Page 36 of Strays
Unfortunately, Jay’s stomach ruins the moment. The second it grumbles, Johane starts squirming, insisting we need to grab dinner. Jay protests, muttering he’d rather stay here than eat — the first time I’ve ever heard him say something like that. But she’s already crawling out of the nest.
Sighing, I pull my boots back on, and we head to the cafeteria.
It's almost empty when we get there. Johane isn’t hungry since she ate at the hospital, but Shane gets her a large orange juice anyway, and she picks off our plates between sips. Her casually stealing fries from my plate, one by one, feels so familiar it makes my heart flutter.
When we get back to the housing unit, she rummages through her bag, then disappears into the bathroom. When she comes back, toothbrush in hand, I almost stop breathing.
She’s wearing a black nightgown, her hair loose, cascading down her back.Thin straps leave her shoulders bare, and my eyes fixate on the curve of her neck where I want to bite her. A small mole rests on the right side; I'll bite the left so the scar won't cover it. The gown ends just above her knees, showing off a bit of her thighs in a way that makes me shiver.
From the couch, Shane openly stares, his expression so eager, he looks like a wolf tracking prey.
Johane’s tanned cheeks have that pink tint again, and she avoids our eyes, but the little smirk gives her away. She tosses her things back into her bag and climbs into the nest.
I’m embarrassed as hell, so I flee to the bathroom with the excuse of changing for bed.
When I come out in just shorts, barefoot and shirtless, her eyes find me instantly. I catch the hunger in them before she quickly looks away. It’s my turn to work hard to hide the smile threatening to take over my face.
Her scent thickens, spiced and potent, wrapping around me like a fist. At least this time I know what it does to me, so I don’t panic when my cock throbs, painfully hard.
I force myself to walk calmly to the nest, keeping my gaze down as I crawl into the middle, using the blankets to hide the obvious volume in front of my shorts.
When I finally work up the courage to look around, I see the struggle on my brothers’ faces. Her scent is hitting them just as hard. And even though she tries to hide it, it’s written all over her face how much she enjoys knowing she can control our bodies with nothing but a shift in her scent.
She moves closer, pressing into me, and I cradle her in my arms again. I know she can feel how hard I am against her, but there's nothing I can do about it, so I push down my shame and just hold her.
Shane and Jay change into shorts too, and when all three of us are in the nest, Jo's scent intensifies, overwhelming and irresistible.
She detangles her arms and legs from me and rolls over to face Jay. When he pulls her into him, she reaches back and grabs me by the waistband of my shorts, pulling me tight against her back.
Shane settles behind Jay, Jo stretching her arm over him, keeping us all connected.
Her scent is bliss and agony wrapped into one. I’m painfully aware of every inch of her skin touching mine. There’s no way I can sleep like this. And judging by the tension in the air, I don’t think I’m the only one.
Instead of even trying, Jay starts asking her questions, his voice a low whisper in the dark. It feels more like an interview than a conversation, but Jo answers easily, and I’m captivated by every answer.
“When’s your birthday?” he asks her.
“February twelfth. You guys?” she whispers back.
“Mine’s October twenty-second,” Jay says. “Shane’s January fourth, and Kory’s December nineteenth. Why did you choose to become a doctor?”
“I fell off my bike and broke my arm when I was nine. At the hospital, there was this doctor; she was amazing. I watched her talking to my parents, and they were looking at her with so much respect. I decided right then I wanted to be just like her. Why did you choose to become cops?”
Shane chuckles. “Because the other option was the army.”
“And Kory always wanted to be a cop,” Jay adds. “He’s known since he was a kid. Just like you. How did you and Alice become friends?”
She hesitates a little before answering. “I went to med school with her brother, Alex. We were together for almost a year. We ended up breaking up, but by then, she and I were already really close.”
I know I shouldn’t be curious, but I am. “Why did you break up?”
“The simple answer is: because of my first match meetings. I hadn’t told him I’d volunteered my data to the Matching Program. But when they called me and I decided to go… even though the compatibility rate wasn’t that high and there was a good chance they wouldn’t be my scent-mates, I couldn’t go there while still being committed to someone else. So I ended things with him.”
“What’s the complicated answer?” Shane presses.
She exhales softly. “Like every relationship I’ve had with human men, it just didn’t feel right. He was a nice guy; it wasn’t his fault, but... you know. It just wasn’t the one.”
Then she snorts. “Now I know it was never about the one. It was always about the three.”
