Very different.
"Maybe I'll just close my eyes for a little while," I say, yawning again. I curl up between them, surrounded by their scents and warmth, feeling cared for and adored.
Two things I could get used to.
Chapter
Twenty-Eight
JAX
The bedroom smells like sex and satisfaction. I've been awake for twenty minutes, watching Lexie sleep against my chest while my pack sprawls around us in various states of undress. Her fingers twitch against my skin, chasing dreams I can't see.
Darren's got one arm slung across her waist, face buried in her hair. Dmitri's hand rests on Darren's shoulder, always touching, even unconscious. Aidan's curled at the foot of the bed, taking up an impressive amount of space. Zayn keeps to the edge, maintaining distance even now.
My pack. Complete for the first time.
I trace Lexie's cheekbone, cataloging freckles I didn't notice last night. She took all five of us with her mouth, found something to praise in each approach. No hesitation. No comparing. Just open want.
She fits.
Darren's eyes open first, meeting mine over Lexie's head. That satisfied smirk says everything. He slept better than he has in weeks. Since the presentation turned his world inside out.
That makes two of us.
Our whispers wake Dmitri. One second dead to the world, the next scanning for threats. Old habits from whatever he did before hockey. His gaze lingers on Lexie before finding mine.
I tilt my head toward the door. Breakfast.
Dmitri extracts himself from our tangle without disturbing anyone. I should stay. Watch her wake up in my bed, surrounded by my pack. See that moment when she realizes where she is and doesn't panic.
But I want to feed her. Prove we're more than just good in bed.
I ease away from her warmth. She makes a soft protest, hand searching. Darren fills the space immediately, and she settles.
Dmitri's already grinding coffee when I reach the kitchen. That's Dmitri. Efficient on ice, in bed, everywhere.
"She slept well." Not a question.
"Like the dead," I confirm, pulling eggs from the fridge. "We wore her out."
His mouth twitches. For Dmitri, that's practically a grin. "Good start."
Two words, but I hear everything underneath. Good start to bringing her in. Good start to fixing what we almost broke. Good start to something permanent.
Because that's where my head's at, even if it's too soon to say. Lexie's not just convenient or willing. She's our scent match. All five of us pulled to one beta woman who makes sweaters and climbs out bathroom windows.
"What are we making?" Dmitri asks.
"Something that shows effort." I grab bacon. "She deserves the full treatment after last night."
"Aidan's cinnamon rolls," Dmitri suggests.
Perfect. Nothing says “we want to keep you” like homemade pastries.
Aidan stumbles in right on cue, hair defying gravity, wearing only boxers. "Someone say cinnamon rolls?"
"Get baking," I tell him. "We're spoiling Lexie."
