Chapter Thirty-Four

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

Now Playing: Take Aim- Sleep Token

Titan’s spicy pepper and leather scent mingles with Omen’s floral notes when he enters the kitchen. I can’t stop myself from scanning his chest and neck, enviously searching for another bond. My breath of relief is short-lived when he reaches to open the fridge and I spy the red outline of her mark.

Jealousy sparks wildly in my chest, a raging inferno I struggle to contain. Every day she isn’t in my arms, it gets harder to contain the incessant urge to sink my teeth inside of her again. The distance she is putting between us is straining our bond, and it’s driving my alpha instincts crazy.

One of his large palms lands on my shoulder, squeezing tightly. “She’s still trying to work through everything,” he reminds me. “Just try to be patient, she’ll come to you when she’s ready to accept the bond between you.”

A task that is easier said than done.

“Anyway, I had an idea I wanted to run by you. Another way we could make things up to her. Or two ways, really.” He leans against the counter, snatching a muffin from the platter in the center.

“I’m listening.”

After two days at the studio finalizing songs for the new album, I made sure we were off today to celebrate Nexus’ birthday.

Sneaking upstairs, I carefully nudge Omen awake. She blinks wearily but pulls herself from beneath Nexus and Titan’s arms. I hand her one of my shirts and a pair of leggings, both lighter in color since our plans for the day may involve getting messy.

“I was hoping you would be up for helping me make Nexus’ birthday cake,” I tell her as soon as we’re out of the nest.

She grins and nods, muttering about needing to pee first. I silently cheer, throwing my fist in the air. A whole morning spent working in the kitchen with my omega sounds amazing, and I’m fucking glad she agreed.

Ten minutes later, we’re standing side by side at the island with all of our supplies spread out in an arc before us. “So what’s the plan?” She turns to peek up at me, one eyebrow raised.

“Neither of us are professional bakers, but I thought we could manage a generic version of this,” I pull out my phone and show her the inspo pic I found. The three-layer, round cake is coated in a white frosting with rainbow colors smeared on the top. “And I thought instead of the usual ‘Happy Birthday’ message we could put one of the smutty book acronyms he likes.”

Omen takes the device, pinching the screen and studying the picture with narrowed eyes. I hold my breath waiting to hear her thoughts. I’ll bake Nex whatever kind of cake she wants, but I figured this one would be easiest for our first kitchen adventure together.

“We can add little rainbow hearts around the edges too,” she finally replies. A grin spreads across her lips as she hands my phone back to me. “Tell me what to do first, chef!”

I pass her one of the giant bowls for our stand mixer, and we start preparing the cake mix. We both quickly agree to make a rich, red velvet batter to add another pop of color.

The kitchen is quiet except for the sounds of us moving and the occasional question. It’s a comfortable silence though, one filled with peace.

We pop the three cakes into the preheated oven and turn to look at our disaster zone. Omen chuckles, glancing down at her flour-covered clothes. “Music?” she asks, peeking at me from the corner of her eye.

I open the music app on my phone and connect to the radio on top of the fridge. I pass it to her, letting her choose what we listen to. One of our popular hits comes on and she bounces on her feet, humming along.

She’s heard several of the songs from our upcoming record, but I have a feeling we’re going to be listening to the entire album in depth after it is released. Our girl truly loves our music.

“What’s next, chef?” she teases. Some of the weight on my chest is lifted by the light-hearted interaction. Titan is right, I need to be patient. I’ll get my turn to complete our bond when she’s ready.

“Well, the cakes still have another 10 minutes in the oven, then they have to cool. Before we start the frosting, I’d like to get the pork roast rubbed and on the smoker out back to slow cook for dinner. Would you like to help, or just watch?”

“I think I’ll watch this part. And eat something. The smell of those cakes is driving my stomach insane!” She laughs, twirling around me to open the fridge. It’s on the tip of my tongue to offer to make her breakfast, but she pulls out one of the Greek yogurts Callisto started ordering and is already sliding onto a stool before I can get the words past my lips. At least they have protein in them too.

“What did you end up getting Nexus?” she asks as I rub a spice mix into the meat.

