Page 112 of Laurels and Liquor

Lucas bites a little harder, making me yelp, but he soothes away the hurt with his tongue. But at the sound of my momentary distress, Lex and Mateo both bolt upright, looking down at me in alarm. Seeing me laughing relaxes them, and I manage to untangle one of my hands and extend it in their direction. Lex doesn’t hesitate, interlacing her fingers with mine as she shifts up toward my head. Mateo follows her, spooning her from behind and draping one arm over her waist to play with my hair.

“How are you feeling, sweetness?” Lex asks tenderly, bringing my hand up to her lips and kissing the back of it.

“Good,” I sigh, relaxing into my pillows.

And I smile to myself as I realize it’s true. I’m sore, and sort of a mess, but I feel… good. Unburdened. Light. Free.

“I’m glad. You did a very brave thing, letting us force your heat like that,” Lex replies, tone turning serious.

I look up and find her staring at me, searching for something in my face. Our bond hums with low-level anxiety, like she’s waiting for me to come to my senses or something. But I send her reassuring waves, watching her relax into Mateo as she realizes I’m not about to have a breakdown.

“I couldn’t have done it without you, without all of you,” I say, shifting my gaze to each member of my pack in turn. The sun peeking through the windows warms the air around us, and I drift away, watching the dust motes dance in the beams. We’re all quiet, but it’s a peaceful silence. There’s no pressure to fill the air. We’re content to be here, together as a pack. But of course, it can’t last forever. A phone going off makes me jump, and Lucas sits up, still half asleep, but fists raised all the same.

“Come say that to my face, you pencil-dick twat waffle,” Lucas grumbles, swaying slightly.

I chuckle and reach up, putting a hand on one of his fists. “Stand down, soldier. It’s just a phone,” I say through my giggles.

“I’ll phone you,” Lucas says, yawning and flopping on top of me, already asleep again.

The device beeps again, and Lex sighs. “I think it’s mine,” she says, stretching and groaning.

She starts to get up, but Mateo growls, wrapping his arms around her to pin her to his chest. She lets out a huff of protest, but he doesn’t relent, even as she starts to squirm.

“Leave it,” Mateo says, voice muffled slightly.

“It could be Gideon,” she returns irritably.

“Even more of a reason not to answer. That trumped-up asshole can learn some fucking patience.”

“Or it could be Caleb—”

“He would know better than to call until we’ve given him the all-clear.”

“Or the police—”

“Why? No one called them.”

“Mateo, seriously—”

“Shut the fuck up and stop moving. I’m trying to sleep,” Mateo growls.

Rhett and I chuckle, and I can hear them bicker and struggle, though I’m pinned down by Lucas’s snoring form. A moment later, Mateo curses and Lex cackles in triumph before she manages to extract herself from his embrace. She goes to leave my nest, and my heart jumps into my throat with sudden anxiety. Too far, she’s too far.

“Lydia?” she asks, whipping back around to look at me.

“Please don’t go,” I say, extricating one of my hands to reach for her.

She pauses, looking out toward the door for a moment, and I pull ever so gently on our bond, too afraid of snapping it again. I prepare myself for the rejection, but she sighs and turns back with a smile.

“It can wait,” she says at last.

My smile could power the whole city as she settles back down on Lucas’s other side, lacing her fingers through mine over his hip. Rhett smiles against my head, and the mattress shifts as Mateo scoots over to spoon Lex from behind.

“Oh, I see how it is. I ask you not to get up, and I get an elbow to the diaphragm. But Lydia asks, and it’s all smiles and cuddles. You’re not supposed to play favorites, you know,” Mateo grumbles, and even without seeing his face, I know he’s smiling.

“She said please,” Lex says simply.

They bicker back and forth some more, but I don’t mind. Especially not when Mateo’s hand wraps around my wrist, thumb gently stroking his mating mark, and Lucas shifts to be less on top of me and more holding me with one leg hitched up over mine. Rhett’s arm drapes over me, his fingers resting on Lucas’s thigh.

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