Page 52 of Follow Your Instincts

“Now that that’s out of the way, can I please hug you?” Ben said.

“Shocked that you even asked first,” Soren grumbled.

“Yes, please,” I squeaked, but I didn’t have time to be self-conscious about sounding like a chipmunk before Ben had wrapped me in his arms. I bit back a whine and willed myself not to start perfuming. But he smelledso good.

“God, you smell even better than I remembered,” Ben mumbled into my hair, as if he could read my mind. His hands briefly gripped my waist before he pulled back.

I peered over his shoulder at Soren to find he was beaming at me. I threw myself at him, and he let out an “oof” before stopping our momentum. He chuckled and said, “Missed you too, baby girl.” I felt the vibration of his deep voice like a jolt right to the clit. Maybe a public meeting was a bad idea after all.

I greeted Lucas a little more shyly, but I melted in his arms once his scent wrapped around me. It calmed me down enough to take the edge off the crazy Omega hormones that suddenly wanted me to start an orgy in a coffeeshop.

I knew better than to try and hug Lachlan.

“So, how have you been?” Ben asked as we settled at the large table in the center of the room. “Bereft without us?”

I considered scoffing and saying I hadn’t missed them at all, but then I remembered what Rosie had said. Communication. Right. I could do that.

“Well, I only thought about you guys about a hundred times a day,” I said casually, but my face burned with a blush.

Ben looked surprised at first, but then his face split into a grin that made me very glad I’d been honest. “I’ve got you beat, then, because I thought about you at least a thousand times a day.”

“Nonstop,” Soren said solemnly. “I might get fired.”

“Luckily, I’m unemployed or I would have been very distracted, too,” Lucas said ruefully.

“Is it called being unemployed if you’re super rich?” I asked with a smirk.

“Probably not,” Lucas said. “But I’ve decided ‘retired’ makes me sound like an old man.”

I looked over at Lachlan, who was sitting as far from me as the table would allow. He looked stiff and uncomfortable, but when he caught my eye, he gave a little half smile. “It’s been a long two weeks,” he said dryly.

“Yeah, it has,” I agreed, then took a deep breath. “I just have a few questions I want to ask.”

“Ooh, is that your cop voice?” Ben asked.

I rolled my eyes. “What happened that night? Did I do something wrong?”

“No,” Lachlan said immediately. “I… I don’t have a good explanation for my behavior. But I hope you’ll believe me when I say I wouldneverhurt you.”

“I wasn’t scared of you,” I said. “I was just confused. It seemed like I had upset you by being with Ben. And if that’s true, we might have aslightproblem.”

Lachlan shook his head. “There won’t be any problems. I swear.”

I nodded, then swallowed hard. “And you guys are still interested? In me?”

“Yes,” Soren said. “Absolutely.”

I looked at Ben. “Didn’t I just tell you I’ve been thinking about you onethousandtimes a day? I don’t think I can get more explicit than that. Unless, of course, I describe some of those thoughts in graphic detail-”

“Nope, not necessary,” I interrupted with a blush. He grinned wickedly.

Lucas cleared his throat. “My answer is yes, too. Just wanted to make that clear.” He slid his hand out across the table and intertwined our fingers loosely. We shared a smile.

“And you’re sure you’re okay with this?” I asked Lachlan.

“Yes,” he said firmly. He looked like he wanted to say more, but then he shut his mouth again and just nodded firmly.

“Okay then,” I said. “Can we try again?”

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