Page 52 of Talk About… Trouble

“Good,” I said, giving him a quick kiss before crawling down the bed. I paused as my feet hit the floor. My body was slightly gross from the last remnants of my heat spike but I was feeling oddly vulnerable and emotional now and didn’t want to be alone.

He sat up and followed me, his fingers moving under my chin to lift my face.

“What is it? Anything you need and I’ll make it happen,” he promised. The determination in his tone had tears forming in my eyes. I felt so silly but if he was offering I wasn’t going to turn it down.

“Come with me? I don’t want to be alone right now,” I admitted, face half buried in his chest. His scent was calming the worst of it and I’d never been more grateful for a beta in my life.

“Of course,” he said easily. “Shepherd brought us some clothes. They went down to cook breakfast.”

He took my hand, leading me into the bathroom. Braxton took his time getting the shower to temp before pulling me inside. He was treating me like I was precious, fragile. Something that contrasted to how I’d been treated before.

I was a tool for those awful alphas, but in the past I was too clingy, told to toughen up by my family.

Yet, here he was making me feel cared for, not weak.

“Hey, what is this?” he asked, still no judgment in his words, just worry. He swiped a gentle finger down my cheeks.

“They’re not sad, just a bit overwhelmed by how perfect you are. No one has ever made me feel this cared for. I’m always… too much.”

“You aren’t too much, you’re worthy of being loved without constraints, sweet omega. We want to take care of you just as much as I know you’ll care for us in your own way. This isn’t exactly a conventional forming of a pack, but we fit, and it works, and that’s all that matters.”

His words were so sure that I let them soak in as his fingers gently worked shampoo into my hair, pulling down the detachable shower head and rinsing it. Then conditioner, and finally body wash. He washed every part of me with the same amount of care and attention.

I felt like he stripped away all the old parts of myself I’d been clinging to and was setting me free. I was no longer the girl who was known for her battle against her abusers, but an omega who was forging a new life.

“How is she?” Devon called out. The sound of his voice had Brax turning off the water.

“Good, grab a towel?”

When I stepped out he was waiting there, big, fluffy towel held out and a soft smile on his face.

“Hey there, baby,” he said, wrapping it around me and drying me carefully before moving to my hair. Again those tears wanted to form but I blinked them away quickly. “Don’t fight it. This is just a heat drop. You’ll feel better after food and fresh air.”

“I’m glad you’re in this with me,” I whispered. He bent down, capturing my lips in a kiss.

“Forever,” he promised. “Now get that cute ass dressed. We have pancakes waiting downstairs and lots of coffee.”

He left me in Braxton’s capable hands. I brushed my teeth and hair while he grabbed our clothes. I was reluctant to get out of this soft, warm towel but the moment he held out Nash’s shirt and Shepherd’s shorts for me, I didn’t hesitate. I swam in both but I didn’t care, tying the string as tight as I could manage.

“We’ll grab actual clothes today,” he promised. “We just need to discuss how we’re going forward.”

When I walked downstairs both alphas dropped what they were doing to come over, brushing kisses over my forehead and lips and checking me over.

“Feeling alright?” Nash asked.

“Can we get you anything?”

Devon chuckled. “It’s overwhelming, but nice, isn’t it?”

I gave him a helpless nod. “I’m good, guys, just coffee and food for now.”

“I’ve already got her coffee, I know how she takes it,” Devon said, handing me a mug and pulling me to sit next to him at the table. The others brought over plates loaded with food.

“We figured we needed a big spread to either recover from the spike, or prepare us for another round,” Shepherd said when he saw me take in the food.

“It smells great, thank you,” I said, feeling shy now. Which was insane. They’d fucked me senseless yesterday. But here, in the daylight, we were strangers again.

“Don’t pull away now, sweetheart,” Nash said as he stood next to me, taking an empty plate and filling it, pausing before each for me to nod or shake my head until it was full.

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