Page 25 of The Honor of Being Hers
“I haven’t even spent time alone with Kyle, or anything.”She whispered, her shoulders high and her eyes were staring at the ground.
“I haven’t met his pack.It’s not like that.”She continued defensively.
“He feels sorry for me because I don’t have anyone to help me deal with my family.”
“Samantha,” Tyler interjected softly, “you don’t—”
“No, let me continue, please?”
Tyler closed his mouth as he watched with obvious concern.A look and feeling that was shared with everyone else in the group.
“I know the way my family treats me is wrong, I know that they’re not trying to help me.The opposite, in fact.”She cast a fierce look around after those words.
“When I finally managed to move out last year, it was because of Kyle.He helped me find a therapist a year earlier, and together they helped me form a plan to move into my own place.”
Justin looked horrified.He crawled over towards her and wrapped her in a hug, “I’m sorry, honey, I didn’t mean to hurt you with my words.”
Samantha finally smiled again as some of the tension left her frame.“I know, you’d fight off an army of Orcs and ruin that day’s fabulous outfit before hurting any of us deliberately.”
“Glad to know, you realize I’d look fabulous doing so.”Justin joked back.
“The truth is that my parents are not accepting the fact that I’ve moved out, nor that I intend to continue my education after all these years.Kyle calls me regularly, because to make sure I don’t fall back into their web, I set up an alert that notifies him each time someone in my family calls or messages me.”
William smiled, “I’m proud of you little omega.”
“So am I,” Ryan added, as the rest also affirmed their approval.
Later, when the tension had completely faded away, they ate slowly, the way people do when they're too comfortable to care how long it takes.No one pressed conversation, and Lauren found herself stretching out beside Tyler, her head tipped back onto his thigh.The denim was soft and warm beneath her cheek, and she could feel the steady strength of his leg supporting her.William pressed the arch of her bare foot into his palm, massaging absentmindedly, his callused fingers working magic on muscles she hadn't realized were tense.Ryan eventually sat down behind her, close but not touching, until his knee brushed her shoulder and she leaned into it without thinking.
For a long time, they said nothing, just shared the air and salt wind and the warmth of soft food and soft skin.
She didn't realize how watched she'd felt—in general, in life—until she did not anymore.That realization caused the tension to bleed from her shoulders.
Her body wasn’t alert anymore.Her scent wasn’t tight with control.She just… existed.Lying on the grass with three Alphas who had touched her, kissed her, undressed her, and were still content to sit with her in silence while the sea kept rhythm with her breath.
Someone walked past them along the higher path, a couple holding hands.The woman glanced down once, and Lauren didn’t miss the way her eyes lingered on the shape of the three men, the tangle of their proximity, the stillness of Lauren’s body nestled between them.The look wasn’t one of judgment.On the other hand, it wasn’t one that did not notice them, either.
Lauren didn’t move.
Didn’t sit up or scoot to the side.
She pressed her back more firmly into Ryan’s knee, curled her toes where William’s hand cradled them, and reached back to thread her fingers with Tyler’s where his hand rested on the blanket.
She wasn’t ashamed or afraid.
Later, as the sun dipped lower and the air cooled, her friends said goodbye, and as she was sitting upright, watching them leave, she found herself looking between all three of them.They were watching her already, which no longer surprised her.When everyone was gone, she stood slowly and moved to the center of their small circle.
"I want to try something," she said, voice steady despite the heat building in her chest.
Tyler was closest, so she went to him first.She settled onto his lap, straddling his thighs, the worn denim rough against her bare legs where her sundress had ridden up.She kissed him, soft at first, then deeper when his hands found her waist.His fingers were long and gentle, spanning her ribcage with careful reverence.His mouth was warm, patient, but when she rocked her hips against him, his control cracked.His grip tightened, pulling her closer, and she could feel him hardening beneath her.He kissed her like he was trying to memorize her mouth, tongue stroking deep until she was grinding against him without shame.
When she pulled back, gasping, William was right there.She shifted to him next, the blanket soft beneath her knees as she moved, and his kiss was different, hungrier from the start.His hands were broader than Tyler's, more callused, and they framed her face with surprising gentleness for their size.His hands framed her face as he took her mouth, then slid down to grip her hips, guiding her movements as she settled over him.She could feel his arousal immediately, thick and hard beneath her, and when she rolled her hips experimentally, he groaned into her mouth and bit her bottom lip.
Finally, she turned to Ryan.He was watching her with dark eyes, his jaw tight with wanting.When she climbed into his lap, he caught her easily, his thighs firm beneath hers, hands going instinctively to her hips.She leaned in, and he met her halfway.
The kiss started slow, unhurried, mouths brushing, breath shared.She could taste the sweetness of the strawberries they’d eaten on his lips, could feel the slight roughness of afternoon stubble against her chin.The ocean breeze stirred her hair, carrying the scent of salt and something wild.
When his hands tightened, she opened for him; and when his tongue stroked hers, she moaned.And when he shifted his hips just slightly, aligning the hard line of his cock under her core, she rocked forward without thinking.The friction sent heat spiraling through her, and she could feel the dampness gathering between her thighs, soaking through the thin fabric of her underwear to where she pressed against his thigh.
