Page 52 of Lavender and Lightning

“It better be the good shit.”

“Done.”

We share a soft laugh as I sit up, and Caleb unfolds to stand. Gabby is sitting on a chair beside me, and I can’t help but lean over and hug her tightly. Her caramel-candy-apple scent fills my nose as I bury my face in her neck for a moment. I don’t know what I ever did to deserve a friend like Gabby.

twenty-two

Mateo

Iheartiresinthe driveway a moment before Rhett does, my head snapping around to watch the front door. Rhett stops halfway through the circuit he’s been pacing for the last half hour, eyes locked on the door as the handle turns. I jump up from the sectional and vault over the back to meet Lydia as she crosses through the open doorway from the foyer to the living room. She’s dressed in her ill-fitting event uniform, but there’s a weariness to the slump of her shoulders that tugs at my heart.

“Come here, baby girl,” I coo softly, pulling her into my arms.

She only whimpers, nuzzling her face into my chest, one of her hands bunching my shirt into her fist. I rub gentle strokes up and down her back, kissing the top of her head softly. Lex didn’t provide any specifics of what happened, but it didn’t take a genius to guess that it had something to do with Seth.

“What do you need, love?” Rhett asks seriously, stepping close to encircle her between us.

“Just… this. I just need you like this,” Lydia says, her voice so small.

I look up and catch Rhett’s concerned glance. We share a moment of silent conversation, agreeing without words not to push for details right now. I nod in the direction of the stairs, and he dips his chin in understanding.

“Let’s get you somewhere more comfortable, yeah? My bed should be big enough for all of us,” he suggests.

Lydia looks up suddenly, turning to face him. “Your room? I thought…”

Rhett shakes his head and gives her a kind smile. “I’m sorry I didn’t say anything sooner, love, but you’re always welcome in my room. As stupid as this seems, I never thought to tell you because, well… closed doors are more a suggestion than a deterrent in my family.”

I snort a laugh, smiling to myself. He’s got that right. After I moved in, it’d taken me a while to get used to the Nolan girls and their liberal interpretation of privacy.

“Growing up, if my sisters wanted to come into my room, they just did. I tried to ask them to at least knock, but that only resulted in them knocking on the door as they were opening it, at the same time shouting, “I’m coming in now!” I sort of gave up and just accepted my fate. My door doesn’t even have a lock on it, so if you want to go in, regardless of if I’m home, you are always welcome there,” Rhett explains.

“Ditto for me, baby. This is your house, too,” I add, snuggling a little closer.

Lydia hums contentedly and sighs. “If we’re saying things for the record, I um… I wouldn’t mind if y’all wanted to sleep in my nest with me. It’s… pretty big and empty all by myself,” she mumbles, picking her words with care.

Rhett leans in and kisses her forehead. “We can do that for you, love. Let’s go have a lie down,” he whispers gently.

Lydia nods wearily and lets us guide her down the stairs and into her room. I breathe a deep lungful of her lilac and lavender scent that floods over me as the door swings open, my lips pulling up in a little unconscious smile. I love the way her scent calls to my soul, soothing and exciting me in equal measure. Rhett nudges the door closed with a foot once he and Lydia are inside, and I step back to give them a little bit of space. She silently acquiesces to Rhett’s undressing, both of them stripping down until he’s in his boxers, and she’s only wearing panties, a bra, and the t-shirt Rhett had just removed from himself and slipped right onto her.

Watching them move together is like music in motion for me. There is enough familiarity that they don’t need to speak, a push and pull, call and response that’s soul deep. His fingers trail over her skin, and she shivers, so acutely aware of his touch. Even when they aren’t trying to be, the depth of their sensuality makes my cock twitch in my jeans.

“Are you waiting for a special invitation or something?” Lydia teases with a little giggle.

I blink and shake my head, realizing that they’ve moved to lie on the massive bed. Rhett smirks at me, his knowing look lost on Lydia as she settles with her back to his front. I scramble to remove my jeans and shirt, leaping into bed when I’m down to just my boxers. I move in close, my face inches from Lydia’s. I stretch out my arm, letting both of them use it as a pillow. Rhett’s hand splays over Lydia’s hip, pulling her back until he can hitch a leg over her calves. We shift until we’re all relatively comfortable, though I would sleep on a bed of nails if it meant being close to Lydia.

“What happened tonight?” Rhett asks, barely above a whisper.

Lydia’s face falls and she sighs. “Nothing, really. Some of Seth’s cult members recognized me and tried to start something. Caleb stepped in when things escalated.”

“That’s not nothing,” I reply seriously, heart sinking.

Once again, Lydia is getting caught in the crossfire of my stupid mistakes. We’d submitted Jason’s statement to the court, but they threw it out as hearsay. Ted is fighting the ruling, but it doesn’t look like anything will come of it. Every time we think we’re close to getting Seth to pay for his behavior, we get dragged back to square one. But in the meantime, Lydia has to endure harassment.

Lydia’s hand on my cheek draws my attention back to her. Her emerald eyes are clouded with concern, and for a moment, I forget to breathe. In the soft light filtering through the frosted windows, her hair shines gold, and her skin practically glows. My omega is radiant.

“It’s not your fault, Matty. People are just awful sometimes,” she whispers, tracing the ridge of my cheekbone.

“I know, but…”

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