Page 31 of Finding the Forward: Part Two
Not terrible? It was difficult not to snort. Those two texteda lot.Was AJ in love with her? I mean, he did just say he’d have her babies. I loved how he’d gone from hating Verity to wanting a life with her.
We talked for a while longer, trying to work out as much as we could at this time of night.
“You want to go to bed, Boo-Boo?” AJ murmured, stroking the back of his neck.
I could smell the anxiousness in Grif’s scent, feel it in our bond. My dearest husband desperately needed to go to bed–but not with AJ.
Not yet.
“Firstsies.” I grinned and tugged on his hand as I stood. “You’re mine, Gumdrop. The alphas can wait.” Not only did I want my husband, for once, I was the one who knew exactly what he needed.
“If you insist, Jellybean.” Grabbing me by the collar of my shirt, Grif pulled me to him and gave me a searing kiss. Wisps of my perfume came out as my blockers wore off.
“Oh, I do.” I met his eyes with mine, and tugged on his hand again, sending sheer unbridled lust through the bond.
“Well, then.” With a lusty gleam in his eyes, Grif stood.
AJ waved him off. “You know where I am. Jonas and I should go over some stuff, anyway.”
“AJ, you should call Verity. Her matchmaking grandma wants her to mate with a pack of doctors. She was hiding from her earlier because obviously, that’s not what Verity wants,” Grif told him.
Verity mating with people not us? No. I didn’t like that idea at all, and I growled a little.
“Same, Dean. A pack entirely of doctors? No.” AJ chuckled. “I’ll call her.”
“We’re going to my room tonight.” I pushed Grif into my room. Closing the door behind me, I flipped on the switch that lit my room, which was done mostly in red and orange fairy lights. “Shirt off.”
I stripped mine off and threw it onto the floor. Then I drew the heavy curtains, closing off the magnificent view of the city my corner room offered me.
“You’re in charge tonight, Jellybean?” Grif smirked as he took off his shirt. My bite mark on his pec had faded. Omega bond marks didn’t leave a silvery scar like alpha ones, but the bond itself was still there.
“Yes. Well, for now.” I grinned as I climbed the ladder that led to my loft nest.
“You want me up here with you?” Grif’s voice wavered as he looked up at me.
“Come on.” I waved him up. While he sometimes joined me in my nest, it was mostly up at the cabin. Here, we usually fucked–and snuggled–in his room.
This was my safe spot, my cozy, quiet place. I’d decorated my loft nest in the same reds and oranges as my room, but it wasn’t tall enough to stand in. Pillows, stuffies, blankets, and things stolen from my packmates filled the loft.
As he climbed up the ladder, I pushed the button on the wall that turned off all the lights but the ones up here. I closed the curtain that blocked it off from the rest of the room. Tugging his hand, I pulled him into the nest with me.
We laid down together, nestling under the soft and cozy blankets. Putting my head on his chest, I ran my fingers through his hair and said nothing. No, as I purred, I let the scents of all my favorite people comfort him, along with the cozy glow of the lights.
I watched as the tension drained out of his face, smelled as his scent changed back to normal, and heard his heart rate slow.
For a long while, we laid there, quiet, bodies entwined. It reminded me of all the times we’d done this as kids–or at university–usually in a blanket fort.
At some point, we stopped making blanket forts. I didn’t drag him into a nest with me just for cuddles. We snuggled on the couch or in bed–but that wasn’t the same.
This was exactly what he needed tonight. No matter what he called himself, how often we forgot, deep down, he was an omega, and liked snuggly, safe places. Just like I did.
He sighed deeply and looked over at me with his big green eyes. The ones that tugged at my heart that first day we’d played hockey when he almost cried because he didn’t know he needed his own gear, unlike the league he’d been playing in. Since his parents hadn’t stayed, I’d done what any other small child would do. I took him by the hand, brought him to my mom, and demanded she fix it.
Those eyes that grew wide the first time he came over to my house after practice. His parents were happy that he’d made friends. There was never any jealousy or anger, only a little wistfulness that they couldn’t do it themselves. If anything, they were happy my parents could give him so many opportunities.
I’d shareeverythingwith him.
Those eyes were full of anxiety on the first day of our exclusive prep school, when he’d gotten a ‘scholarship’ so he could attend with me. I’d later learn that most of the scholarships Grif got to attend school and camps with me or to cover his hockey fees were actually my parents, knowing we needed to stay together.
