Page 79 of Down Knot Out
“Yes!” The word trails behind her as she races into my closet.
When I join her, I find her standing in front of the long hanging-rod filled with my onesies. “You have more costumes?”
I join her and lift a sleeve. “I do.”
She bounces on her toes. “You should wear one of these!”
“You think so?”
“Yes!” Her whole face lights up like it’s Christmas. “Can I wear one, too?”
“Of course,” I say without hesitation.
I pull out my frog onesie and hand it to her for inspection. She giggles at the floppy eyeballs on the hood, then spots a different onesie she likes even better.
“What about this one?” she asks, tugging out the cow onesie, which still has the tag on from when Grady gifted it to me.
It’s three times her size, with the padded pink udder dragging at the front of the outfit.
“That one might eat you alive,” I warn.
She hugs it to her chest. “I love it!”
“Okay, but I warned you!” I kneel and help her into it, rolling up the legs and sleeves until she resembles a sleepy baby calf, the udder almost dragging on the ground. She squeezes the danglingparts and giggles with delight, much as I had when Grady gave it to me.
“These are the outfits I wear when I need comfort,” I tell her, taking off the dress suit to hang up and slipping into the frog onesie. “They remind me I don’t have to be brave all the time.”
Quinn’s expression turns serious, as if I entrusted her with a big secret. “Me, too. It’s safe here.”
My heart squeezes, full and aching all at once. “Good.”
We go into the bathroom, where I do my best to wash off all the makeup. Quinn copies me, patting her own face with one of the fluffy lavender towels. She looks adorable, and I braid her hair, then pull up her hood and tweak her cow ears.
She does the same for me, giggling at the frog eyes sticking up off the top of my head.
I offer her my hand. “Let’s go show the boys how cute we are.”
She giggles again, and we pad out of the room together, two mismatched animals, but perfectly at home.
When we step out of my room, Dominic is waiting in the hallway, leaning on the opposite wall with his arms crossed. He’s changed into jeans and a soft gray sweater, his black hair loose, hiding theshaved sides of his head and giving him a softer appearance.
He spots us, and a slow smile spreads across his face. “Well, aren’t you two adorable?”
“The most adorable!” Quinn bounces on her toes, and the udders dances.
“So I see.” He pushes off the wall and offers me his arm. “Is this the end of the princess era and the rise of farm-chic?”
“I hope not after you guys just designed her bedroom,” I whisper.
We walk down the hallway together, his arm warm and solid beneath my hand.
The voices of our pack drift from the family room at the end of the hall, Blake’s deep rumble mixing with Nathaniel’s more clipped tones and Holden’s lighter tenor.
My Alphas have arranged themselves on the L-shaped sofa with Holden at one end, his golden-brown curls catching the afternoon light streaming through the windows. The soft green sweater he changed into brings out the hazel in his eyes, though tension still brackets his mouth.
Without hesitation, I release Dominic and Quinn to beeline for him, climbing into his lap. He lets out a softoomph, but his arms close around me, one hand settling on my hip while the othercomes up to cup the back of my head. The vanilla cake scent of him surrounds me, sweet and comforting.
“Much better,” he murmurs into my hair, his tension easing.
