Page 44 of I Replaced His Husband
But I had zero patience for his hang-ups right now, so I snorted.
"We do, Adam. It’s betas who don’t get what they’re talking about. Omegas are everything to us. We feel them, we crave them, we chase them. Even the first day I saw his messed-up nest, it felt like… like someone stabbed me in the chest. We're wired to protect, Adam. We want our omegas safe, healthy, happy. Not tearing their own nests apart. We sustain the circle of life…" I cut myself off. Too much.
Yep. Things were getting a little too heated. I realized I’d moved in close, towering over him like I was trying to dominate.
His eyes widened slightly, with an instinctive flicker of submission. I backed off quickly and let out a breath. It was dumb. We were both worked up, but in the end, we wanted the same thing: for Kay to be okay.
Adam's brow furrowed. He was silent for a while, breathing deeply like he wanted to vent some of the pent-up energy.
"So. You feel that strongly, huh? Then talk to him, Rain. Ask him about the nest, suggest therapy. Be the alpha protector you made yourself out to be in front of the Sanderses."
Obviously, we were both unnecessarily on edge. I made an effort to calm down, glancing toward the garden as my emotions started to settle. With all these good intentions and built-up frustration, I still had no way to help Kay without stepping into territory our society had deemed off-limits.
I met Adam's eyes again. He looked as helpless as I did. I could tell his sarcasm came from feeling powerless. As a beta, he had even fewer options to reach Kay than I did, and that had to eat at him.
"Well? What’s your answer, oh mighty soon-to-be savior of omegas with nesting issues?" He narrowed his eyes.
"Don’t mock me, Adam. We don’t need to be fighting each other right now."
"Then stop acting like you're about to punch a wall, Rain."
"What’s going on, guys?"
Marco’s voice echoed from the doorway, making both of us flinch. Adam cleared his throat quickly.
"Just having a little debate about something that’s been bugging us."
"I can tell. You look like you just challenged an alpha, bro. That never ends well," Marco said with a chuckle.
"I can’t out-bulk him, but I can outthink him. And I challenged him to convince Kay to go to therapy."
"Oh boy. That again? Rain, we’ve already been down that road. He’s stubborn as hell."
"He needs it, Marco. The nesting thing."
Marco’s expression shifted. He didn’t answer. He looked like he’d rather be anywhere else.
We all went quiet.
Thenestingthing.
Our shared problem that none of us knew how to fix.
KAY
The next three days were quiet and peaceful.
Rain did his best to respect my repeated request not to chit-chat, but with every passing hour, it started to feel more and more ridiculous. There were moments when I wanted to say something but held myself back, and it felt awkward and unnatural.
The only moments when there was anything resembling a longer conversation between us were during Rain’s dirty talk.
Honestly, there were times when I even looked forward to it; it was usually cringey, like one-liners from old porn movies, but somehow it became my own innocent form of entertainment.
What I also did notice was that the half-hour of cuddling I’d promised him sometimes mysteriously stretched longer. And I wasn’t exactly in a hurry to stop it. Maybe I should’ve been. But honestly, I liked the easy, addictive escape I found in his arms.
Rain usually lay beside me, while I was on my back, staring at the ceiling, and his lips would often land on my glands, kissing them even after we were done having sex. His fixation with themwas unusual, but I didn’t stop him. Something inside me needed to feel his lips there.
That particular afternoon, I went for a swim.
