Page 76 of Knot All Is Lost: Part 1

The next morning I woke up with all of them wrapped around me in my new bed. It felt like I was sleeping on a cloud which explained why I hadn’t even noticed so many bodies around me. Marius was awake and reading something on his phone that made him scowl. I reached over Spencer’s head to brush my finger through Marius’s hair. He flinched in surprise but a smile quickly followed when he saw it was me.

“Good morning, Princess,” he greeted. “Did you sleep well?”

I nodded and kept my voice low so as not to wake the others. “I slept the sleep of the dead, not sure that I’ve ever slept that soundly in my life.”

“That’s what we like to hear,” Nixon's rough morning voice rumbled from behind me. “Glad to hear the bed meets with your approval, I had them switch it at the last minute when I discovered this bed even existed.”

Wiggling around until I faced Nixon I gave him a peck on the lips trying not to scare him with my morning breath. “Thank you for all of this, I know if I say I don’t deserve it you’ll tell me I’m wrong so I won’t. But just know that I’m a little overwhelmed with gratitude for such an amazing gesture.”

Tugging me close he seared his lips to mine, not at all caring that I hadn’t had a chance to freshen up as his tongue slipped over my lips asking to deepen the kiss. I gave in to the request willingly and a moan escaped as his hands roved over my ass. Another body covered my back pressing his lips to my shoulders making me realize I was naked in this bed with my lovers. That sent a bolt of lust through me and my perfume filled the air at my excitement. I pulled away from the kiss which didn’t slow Nixon down one bit as he moved to kissing my neck.

“Oh fuck,” Bodhi groaned. “Waking up to that is going to take some getting used to. God, I think I’m going to be rock hard all day,” he muttered as he sat up, Oscar grunting his complaint at his movement, having been wrapped around him.

“While I would love to say we could be lazy and have a morning orgy if we want to meet with the other CoF members, then we need to get a move on things,” Marius reminded. “The mornings are slow and they will have time to see us right away.”

That sold it for me and I shoved my growling Alpha away and squirmed out from between Nixon and Spencer. Rafael was already standing and offered me a hand to help me out of the bed. Pressing a quick kiss to his lips I hopped out of the bed and ran to the bathroom. No way was I going to meet the CoF without making sure I looked my best.

Quickly I washed my face, scrunched my hair, applied the most basic of makeup I knew how to use, then headed for the closet. Pulling on my undergarments I selected a simple yet elegant dress and slipped it over my head. Shoes in hand I walked out to find Marius dressed in a dark gray suit waiting for me on my new couch.

“I just need to put my shoes on then I’m ready,” I shared beaming at him. “Do we have time for breakfast or is there a time crunch?”

“No, Bodhi is making you breakfast as we speak,” Marius answered.

His words gave me pause as I went over them in my head. “Did anyone else want breakfast? I realize not everyone likes that meal and many skip it. He didn’t need to cook just for me if no one else was going to eat.”

Marius held out a hand to me, making me frown.

“Please come here, Princess,” Marius requested but his tone told me it wasn’t one I should ignore.

Slowly I walked over and placed my hand in his. He grasped it and pulled me to sit on his lap looking down at me with worried eyes. “What is it?” I asked, now feeling uneasy about the whole situation.

“Since we’ve had you here with us for about a week I’m worried the other Officials will be displeased with us. They would have expected us to come forward right away that we had found you and possibly even put you in a Care Center.” He paused to take a deep breath. “Do you trust me, Cambrie?”

If he’s using my name this must be something incredibly serious to him. Did he believe they would say no?

“Yes, Marius, I trust you,” I answered knowing my words rang true.

For the first time in what seemed like forever—I had people I trusted to look after me.

He leaned in and kissed my forehead. “Thank you for that trust, and I’m going to ask that with this next request you understand it’s for your safety.” I nodded as our gazes met once more. “You aren’t going to come with us, I need you to stay here at home where it’s safe.”

My eyes went wide in shock. “I’m not coming?”

“Please know that I want you to be with us, to announce you to the world as ours, but as one of your Alphas all I can think about is keeping you safe. What would be safest is to have you stay here, in our home, not in the Capitol Building where they might take you from us,” he explained, making my heart sink.

“Why would they take me from you? You’re an Official and allowed to have an Omega,” I challenged, remembering Rafael’s words.

Marius smoothed his hand over my head as he pressed his forehead to mine. “In a perfect world that would be the case, but this world is far from perfection. Darkness lurks at every turn and I won’t put you in harm’s way.”

“Okay,” I answered meekly, knowing I wasn’t going to win this argument. “If you tell me this is what’s best, then I trust you.”

“Thank you,” he whispered, kissing all over my face. “My perfect little Princess, I won’t let them take you from us, you are ours. Never forget that.”

“I won’t because you’re mine too,” I stated, slamming my lips to his in a fierce kiss.

Marius chuckled as he set me on my feet and we walked hand in hand down to the kitchen. Bodhi had food already set for me. Oscar was writing out something with single minded intensity.

“Pancakes, my lady, but this time I made them with blueberries,” Bodhi shared. “Also a meal you didn’t need a knife for because Nixon never would have allowed it,” he teased the Alpha, who glared at him.

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