Page 70 of Riley's Storm

He nodded, a sheepish grin on his face. “Fuck, I love you, firefly.”

“You better.”

Victor snorted and rubbed his hand over Ryan’s back in comfort. “I hate to break this up, but I think we all need to take a nap. We are in that room right there next to yours. Can we all get dinner together later tonight?”

“Yes, of course. But we don’t need to stay here, wasting more of your money. We will head home.”

Declan cleared his throat. “Well, um, we haven’t had the chance to clean up yet. We don’t want you having to sleep there. We have both suites rented because we weren’t sure what our sleeping arrangements would be when we got here. We were going to stay in this room and the girls, that one, if they wanted. But right now, I think we all need to be together. So please, stay, enjoy the room for another night or two.”

“Well, if you’re sure . . .”

“Positive,” Victor asserted.

“Okay, then we will see you tonight for dinner.” Riley’s dad leaned over, giving her a hug. “Riles, if you need us, we are right next door.”

“I know,” she told them. “Oh, actually. Can I come ask you both something really quickly?”

“Of course!”

Riley moved to go with her parents, but I was still clinging to her hand. She looked down at where we were touching and smiled softly. She pressed a kiss to my forehead and whispered into my ear, “I’ll be right back. I promise. I won’t disappear again.”

With my heart in my throat, I released her hand and watched her walk off into her parents’ suite, Dell coming up behind them. The second the door closed behind them, I felt my anxiety ratchet up. I hated this. It was happening far too often: her being away from me. She needed to be here, next to me, forever.

“How are you holding up, hurricane?” Victor asked, sensing my mood shift.

“We almost lost her. I almost lost her. I just found her and—” I broke off in a sob.

“Oh, hurricane, our precious, precious girl. Come here.”

He gathered me into his arms, lifting me up so I could wrap myself around him. Declan came up behind me, pressing into my back and burying his face in my hair. Ryan wrapped his arms around all three of us from the side. This was nice, even though one of us was still missing.

“I’m sorry we haven’t been checking on you, hurricane. You needed us too.”

“Riley was more important.”

“No. Riley is important, yes. But no more or less than you, or Ryan, or us. We are all a piece of this pack and if one of us is hurting, then we all are. We should have been looking after both of you. You and she are bonded, and today must have been so incredibly hard on you. We are so proud of you, Storm. You are so strong.”

Hearing those kind words filled me with pleasure. He really knew how to make me feel better. It didn’t hurt that he smelled so damn good either. I rubbed the bridge of my nose along the gland on his neck, adding my scent to the ones already there. This man belonged to me, bond or not, and I wanted everyone to know it. Twisting in his hold, I did the same to Declan and Ryan. No one was ever going to take a member of my pack from me again.

I’d kill anyone that tried.

I heard the door to Riley’s parents’ room open, and then she was hurrying back to our side. Seeing the impromptu cuddle session, she quickly followed Ryan’s lead and hugged all of us from my other side. She buried her face in my side and pressed a kiss there. I reached out and brushed my hand over her hair.

Her gorgeous violet eyes looked up and met my own. “I want us all to bond. Now.”

Chapter47

Riley

My announcement was met with silence. Storm’s gaze held mine and I felt a zing through our bond, relaying how pleased she was with the idea. We needed this extra layer of security, the guarantee that they wanted us and we were theirs forever.

“Let’s go into our suite. We can talk there, petal,” Victor said.

Fuck. Did that mean they weren’t on board? Victor released Storm from his arms and as soon as her feet hit the floor, she grabbed onto my hand again, rubbing her fingertips over my bond mark from her. Declan led the way to the room, using the keycard Dell must have given him to open the door.

We walked in, anxiety gripping my heart, and I stopped dead in my tracks. Holy. Shit. This “room” was bigger than my entire house. It was set up in a circle, with the center of it being a living room/kitchenette space. Around the edges were several doors that were standing open to reveal multiple bedrooms and bathrooms.

My jaw dropped open as I took it all in. To think that such opulence was so close to where I had grown up was astounding. Storm, Declan, and Victor had walked into the room and were taking seats on the large sofa by the floor-to-ceiling windows.

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