Faith & the Dead End Devils (Sweet Omegaverse, #8)(31)

I stretched in the bed, and a little happy whimper rose up from my throat. My legs rubbed together, and I realized I was still fully dressed, which suddenly seemed unacceptable. I wanted to be squirming around in my new nest with…

I blinked and sat up on my elbows, staring at the men watching me from the end of the bed. My cheeks warmed. Chance was slimmer than Bear, but I knew the weight of them both, and at the moment…

Chance cleared his throat, reaching in and squeezing my foot briefly. "I'm gonna let you get settled for the night," he said. I whined, and he laughed. "I'll be back in the morning. Give you time to adjust in here."

I swallowed and blinked. With the comfort of the nest around me, I did see his point. Part of me wanted to tell Bear to leave and ask Chance to stay. I knew that if I did, they would listen. Another part of me wanted the alpha, which seemed wildly unfair to Chance.

The last and most reasonable part decided I probably needed to talk to Bear. To thank him for the nest and maybe forgive him for earlier. Or at least make him promise to never do anything like that again.

I sat up completely, crawling to the end of the bed, and Chance met me in a firm and unapologetic kiss, even with Bear just to the right of him. His tongue stroked in against mine, and the two men's scents mingled and clashed around me, comfort and arousal fizzling in my veins.

I sighed as he pulled away, my fingers tangled in the thin cotton of his T-shirt until it pulled and I released him, sagging back into the dense cushion of the mattress. Chance left with a few parting words to Bear, their voices muffled as I burrowed into a pile of pillows, nose wrinkling at the remaining sterile fragrance. I moved the pillow, and my hand landed against a broad chest. Bear chuckled and covered my hand with his. Outside of the nest, the apartment door clicked shut.

"Never seen Chance looking so…comfortable. Happy, I think," Bear said.

I twisted and pushed pillows away, blinking up at Bear's shadowed head. Whatever he'd put down on his old mattress made it so I could barely feel him moving around me, and my hands searched for his skin until I grabbed onto his wrists.

"Really?" I asked.

Bear nodded, dark curls swinging down over his shoulder. "He usually looks like someone just shoved dog shit under his nose. Around you, he looks relaxed. Someone could mistake him for friendly."

"He's nice," I said, frowning. I fought an irrational urge to kick or hit Bear in Chance's defense, and it distracted me from the slow progress of the man settling down at my side.

"He's an asshole." Bear grunted as I knocked him in his stomach, the muscles flexing under my hand. "No, I mean—not to you, which, good, he fuckin' shouldn't be. But he pretty openly hates most of the rest of us. But I like the way he looks at you, Butterfly."

I chewed on my lip, curious fingers studying the planes of Bear's stomach. He was relaxing, that muscle softening, and I wanted to press into the cushion and strength of him like I burrowed into the nest. His hand squeezed as I started to pull away, and he shuffled closer, pushing pillows and blankets aside to wrap an arm around me.

"I'm sorry," he said softly, and I stiffened. "I fucked up this morning."

"Did you want me to leave with that alpha?" I asked. I wanted to pull away from Bear, to slide into a corner of the closet again and snarl at him until he left me alone. Or I wanted to want that. In reality, the soft perfection of this nest left me boneless and comfortable and craving Bear's closeness.

"No! Or—" Bear cleared his throat and settled on his back.

I twisted, and since I couldn't make out the fine details of his expression on my own, I reached a hand out, strangely pleased by the tangle of his furrowed brow under my fingers.

"I do want you to find a safe place, a good pack," Bear said, and then he rushed on before I drew away. "But even if Bowers had been that, had been fucking decent and gentle and sweet to you, it woulda killed me to watch you walk out of here."

I sighed, leaning forward and dropping my chin on Bear's chest, his arms circling me to stroke my back. I licked my lips, and Bear's chest vibrated with a purr.

"How's your head?" he asked, voice gritty.

"A little achy earlier. Took a pill while I was with Chance," I said.

He hummed, crunching forward and pressing a kiss to my forehead. "Good girl."

The words caused an immediate clench in my core, and I trembled through a sudden burst of need, Bear's purr picking up.

"What if I want you to be my alpha?" I whispered.

I couldn't see clearly, and I suddenly reconsidered the idea of letting Bear find me a doctor, if only so I could watch his face and know what he looked like when the question burst out of me.

His purr didn't stop, and his hands on my back clenched. He dragged me up onto his chest, and my legs spread eagerly over his hips, fitting us together.

"Is that what you want, Butterfly?" Bear growled. "Tell me."

I pressed my hands to his chest, squinted down at him, and fought my own bruised eyesight to try and force him into focus. It didn't work, but it made him rumble with laughter under me, the added vibration thrilling my core where I was pressed to his hips.

"Yes," I said firmly, frowning and glaring down at this perfect man. "I want you. I want Chance."

"Because you're scared?" Bear asked, but one of his hands slid up to clasp the back of my neck in a possessive hold.