin everything by being so greedy?

"I’m sorry! I don’t need—" I started to backpedal in a panic.

Mason walked over and laid his index finger on my lips. The sparks made my whole face tingle and helped me calm down. I stared up into his clear gray eyes and, for the first time, my heart thumped hard for a reason other than fear.

"Of course you can. As many as you want, at any time you want, for long as you want."

"And remember what I told you." Wyatt squeezed the hand he was still holding. "Use any temperature and products. You have absolutely zero rules here."

I nodded and thanked them.

Mason kissed the top of my head, sending shivers down my spine.

"See you soon, baby," he whispered and walked out of the kitchen.

The others followed his lead, giving me a kiss on the forehead or cheek and trudging away to their separate tasks.

I flew back up to ‘our’ bedroom and dug around for some fresh clothing. I was embarrassed by what I had to work with, which were basically rags compared to theirs. The desire for a nice, long shower was stronger than those thoughts, however, and I hustled into the bathroom with a happy skip.

As I waited for the water to heat up, I stripped down, then worked the twist-ties out of my ponytails. I hated them because they always tangled up and the wires jabbed my scalp, but they were all I had to use if I wanted to put my hair up.

Maybe I can convince the boys to buy me a couple of real hair ties while we’re shopping today.

I tell you, they dirty rich, Posy!Lark snorted. They can buy more than hair ties. They love you so much, they buys you a whole beauty store!

I don’t want to be greedy or make them think I only want their money,I scolded her.And it’sfilthyrich, not dirty rich.

Lark just rolled her eyes at me and went back to sleep.

After my shower, I decided to let my hair air dry while I enjoyed the sunshine. Grabbing someone’s brush from the boys' bathroom, I headed for the front porch and took a seat on the top step.

Lost in the rhythm of brush strokes, I almost missed hearing the heavy footsteps coming up behind me, but fingers sinking into my hair got my attention real quick.

I froze. Fear dried my mouth and turned my heart into a galloping horse as the smell of maple syrup surrounded me.

What did I do to displease Ash?

"Please, alpha," I begged. "Punish me however you want, butpleasedon’t pull my hair out."

Shaking hard, I didn’t dare look at him as his hands fell away. I knew I was taking a huge risk. Father would have done exactly what I’d begged him not to. My mates had been kind so far, however, and I had high hopes that they’d show mercy.

"I’m sorry, princess." Ash’s voice sounded raw and hurt. "I’m sorry I scared you. I didn’t mean to, and I’ll be more careful from now on. I promise."

He sat down on the same step as me, but on the other end and didn’t try to touch me. I took a few slow, deep breaths until my heart calmed down, then glanced over at him.

He sat with his elbows on his thighs and his hands clasped between his spread knees. The boy’s legs were so long, his feet were on the bottom stair. He watched me with worried eyes.

"I’m sorry," I whispered.

"You don’t have anything to apologize for."

---