Chapter 22

Chapter

Twenty-Two

Iwas the center of an omega sandwich,andIcouldn'thelp myself.I was getting used to it for the past week I spent sleeping in my nest more than the guest room I had been in– or not my nest.The nest.

I really shouldn't be getting used to it. So used to it.

The idea sounded a lot dirtier in my headhoweverthan I was expecting it to.An image floated through my mind, hot and soft andso, so good.

We could all be in the nest here, scents mixing. There would be comfy things all around meandmostimportantlywe'dstill be right here, only naked. Cal was at my back, heat pressing into my corewhileDemetri snuggled close with his arms wrapped around me.

I wiggled, feeling the heat of their breath tickling my skin as they shifted, molding around me.

A moan sounded before I realized it came from me.

There was an inhale before someone gently shushed me, pressing their lips against the spacerightunder my jaw. I never knew thatsomeone could be kissedthere. But my, did it feel amazing?

I arched, opening my eyes as my hand reached forward to run through a cropped cut of dark hair.Chocolate and sweet spices floated up surrounding me whenamomentagoall I could smell was cream and berries.

That was me, I was starting to realize.

That was my perfume.

I guess itdidn'tmatter. At this point, Icouldn'tcare less if the broad-shouldered man kept touching me like that. His fingers dug into my hips and held me against him. He was hard wherever I squirmed, and my insides turned to mush."Mm, Alpha."

"Omega,"Demetri groaned back as his hands traveled under my shirt towards my chest.

"Demetri," Cal said, gently pushing at his chest. "Demetri if you keep going, you"re going to slip into a rut."

At the words, Demetri blinked, pausing his ravaging of my neck."What?"

I gripped his shirt, wanting to pull him back to me.

"You need to calm down.Sheis having a practice heat again."

Heat.This wasn't real heat?

It sure felt real.

"Youdon'twantto accidentally bite her."A gentle kiss landed on the back of my neck with the words."We got you, Els."

I shivered into their hands.

But… a rut.

Bonding.

The heataliveandpulsingshuddered back into icy coolness as I opened my eyesfullto face Demetri, both of our chests heaving towards each other. The practice heat may have already cooled, but it would only be so long until the real thing happened.

Wasn't it?

I took a deep breathandso did Demetri in front of me. It was Demetri. Analpha. Yet I stillwasn'tscared. When did that happen?

I licked my lips.

"Are you okay?"Demetri asked. His eyes remained closed as he spoke to control himself, yet he stilldidn'tlet go of me.

"Uh-huh,"I assured him, though I was pretty sure my underwear was now a mess of… slick.That'swhat was making me so wet,wasn'tit?Because omegas produced slick?

I felt so stupid how unprepared and uneducated I was aboutall ofthis.

"That was… a lot."

I swallowed, nodding. "I'm sorry."

He chuckled. "Don't be. Be aware though, omega. I'll never let you suffer."

That sounded like another promise.

Blinking, Demetri seemed to quickly fall out of whatever trance he was under. I never expected those words to come out of his mouth, but now… I felt hot all over again.

Cal groaned and fell back into the mattress behind me from where hemust'vesat up to oversee whatever just happened."Ugh. That was hot."

Demetri reached for one of the few pillows and tossed it at him.

"What time is it?"I asked.

Rolling onto his back, Demetri pulled out his armin front of himto look at his watch."Almost seven."

"Pack dinner is tonight, isn't it?" Cal asked, stretching.

Demetri nodded.

"Pack dinner?" I asked.

I stilldidn'twant to move too much. Though the practice heat or whatever we wanted to call it was over, I still felt a little delicate, like I would scream if anyone moved too quickly away from me.

Luckily, everyone seemed to take on the same languid pace as we gotourselvesback together.

By the timeI sat up with everyone, fixing my shirt to cover my stomach from where itwas pushed up, sending a blush to my cheeks, I felt relatively back to normal.

"Ineed to check on some things since I left the office early,"said Demetri, pausing as he leaned back toward me. His hand cupped my cheek to lift my gaze from where his one knee remained inside my nest.

Thenest. Not my nest.

"Are you all right?"

I nodded.

"Words please."

"Yes," I stammered, surprised by the request. "I'm all right."

"Okay."Demetri gave Cal a look before standing up."I'llsee you two downstairs in a bit."

We both watched as Demetri headed towards the door and back downstairs. Then Cal turned towards me."How are you?"

"What?"

He cocked his head to the side."I find you cuddled up to alpha"all-business"and then you almost just got yourself a one-way ticket to being knotted in your nest."

My nest. My omega wanted to purr.

"Not my nest."Though the rest was an accurate depiction that made my cheeks heat even further, Iwasn'tsure what he was getting at.

"Sure sure," said Cal. "Are you doing okay with everything?"

"Yes, I'm fine. I just said," I wanted to snap at his unsure face.

Cal reached for my hand."Seriously? Come on now, Ella.You'refreaking out."

He waited for a beat.

"Only a little," I admitted. "My omega is being weird and I don't like it."

His brow creased. "Weird?"

"Yes,"I said."Likeit'slonelyandthenit"sall whiny and needyandsometimes I feel like I just want to cry about everything because nothing is rightandthenweirdlyit'slike everything is perfect when you guys are aroundwhichmakes no sense considering just about everything which then makes my omega turn into some sort of horny monster."

By the end of my tirade,Cal'slips were pressed togethertightly.

"You're laughing at me."

"I'm not."

"You areandI can only imagine thatI'mnot the girl you wanted to go out with anymoreall ofa few weeks ago now thatI'man omega-zilla."

"You sound just like any other omega, beautiful."

"You have to be lying."

"I'mnot. Have you never been around another omega before?"heasked.

"Imean, I met that one when Liam came to get me from the library."

"With the Wolferns?"

I nodded.

"That's it?"

"Back home…" I started before pausing. "Back home there weren't a lot of omegas and when there were, well, they didn't exactly show them off outside often."

Cal's humorous expression locked down, squeezing my hand. "We're going to talk about that sometime, but I promise you, Ella, your reactions right now are normal. You're omega is seeing the world for the first time and it's good that you're comfortable. I'm glad."

Thiscould not be normal.

"You are fine."

"Even when I randomly wake up and want to climb you all like a tree?"

His eyes widened with delight at that statement."Especially then."

I rolled my eyes.

"Want to get a shower?"

If thatwasn'tan invitation….I blinked, thinking about us both in the shower together. Sudsy and soaking where I could see Cal completely, finally…QuicklyIshook my head and forced myself back out of my suddenlyveryoveractive imagination."I'mgood."

Cal chuckled. He could see right through me."You know whereI'llbe if you change your mind."

"In the shower."

He grinned, pointing at me to remember."In the shower. If not,I'llsee you downstairs to eat."