Page 103 of Nicky and the Night Owls, Part One

“You’re doing so well,” she soothed. “Deep breaths.”

The tension in my foot released with apop,and I melted against the hot tub, head resting on the edge.

“Better?” she asked.

I nodded weakly and resumed my valiant struggle when she scooped up my other foot to give it the same treatment. I jumped when Gabe kissed my cheek.

“Am I interrupting?”

Hana hit the magic spot in that foot too, and the tension drained with a pitifully loud groan out of me.

“Nope,” Hana said cheerfully. “Climb on in. I bet Nicky's shoulders could use some attention.”

He slid into the water next to me, briefly leaning across the hot tub to kiss Hana before gathering me into his lap. “I’m impressed. The first time Hana dug the knots out of my feet I almost cried. I did feel like I was walking on clouds afterward, though.”

A near hysterical giggle slipped free when Hana moved those viciously strong hands to my calves.

Gabe chuckled in my ear, soothing his hands over my shoulders and arms, sliding up to find the ever persistent knot at the base of my skull.

“Someone's a little tense,” he murmured.

I melted helplessly between them, surrendering to their expertise, my knots and muscles no match for them. The sun crept its way into the backyard as we sat there in the bubbling hot water, and it was only when it got to the point that it started to spear my eyeballs that we decided to end our soak. Every inch of me felt like jelly barely holding itself together.

Hana's hand snaked through the water until it sat just above my knee. “You should get some sleep.”

“Where?” I mumbled.

I didn’t want to bother anyone that was already asleep, and, if there was a guest room in the pack house, I wasn’t privy to its location.

“That depends on if you want to sleep alone or with someone, and with who,” she replied.

It was unfairly hard to think between my mental exhaustion from my shift and my physical exhaustion from the hike followed by the warm—and painful—bliss of the hot tub.

“Just put me anywhere and I’ll pass out.”

“Why don’t we all get showered and we can bunk down in my room,” offered Gabe.

Some worried little part of the back of my brain flared to life at the thought of sharing a bed with Hana. I was equal parts nervous and interested in the quiet intimacy of sleep near her.

I nodded sleepily.

“Do you want me to carry you again?” Gabe asked.

“Let me see how strong my legs are first.”

I made it up exactly one flight of stairs, my body deciding that was enough for today. This house was far too tall for post-workout soreness. I thought Gabe might scoop me up, but Hana lifted me first. There was a whole lot of skin-to-skin contact with us in bikinis, and, while it did set a quiet fire beneath my skin, I had no energy to do anything about it.

I was vaguely conscious through a quick shower, managing a shamefully messy French braid before I tumbled into the bed wearing a tank top and boxer briefs borrowed from Gabe's wardrobe.

Hours later I awoke in a fog, sandwiched between the two alphas. Hana's legs tangled with mine, her shorty pajamas leaving almost as much skin exposed as her bikini. One of my arms had fallen asleep, and, now that I was awake, the tingly sensation was impossible to ignore. I wriggled like a caterpillar between them until their sleeping forms shifted enough for me to roll over.

I was getting way too comfortable sleeping surrounded by people. My own bed was going to start feeling like a deserted island, where I was left to drift without the warmth and weight of other bodies to anchor me.

Oh well.

That was a problem for a future Nicky.

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