Page 83 of Perfectly Naïve
His bewildered expression is almost amusing, but I never want my pack to feel like they’re not included.
“You’re coming, right?” Notyou can come if you want.That would imply he was never invited in the first place. That’s so...hurtful.You’re comingmeans he was always intended to be there. That I want him there, and boy do I ever. While it can get unbearably hot, I love cuddling up with the pack.
Wilder places his hand on his chest. “Of course, omega.”
I bite my bottom lip and grin. Liam nudges Sawyer’s dooropen and carries me to the California king. He gently sets me down, and I scoot back as they begin to climb on. I’m sliding under the sheets when Hayes appears.
He arches an eyebrow. “Cuddle sesh?”
An alpha after my own heart. He may look scary at first, but once you get past how big and gruff he is, he’s a softy. Opening my arms, I make the grabby-hand motion. “Yes.”
He grins and joins us on the bed. We’re a mess of arms and legs, but somehow, we all find a comfortable position, and I fall asleep to the sounds of alpha purrs and soft beta snores. What more could an omega want?
Chapter Twenty-Five
WILDER
It’s official. Liv needs a nest. The guys and I have decided, and we’re supposed to be putting a plan together, but they’re all looking to me for guidance. Like my being creative means I’m some type of nest guru.
“I’m a tattoo artist, not an interior designer.” Three sets of eyes stare at me expectantly. “Seriously, guys, this is what Pinterest is for. I told you all to search for inspiration. You can’t expect me to come up with the plan all on my own.”
“Yeah, but you understand color theory and composition,” Liam says.
“Sure, and that would be helpful if I was planning to paint a mural on one of the walls, but that’s about the extent of it.”
My brother lifts an eyebrow. “Actually, that’s a great idea. What if you painted a mural on one wall? Nothing over the top—maybe some linework flowers?”
It’s not a bad idea. In fact, I kind of love it. I suppose it would at least give us a jumping-off point. When Sawyer suggested we convert one of our rooms into a nest for Liv as asurprise, we all agreed immediately. We only have four bedrooms, and while Sawyer has a big bed, it’s not enough. Our omega deserves her own space. A nest. It only made sense that I offered to give up mine. Hayes and I have shared rooms before. I can handle his snoring if it means Liv is happy.
We’re all in agreement. Soon, we want to officially claim Liv, and that means our instincts to provide everything an omega could need or want are in overdrive. It’s almost like we can’t do anything until we build her a nest.
“The colors should be dark and cozy,” Sawyer says, eyeing the little cardstock squares of all different colors we have spread out on the hardwood floor. The room we’re in has only one window, and it’s mostly shaded by the large oak that covers the backyard. It keeps the room cool in the summer and ensures the light is always diffused and muted, which is why it’s the perfect choice for a nest.
“What about this one?” Hayes points to a brown paint chip.
“Dude, no.” I wrinkle my nose. “The whole room would look like actual shit.”
“It would not,” Hayes grumbles. But the rest of the guys wear various appalled expressions, and I know they agree with me.
“Who even picked that paint color?” Liam plucks it off the floor and tosses it behind him and out of the room. “Vetoed.”
“Assholes,” Hayes growls.
“No, an asshole is what that color would make this room look like it popped out of.” I laugh as I dodge my brother’s punch.
Sawyer pinches the bridge of his nose. “Children. Can we focus here? We only have a couple of days to get this done if we want to surprise Liv.”
That gets us to focus. We spend an hour debating betweencolors before we finally settle on a purple that’s somewhere between a dark lavender and gray. It’s muted and feminine without being over the top. Liv would hate it if we painted this room pastel pink or something. I pick out a purple a few shades darker to paint the linework for the flowers, and then we pile in the car and pick up the paint and supplies before making our way to a nest boutique I read about online.
The bed and mattress are being delivered later tonight—that was an easy decision. It’s the largest mattress we could find, and a bed frame that’s low enough to the ground that our omega can easily crawl into bed while keeping the mattress off the floor.
“Good afternoon and welcome to The Omega's Nest,” a chipper female beta greets us as we file into the boutique. “My name is Anne, and I’ll be happy to help you find whatever you need. Is there something specific that brings you in today?”
“We’re designing a nest for our omega,” I offer when none of the other guys speak. Hayes is already overwhelmed—I don’t need twin telepathy to know that, since his face says it all—and Sawyer and Liam are looking around with wide eyes.
“How wonderful,” Anne says, offering me a genuine smile. “Well, you’ve come to the right place. My pack outfitted our omega’s nest here, as well, and it turned out beautiful. Do you need any help?”
“Probably.” I chuckle when Hayes wanders toward a shelf full of pillows and starts holding them to his chest and squeezing, testing out the softness. “But I think we’ll just look around at first.”