“One of those page-turners and a stand for his e-reader. Maybe if he uses it, he can stop losing books in the bed.” He’s fallen asleep reading on the nights he isn’t in the nest with Omen, and we’ve had to tear the bed apart to find his book every morning after. Luckily they haven’t been damaged by one of us rolling in our sleep, but it is bound to happen eventually.

“That’s a very sweet, alpha-like gift.”

“How about you? Did you decide what to get him?” I carefully wrap the pork roast in tinfoil to let it sit in the fridge while the smoker heats up.

“Mhmm, I bought him a few books I think he’ll enjoy. And I ordered an enlarged print of one of the pictures I took from your shows. The one of him straddling Callisto on the edge of the stage,” she tells me as I wipe the counter again and rewash my hands.

“He’ll love it. I imagine we’ll want an entire collection of them to hang around the house. You’re a talented photographer, babygirl.”

Omen’s cheeks flush, her head ducking to hide her reaction to my compliment. I mean it though, she’s a badass behind the camera. The way she captures us when we’re on stage… It’s equal parts inspiring and arousing.

The timer on the oven dings, so we jump back into action. I pull the cakes out to cool while she grabs all of the supplies we’ll need for the frosting. With the cakes off to the side, I join her at the island. “Alright, let’s make a big batch of white, then we can separate it to make the colors for the top.”

“Oh! We should make the frosting between layers rainbow colored too!” I grin down at her, swapping out the small bowls for bigger ones to accommodate her request.

I’m enraptured watching as she carefully mixes the color into each bowl. Her lips are pinched tight in concentration, mouth slightly twisted to the side. She’s so fucking precious!

“Perfect!” She exclaims as she sets the final color aside. “What’s next?”

Checking the cakes, they’re cool enough now for us to cut and frost them. She carefully stripes the rainbow array onto the top of each layer, then I coat the entire outside in white. We repeat the process for the top.

“Here,” she says, handing me one of the small bags we are using to pipe her little hearts and the writing on the top. I fill each one with a dollop of all eight colors, then put white in another and set it aside.

Omen leans down to put her first heart on the cake, but she exerts too much pressure on the bag and a large chunk of frosting falls out.

Taking advantage of this wondrous opportunity, I step behind her and press my chest to her back. She stills, taking shallow breaths until my hands wrap around hers and I guide her through the process. Arousal slides down our bond, making a breath of relief slip through my lips.

When she doesn’t ask me to move away, I frame her body with my arms and watch her work over her shoulder. With each added heart, her hands get shakier and her breaths come faster. Sweet sunflower perfume fills the air, muting the scent of the cake. It takes all of my willpower to not spread her out on the granite and devour her for a late breakfast.

“There,” she breathes out, setting the last of the purple into the pile of empty piping bags.

“Only the acronym left to go now,” I whisper, letting my breath puff out against the side of her throat. I’m playing with fire, but damn do I hope my omega lets me feel her burn.

“Right,” she swallows thickly, grabbing the white frosting and carefully leaning back toward the cake. The shift has her ass rubbing against my aching cock and I can’t hold back a groan. Fuck, that feels amazing.

She’s in the zone, taking her time to swipe each letter across the top of the cake. By the time Omen is finished, we’re both heaving for breath and ready to burst. She turns to face me, piping bag still in her hands, and I press my lips to hers silencing any chance of her excusing herself from my kitchen. I’m trying to be patient, but I can only control my instincts for so long.

A whimper slips from her mouth to mine when I crowd her further against the island. I make sure to push the cake further back so we don’t accidentally ruin it, though I’d love a reason to have to repeat this entire process over again.

Honeyed sunflower coats my tongue when I lick into her mouth, letting her feel the clink of my tongue ring when it brushes her teeth. I can’t get enough. Who needs oxygen when they can kiss an omega like Omen?

When my lungs are burning, I pull back far enough for both of us to catch our breath. Omen’s eyes are wide and so dark they shine like emeralds. Her hands grip the counter behind her so tight her knuckles are white from the pressure. A grunt passes through her lips as her head falls back.

