Page 48 of Knot Enough

“How long have you been planning on doing this?” I asked, relaxing my tense limbs. Graham’s fingers were doing a great job of chasing away any tension in my head, while the water was taking care of my body. Graham laughed at my question.

“Since I woke up this morning to your sleeping face.” He answered.

“You watched me sleep?” I asked, mortified at the thought. He chuckled again.

“It’s not as bad as you think. You're cute when you're asleep, " he said. I groaned, sliding down in the tub a bit. I could feel my cheeks getting hotter at the thought. “You're overthinking it. Now sit up. I’m done with your hair.” Pushing the embarrassment down, I sat back in the tub. I took the towel off my eyes before it could fall into the water.

I watched Graham grab a loofah from the side of the tub and add soap to it. I let him hold one of my arms and start rubbing the soap into it. “You like doing this? I mean taking care of people,” I asked. Gabriel looked after me, but his type of care was making sure I had eaten that day or had drunk water. Being looked after in the way Graham did was new to me.

“I wouldn’t say I like taking care of people. I would protect my pack with my life, but caring for them is different. I like rewarding people when they are honest with themselves. We are a pack, a family, and we want to make each other happy, but we can’t do that if everyone isn’t honest about their feelings. No compromise can happen if we don’t all bring how we truly feel to the table.” He explained. I remained silent, considering his words.

“So, you’d give bubble baths to Finn and Sorren?” I asked with a smirk. A deep grimace came over Graham.

“Not a chance. I do different things for them, but you and Gabriel are the only ones with that privilege of knowing how good I am at massages.” He said as he switched over to my back, giving one of my shoulders a good knead to prove his point. I shuddered at the feeling.

“What a shame. I thought it’d be funny to see you give Finn a bubble bath.” I joked.

“You can always join Gabriel and me when we take showers together, " he said, speaking a little too close to my ear, causing me to shudder again at how warm his breath was. I could feel tingling along my neck.

“No thanks, I don’t think I want to see you two making sex eyes at each other with hard-ons,” I answered. Graham laughed at my words.

“Understood. Gabriel and I will keep our showers to ourselves then.” He said, moving to my other arm. I shook my head with a smile on my face. He spent several seconds on my right arm before moving his hands away. “Turn around, I need your legs.”

I propped one of my legs up on the edge of the bathtub. Graham took it gently in his hands and started washing my leg. I couldn’t make direct eye contact with Graham. I knew my face would warm up like a pizza roll at the image of him kneeling in front of me. I’ll admit I often enjoyed scenes in my romance books where the guy would kneel for the girl. It was hot, I’ll own that, but I didn’t want my scent to agitate Graham at the moment. We were being intimate with each other right now. I’d never felt closer to someone besides Gabriel, Finn, and Sorren than I did at this moment.

“You don’t need to worry so much about your scent,” Graham announced. My breath hitched. “I have self-control. I won’t hurt you or do anything you're uncomfortable with. Or blame you for it, either.” Graham emphasized. I started to fidget with my hands. I didn’t want him to misunderstand. I trusted him, Sorren, and Finn. Hell, I wouldn’t sleep in the same room as them if I didn’t.

“I know you won’t. I trust you, but I don’t want to start something. Arousal for me has always just been a physical effect, something I can ignore, but I don’t think it’s the same for others. It’s like it controls people in a way I’ve never felt before. I’ve never had to fight the urge to kiss or touch someone, but I have noticed it’s not the same for others. I don’t want you to struggle against your instincts because of something I can control and prevent.” I explained. At this point, I was picking at the skin around my nails. Graham signed and stopped washing my leg. Before I had the chance to react, he pulled my legs so I slid towards him. I was much closer to him now and could feel Graham’s thumbs circle around each of my thighs.

“My reaction isn’t something you have to worry about. If I didn’t want to be around you or if I felt it was too much, I would tell you and sort it out to where we are both comfortable. Lydia, I love you and Gabriel. Your happiness is my greatest priority. If one day you didn’t want me to touch you or even be 5 feet from you. I’d stand 6 feet back and follow you around like a dog. I would tell you how beautiful and funny you are, or how much I love you, every day, even if I couldn’t touch you. I want to be around you, bask in your scent and warmth, and steal your attention so you can only focus on me. Every time you look at me, I want it to be filled with love, happiness, excitement, and contentment. So, quit worrying about me and just be yourself.” He finished, giving my knees a squeeze before pushing me back again to start washing my legs again. I could feel my eyes watering. Gabriel had said the same things when we started dating. I didn’t believe him at the time. Omegas would neverbe as affected by another omega’s scent as an alpha would, but hearing an alpha, one I trusted, tell me these things, I felt it in my heart.

