Chapter 24: Thorne

Chapter Twenty-Four

Thorne

H eats truly are full-blown fuckfests. I’m baffled when I wake up in the nest with Bear and Rush but no Lennox. It makes me majorly paranoid as I tug on a pair of sweats and start searching.

The only thing that keeps me from completely panicking is that I can feel her in the bond. She’s somewhere close by, and she’s not in danger or upset.

Shera greets me at the bottom of the stairs, and I give her a quick pat.

“Where’s Lennox?” I ask, scratching Shera’s ear.

“In here,” my omega calls out from the living room.

I give Shera a final pat and jog into the living room by the front door.

Lennox is sitting on the floor in front of the fireplace with several bins open and Christmas decorations everywhere.

I snort and swipe a hand over my face when I spot the red-and-white Santa hat pulled low on her forehead.

She breaks out into a bright smile. “I found the Christmas decorations when I came down to check on Shera.”

She’s so fucking pretty.

“I think Rush wanted to save that to do as a group activity.” I stride over, squatting down at her side. My fingers land on her chin, tilting her face to mine. “I love you, kitten.” Capturing her mouth, we share a slow, sensual kiss. “If my days aren’t messed up, I think tonight might be Christmas Eve. Want me to run and grab them?”

Lennox’s eyes widen. “Was I really hazy for three or four days?”

I nod and run my fingers over her jaw. “Unless I messed up the count while I was in rut.”

“Holy shit. I need my phone. Brooklyn is probably losing her freaking mind.” Lennox stands up from sitting with her legs crossed. It’s such a graceful, fluid movement that it’s hard to believe she manages it without help. I could never.

“I called her and gave her a heads-up.” I grimace, moving to stand now that she is. “I let her know that I was with you and not to worry, but I left out the part about us bonding. I figured you’d want to pass that along.”

“Yeah,” she whispers. “Did she seem angry?”

“No.” My head shakes. “She sounded grateful for the update, and she told me to take care of you.”

A shy smile crosses Lennox’s face. “Oh good, once Rush and Bear wake up, we can call all of our families to tell them the good news.”

I snort. “Just don’t be surprised if my grandma holds the phone in a way it’s impossible to see anything except straight up her nose.”

Lennox laughs, wrapping her arms around mine. “That sounds absolutely charming.”

It is, in fact, Christmas Eve. We haven’t lost power completely, but it has flickered multiple times. The generator is always an option if it comes to it, but the heavy snow makes for a killer backdrop as the four of us decorate the tree.

Rush and Lennox focus on the Christmas village. It’s crazy how many pieces they have. It feels a little like overkill to me, since we’ll have to take it all back down in a few days, but listening to Lennox squeal every time she examines a new piece makes it worth it.

Bear comes back with a mug of hot cocoa for Lennox. He drops a beer off with Rush before handing one to me and taking a seat on the couch at my side.

“She’s killing me with the cuteness.” Bear nods at Lennox as she dances around in her holiday-themed pajamas. “Do you really think the heat could be over this fast?”

“I doubt it.” I take a long pull of my beer. “It’s only been two hours. I’m fully expecting another wave to hit before long. I almost think she’s so stubborn, she’s mentally willing her biology to let her enjoy decorating for the holiday.”

Bear snorts. “I can see that.” He grins, shaking his head. “What I didn’t see was her coming.”

My gaze follows his to find Rush dipping Lennox for a filthy kiss that has their tongues dancing in the air.

“Yeah,” I agree.

I was ready for just about anything during that assignment, except falling head over dick in love with Lennox.

Rush pulls her up, whispering something in her ear. Her head falls back as she laughs, clutching his arms to stay upright.

I feel my face break out into a wide smile as the fireplace crackles in the background. It’s not a bad thing to have Rush around to lighten the mood or Bear as a second set of eyes to keep her safe.

It’s still going to take some conditioning to let go of all the bad habits I picked up undercover. I never imagined I’d retire in my thirties, but Lennox was the wild card I never saw coming.

Rush releases her, sending her our way with a slap on the ass.

I assume she’s going to head for Bear, but she comes to stand in front of me, pulling at the front of her pajama top. This one says, I promise I’ll do better next year.

I stretch back, nodding to my lap. She scrambles to kneel over me. Her hands come to rest on my shoulders as my nostrils flare.

No, her heat is definitely not over.

My hand slides over her ass as she snuggles to my chest.

I’m so fucking grateful that I got stuck undercover with the Barretts. If I hadn’t, there’s no way I’d be here right now.