She stares up at the ceiling for several heartbeats before locking eyes with me again. “Would it be weird if I asked to lick the rest of this frosting off your cock?”

“Use me any way you please,” I smirk, spreading my hands wide before locking them behind my head. My back hits the opposite counter and I stand before her with my legs spread, ready for her enjoyment.

Her knees hit the hardwood floor with an audible thump. Part of me wants to scold her for hurting herself, but the way her eyes are locked to my dick stops me. She scoots forward, not hesitating before she rips my sweats to the floor.

The feeling of her warm palms skating up my shins and thighs, inching closer to my cock has my knees trembling like a baby deer. I can’t imagine how good it will feel to have her mouth on me.

Lithe fingers wrap around me, thumb brushing over the piercing in my tip. She squeezes tighter with the hand holding me, slowly dragging down toward my knot before pulling back up over the tip. I’m frozen, fingers tugging at my blonde locks to hold myself back from wrapping her black hair in my fist and pushing myself between her lips.

“You smell like vanilla, but do you taste like vanilla?” Her question is mumbled so softly I don’t think she realized she spoke it out loud.

She brings the bag of white frosting up and carefully drizzles it along my cock. It hits the floor, sending dots up the cabinets, and then heaven descends upon me. Warm, wet heat envelops my aching length.

My eyes are glued to where Omen’s lips are stretched around me, her eyes rolling back into her head as she tastes my pre-cum mixed with the vanilla buttercream. She’s ravenous, bobbing her head in quick jerks. I nearly lose my balance when she grips my knot, kneading the swollen flesh in time with each bob.

“Fuck, babygirl, look at you.” I drop one hand to brush the hair falling from her ponytail away from her face. “Such a good girl, swallowing your Alpha’s cock. You can take more. Relax your throat and let me in.”

Watery green eyes glance up, drawing me in with their intensity. I grip her head a little tighter, silently offering to take control. When she nods slightly, I praise her again. She gags a little when I start to slip into her throat, but she swallows against the feeling and I slide the rest of the way in.

“That’s it. Such a good fucking girl, little Omega. Tap my leg three times if you need a break.”

I pull out, letting her take a deep breath before I press back in. My knot brushes against her lips with each thrust. Pleasure burns down my spine, building in my balls until I can’t hold back. One, two, three thrusts, and I’m coming.

She moans, her body shuddering as she swallows me down. Fucking hell, she’s orgasming too. We sink to the floor, and I pull her into my arms. I’m certainly not letting her walk away now.

“Well, isn’t this quite the vision to wake up to?” Nexus drawls. He’s peering down at us from the other side of the island, a smirk on his face and heat in his eyes.

“Did you get cum on the counters or is that frosting?” Callisto asks from the side.

Omen and I both burst into a fit of giggles when we realize we landed on the bag and it now exploded all over the floor. “I guess we have another mess to clean up, babygirl.”

Callisto helps her to her feet, his dual toned eyes meeting mine. He can already feel my joy in our bond, but I offer him a smile anyway. “I was thinking we could head out and enjoy the pool while Nebula smokes the roast?”

“Hell yeah!” Nexus cheers. “Let’s go for a dip, gorgeous, no swimsuit required!” He throws her an exaggerated wink, making her laugh again. She shakes her head, denying the chance to skinny dip. Nex pouts, but doesn’t argue with her. Seeing her in a tiny bikini will be enough to have him sporting a hard-on all afternoon.

After the rest of the mess is clean and the cake is stored in the fridge for later, I head out to the patio to put the meat in the smoker. I also double-check to make sure the heater is turned on in the pool. It’s chilly enough outside to warrant heated water. Maybe later we’ll head down to the beach and have a bonfire. I think we have all the stuff for s’mores in the kitchen.

The rest of my mates come out a few minutes later, beach towels in hand. They are quick to drop them on lounger chairs and dive into the water to escape the chilly breeze flowing through the backyard.

Seeing the light, happy smile on Omen’s face and matching joy in her bond fills my heart with love. Right now it’s easy to believe things between the five of us will work out. Fate really knew what they were doing, giving us an omega like her.