Page 69 of Gold Rush
I flush, glancing up at him. “Are you territorial?”
Arin pauses, then has the good graces to look mildly embarrassed. “Potentially, I don’t think I’ve ever had a reason to be before now.”
I lean up, unable to help myself, pressing a kiss to his jaw. Seth groans from beside us and I turn to look at him.
He pouts. “I saw youfirst.” I let out a bark of laughter as he steals me from Arin’s arms, eliciting another growl from the alpha as Seth whisks me to the other side of the counter, past Bennett poking at the ruined pan. Seth bends down, kissing me sweetly, his voice barely audible. “You good?”
I nod, kissing him back as I smile against his lips. “Mhm, all okay.”
“You smell like minty green tea.” He laughs as his hands squeeze my sides. “Don’t let any of them kill me when I inevitably have to kidnap you from their territorial asses.”
“I promise. I’d never let them hurt you.” I kiss Seth’s nose, pleased that our faces are almost equal, our heights evenly matched compared to mine and Arin’s, or even mine and Bennett’s. The warmth in my chest blooms, but there’s a small feeling that something is missing as I sink into Seth’s arms.
Arin picks up an apple slice, holding it out to me. I reach for it, but he pulls it back and shakes his head, pressing it against my lips.
I scoff at him. “I think I can feed myself.”
Arin steps closer, his fingers brushing my lips. “You won’twantto when your heat sets in, we might as well start trying now before you bite my hand off later.”
I scowl at him, but open my mouth.
Arin puts the apple slice on my tongue, tilting his head down as he whispers, “I can’t wait to make you take Bennett or Seth like this. Maybe both of them. The last to come gets your cunt.”
I nearly choke as my eyes widen, jerking back into Seth as the smell of my perfume floods the kitchen. “Arin.” I cover my mouth, trying to chew the apple at the same time Seth wraps an arm around me, groaning and burying his head in my neck.
“If you fuck in this kitchen, you better not break any more of my cookware.” Bennett drops the pan into the trash can, sighing heavily. “It’s ruined. I can’t salvage that.”
I pull away from Seth, feeling genuinely bad as I move over to Bennett. Sliding my hand over his back, I rub it, my heart tugging. “I’m so sorry, I’ll get you a new one. I should have been paying more attention but I got distracted.”
Bennett tilts his head down, kissing my forehead. “If anything, Arin is right. I’m giving you cooking lessons. How have you kept yourself alive for nearly thirty years?”
“Take out?”
“Oh.”
The kitchen goes quiet and I startle. Turning sharply, I freeze at the sight of Theo filling the doorway to the kitchen. He’s in gym clothes, his eyes darting around the room in a panic.
“You’re all in here.” Theo fidgets, and then his eyes find me. He stares for a moment, pressing his lips together, almost like he’snervous, before he nods once and hooks a thumb over his shoulder. “I got you stuff for your nest.” He blurts the words. “Or… whatever you might use it for. I brought it all downstairs. But now I think I should have just left it up there. It doesn’t make any sense for it to be down here. Sorry about that.”
I stare at him, opening and closing my mouth.
“I’ll just return it —”
“No.” I leap forward and Theoflinches. Closer, I can see the sheer panic on his face. His eyes dart behind me and someone’s warmth heats my back. Getting a hit of mint, I stand up straight. “Theo is going to show me what he bought.” I announce it to the room, my eyes staying on the big alpha, thinking of all the bags he was stuffing into his room days ago. “Lead the way.”
His eyes widen as he steps back out into the foyer. I follow him and have to suppress my shocked gasp. Random piles fall over, triple the amount of bags that Seth bought me all scattered across the floor. Theo looks ready to bolt as he points at random piles.
“Those are blankets. Those are pillows. That’s a white noise machine. There’s clothes in that one, because I know you don’t have a lot here and I thought pajamas would be nice.”
I nod slowly, taking it all in as I bend down to the first bag. I pull the softest blanket out, getting a hit of rain off of it. Thefabric is a deep blue color, reminiscent of the eyes of the alpha hovering above me.
“Why?” I whisper the word, my heart lurching.
His voice breaks as he steps closer. “You need it.” Theo fidgets, then his expression shuts itself off from me. “Keep what you want, anything else can be donated to an omega help shelter —” He takes a step toward the front door. “I’m going to the gym.”
I kneel in the foyer, utterly baffled as he runs away from me, yet again. As the front door slams behind him, I reach into one of the bags to find a well-worn sweatshirt, absolutely drenched in his petrichor perfume.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