Graham continued to diligently wash me as I cried and let my feelings out. I could hear his purr fill the air as I continued to cry. He let me get the tears out, not minding that by the time I was finished, it was well past the time he finished washing my legs. Once I was done, my eyes were swollen and my nose was stuffy. Graham let the water drain from the bathtub and wrapped me in a soft towel. He dried me off as best as he could before leaving the room, so I could change into his shorts and a shirt.

When I exited the bathroom, Graham pulled me in for a hug. I wrapped my arms around him, pulling him in tight. I could feel his hands rubbing my back and comforting me. We stood there for several long seconds before drooping eyelids led us to the bed and much needed rest.

Chapter 26

Gabriel

Tippy toes, don’t make a sound, or he will hear me. Don’t even breathe, or else he will hear me.I sang in my head as I slid the door to Finn’s room open as quietly as possible. It was really early in the morning, and Lydia was still in Graham’s room. I didn’t want to interrupt them, but Sorren had left early to grab groceries before the stores got busy, and I was dead bored. I'm so bored that if someone suggested I lick a rock, I just might do it.

I could hear Finn’s quiet breathing inside the room as he lay in his bed. He had worked on a car late last night and didn’t get home till Sorren and I were on our fourth action movie. I suspected he would sleep in today. It irritates me that he usually gets up before me and has breakfast already made. When Lydia and I lived together, I would make the meals for us. I rarely got to cook when Finn was here. He always shooed me away from the kitchen whenever I tried to help. I usually let him since I secretly enjoyed him taking care of me, but sometimes I like taking care of others, too.

“Mmmhh, Gabe, is that you?” Finn asked. His eyes remained closed, and he didn’t move from his spot. I wasn’t surprised he’d noticed me entering the room; I expected it.

“The one, the only. I want to cuddle, move over,” I demanded, smiling in satisfaction when he did what he was told. I moved into the bed, keeping my hands and feet from touching him. I could hear him purr in happiness at my closeness. Once I got comfortable on the bed with Finn’s arms around me, I attacked. I slid my hands up his shirt and touched his bare legs with my toes. I nearly choked on my laughter when he bolted out from the covers and pushed himself to the end of the bed, where he promptly fell off.

“What the hell, Gabriel? Why are your fingers and toes ice cold?” He asked as he used the bed to lift himself off the ground. My arms were wrapped around my belly while I laughed my head off.

“I... ahah... put them in the fridge for a couple of minutes before coming to see you.. Ahahaha! You should have seen your face.” I said as I tried to breathe through my laughter. Finn mumbled something under his breath before heading into his closet. I wiped my tears before jumping from the bed and following him. He had only worn his shorts to bed, so I could see his bare back as Ientered the closet. His sleeve tattoos had continued beyond to his shoulders. There were so many images and lines that it was hard to tell what was inked on his back. I walked up to him and started to trace one of the lines. Finn stiffened at the coldness still in my fingers before turning around and grabbing my hand with his.

“At least they aren’t blue.” He mused as he examined my fingertips. I rolled my eyes.

“I made breakfast, when you get dressed come down and eat,” I told him before pulling my hand out from his. His eyes narrowed in dissatisfaction, but he brought my face towards his to give me a deep kiss. He wanted to be the one feeding me. I found it adorable how much he likes providing for me and Lydia. I was out of breath and red in the face by the time Finn pulled away.

“Get out of here. I can’t get dressed when I know you're looking at me like a 5-star dessert.” He said before turning me around and smacking me across my ass. I yelped at the contact.

“I could always help with that.” I teased, skipping out of the room before Finn could do something about my suggestion. I strolled down the hallway to get Finn’s plate ready while he got changed. I watched everyone enough to figure out what food and how much my pack preferred to eat in the morning. Graham liked toast with either grape or strawberry jelly and a protein shake. Sorren liked something sweet in the morning, like donuts, pancakes, or waffles. Lydia didn’t like to eat anything heavy or a lot of food, so she preferred something simple, like a pop tart or cereal. Finn liked meat in the simplest terms. He enjoyed lots of bacon, sausage, “winky face,” and breakfast sandwiches. I heard his footsteps from behind me as I finished his plate. Like any good mate and the omega that I was, I piled on fruit like strawberries, blueberries, and a banana on a plate. I filled the plate with a slice of toasted grain bread with avocado and a bowl of sugar-free yogurt with granola. I almost broke my composure when I saw the color drain from his face.

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