Page 16 of The Honor of Being Hers
“Yes, oh,” he whispered with a smile against the side of her head before pressing a soft kiss to her cheek.“You wouldn’t want me to feel left out, would you?”
He continued placing gentle kisses across her face.Her cheeks, her closed eyelids, her forehead, the tip of her nose.She tried to angle her lips toward his, but he held her head firmly in place, his control absolute.The deliberate teasing made even more heat coil in her stomach than she’d thought possible.
She could smell his arousal now, mixing with the others until the air was thick with desire.Her Omega biology was responding to their combined scents with increasing desperation, her body preparing itself for what it hoped was coming.
She attempted to lift her chin in anticipation, but he skipped her mouth entirely and kissed her chin instead, then traveled lower to explore her neck before working his way back up to her ear.This time her whine was loud and followed by a frustrated growl that made all three men smile.
“Ah, so you do want me to kiss you properly,” William teased, his lips mere fractions of an inch away from hers.“I wasn’t entirely sure.”
Then his mouth finally descended, and all coherent thoughts left her head completely.She pulled him closer, all she knew was the heat of his body, his distinctive taste, the broadness of his chest, the feel of his large hands traveling freely over her, stroking and exploring with growing boldness.
His kiss was hungry, possessive in a way that made her Omega nature sing with satisfaction.She could taste his desire, feel the restraint it was taking him to keep the kiss from becoming something more consuming.
It was a long while before they finally released each other, both breathing hard.When they did, Ryan pressed a brief, claiming kiss to the sensitive spot where her neck met her shoulder, followed by a gentle nip that made her shiver and whimper.
“Welcome home, love,” he murmured against her skin, his words carrying the weight of promise and belonging.
As she stood there, surrounded by their warmth and desire, breathing hard and wanting more than she’d ever allowed herself to long for, she realized this was just the beginning.They’d opened a door that could never be closed now, awakened something in her that had been sleeping for far too long.
For the first time in her adult life, she wasn’t afraid of what that might mean.
Later that evening, as she lay in her bed replaying every moment of the afternoon, she could still taste them on her lips, still smell their combined scent clinging to her skin.Her body hummed with unsatisfied desire, but underneath the physical need was something deeper, a sense of rightness that no amount of rational thought could diminish.
She’d found her pack.Whether she was ready to admit it or not, whether it terrified her or thrilled her, the truth was undeniable.
They were hers, and she was theirs, and everything else was just details to be worked out.
The thought should have sent her into a panic.Instead, it lulled her into the deepest, most peaceful sleep she’d had in years.
8
Lauren woke to warmth: not the artificial heat from heavy blankets or afternoon sunlight streaming through windows, but the real, living warmth that came from being surrounded by those who cared for her, the kind of safety that settled into your bones and made everything else feel possible.
The memories came flooding back fast enough that she had no chance to feel confused about where she was or how she’d gotten there.After sharing her first real kisses with her Alphas the day before, she’d floated through the rest of her schedule in a dreamy haze that had nothing to do with medication and everything to do with the lingering taste of their mouths and the phantom sensation of their hands on her skin.
Yes, she’d returned to work as planned, she was an adult with professional responsibilities, after all, but it was fortunate that she worked remotely, because she had absolutely no idea what she’d actually accomplished during those hours.She could only hope she hadn’t somehow deleted months of research or sent embarrassing emails to colleagues.At the same time, her mind replayed every moment of their afternoon in the conservatory.
After finishing her work for the day, they’d invited her to join them for movie night, and she’d spent the entire evening cuddled between the three of them on the massive sectional sofa in their entertainment room.She’d moved from one set of arms to another like a treasured object being passed between careful hands, and she honestly couldn’t remember which film they’d watched.She’d been far too busy being kissed and eagerly kissing back every inch of skin she could reach.
She’d learned quite a lot during those delicious hours of exploration, mapping the geography of their responses with growing confidence.Tyler enjoyed having his hair played with, but when she’d unconsciously clenched her hand in the fabric of his shirt while he was kissing her neck, she’d nearly found herself flat on her back on the couch cushions.It was only William’s pointed throat-clearing that had made Tyler pull back and murmur against her ear, “You’re lucky we’re not alone right now, Lauren, or we’d be doing significantly more than kissing.My control only extends so far when you make those sexy little sounds.”
He’d given her one more scorching kiss that left her breathless before lifting her from his lap and giving her a gentle nudge in Ryan’s direction.
The rest of the evening had continued along much the same pattern, not that she was complaining in the slightest.Though truthfully, she’d been a frustrated, desperately aroused mess by the time they’d finally called it a night.Still, the education had been invaluable, and, more importantly, addictive.
She’d discovered that Ryan went absolutely wild when she scratched him lightly with her nails, arching into the touch like a cat as his scent spiked with possession and barely controlled hunger.After she’d experimentally dragged her nails down his chest through his shirt, he’d deposited her in William’s lap with a feeling of barely-controlled urgency, his breathing uneven and his eyes dark with want.
William, as it turned out, had incredibly sensitive ears.When she’d innocently traced the shell of his ear with her tongue while he was kissing her collarbone, he’d gone so rigid she’d worried she’d hurt him.He’d practically thrown her back toward Tyler with a muttered curse and a desperate look in his eyes, his scent spiking with something that made her Omega purr with satisfaction.
She hadn’t been able to feel offended by their reactions because by that point in the evening, she’d become as acutely aware of their arousal as she was of her own.The scent of their desire had been intoxicating, feeding her own hunger until she felt drunk on possibility.It had felt as if she touched any of them in precisely the right way, she’d find herself naked and beneath them before she could draw another breath.
In the end, when it had finally been time to retire for the night, they’d asked if she would like to sleep with them.No sex involved, just sleeping together and possibly some more gentle, or not so gentle, kissing.Her response had been to hold out her hand and ask which bedroom they preferred, and that was how she’d ended up here.
Now she lay with her head pillowed on Tyler’s broad shoulder, the soft cotton of his shirt warm against her cheek.She squinted against the gentle morning light filtering through gauze curtains that stirred with a barely perceptible breeze.Ryan was pressed against her other side, his muscular arm wrapped securely around her waist, his chest solid and warm against her back through the thin fabric of her shirt.
William occupied the space on Tyler’s far side, one large hand resting possessively on her hip even in sleep.
Their combined scent enveloped her like a cocoon, and she could feel her Omega biology responding with deep contentment.This was what a pack was supposed to make her feel like: safe, cherished, completely protected.
