I hummed as I pulled the cardamom buns out of the oven for tomorrow’s breakfast, still buzzing off last night’s high. It was just after eight in the evening and I wondered if there was any chance of an encore tonight. I hadn’t been exaggerating when I said it had been the hottest experience of my life. To be fair, my top ten hottest experiences were all ones I’d had with Josie.
I groaned, bracing my hands on the counter. I was getting hard just remembering how it felt to slide inside her, the way she’d clenched around me, the soft little moans she made. She hadn’t even complained when I’d gone full territorial alpha and rubbed my cum into her skin—something I’d never had the urge to do before, but it felt so right in the moment. I’d gotten twitchy when Cam and Theo insisted on washing her off last night. I wanted to cover her with my scent again.
Warm arms wrapped around my waist and I leaned back, breathing in Josie’s cupcake scent. There was nothing better on earth. She nuzzled into my back, squeezing me tighter. I tugged at her hands so I could spin around and face her. Josie’s cheeks were beautifully flushed and my hands went to the bare skin on her back. She was wearing a sports bra and leggings, and a thrill of happiness went through me at how much more comfortable she was showing her body around us.
The conversation we’d had weeks ago stuck with me. I’d decided to cut back on workouts, using that time to create new recipes in the kitchen. My body had already lost a hint of the definition it had before—probably not enough for anyone else to notice yet, but still. When I started to feel self-conscious about it, I’d focus on Josie—her love, her trust, her everything. If she didn’t mind me being softer, maybe it would be okay. Maybe just being me was enough.
“How was self-defense with Cam?” I asked, peppering her face with kisses until she giggled.
“He acts like I’m going to break,” she said, rolling her eyes with a huff. “And he kept letting me win.”
I grinned, remembering what a hard-ass Cam had been as an army officer. Now look at him—completely wrapped around our omega’s finger.
“Theo was just as bad. He kept reading aloud from some articles he found online on disabling a larger opponent, but it was just stressing us out.” She opened her mouth as if to say something more but then hesitated. I ran my hand down her face, raising my brows in question.
“I miss self-defense class. Mostly, I miss spending time with my friends,” she confessed, not quite meeting my eyes.
My heart clenched. Cam wanted to practice self-defense with her, and we all thought it was a good idea. But it couldn’t replace what she’d had with her friends. I hated that we couldn’t give her everything she needed right now.
“I’m sorry, precious. Things will be safer soon.” I internally rolled my eyes at my half-baked platitudes.
She hummed, obviously sensing the hollowness in my words. None of us could guarantee that, and I hated it. I squeezed her tighter and cleared my throat, wanting to change the subject to something that would make her smile.
“I’ve been trying to think of bakery names,” I said, holding my breath as I waited for her to say something.
“Bakery names? For our bakery?” she asked, a slow smile spreading across her face.
“Yeah.” I cupped her ass, pulling her tight against my body. I felt vulnerable—still unconvinced I could run a business—and needed to feel her against me.
Her hips twitched, and the scent of her arousal bloomed in the air.
“What did you come up with?”
“I thought something with the letters of all our names would be cool. Like JBCT.”
“Rolls off the tongue,” she responded dryly.
“Yeah, why the fuck doesn’t one of our names start with a vowel? But then I had the perfect idea. We could combine just our initials and call it BJ.” I winked, thrusting my hard-on against her softness.
Josie snorted. “Absolutely not.”
“I think it’s perfect,” I teased. My lips trailed down her jaw, and she shuddered. “But if you’re going to be picky, how about Josie’s?”
“If it’s going to be named after someone, it should be you,” she responded, her voice a little breathy. “Ben’s Bakery. It has alliteration and everything.”
I shrugged, placing hot kisses down her jaw and neck, scraping my teeth against her tender skin, and resisting the urge to bite. The bakery would be just as much hers as it would be mine. After years of being denied even the basics, she deserved something that belonged to her.
“You really think it’s going to happen? This bakery?” she asked, biting her lip.
“I know it is,” I responded, tipping her head up to meet my gaze. “You’re a badass who can do anything you set your mind to, and the world won’t always be this cruel. We’ll make a better one together.”
She closed the space between our lips, drawing me in for a tender kiss that quickly deepened to something more. I kept one hand firmly on her ass, squeezing her to me, and the other on her neck. She tasted so sweet, so perfect, as she fisted my shirt to pull me closer. It was as if we both wanted to melt into each other.
Josie pulled away from our kiss with a small moan that went straight to my cock.
“I know it hasn’t been forty-eight hours yet,” she said, running her fingers down my stubble. “But would you try barking at me?”
Her nervousness was clear and I felt a tightness in my chest. I’d spent most of the day combing through the emails Charlie and I obtained, trying to find anything that would prove that omegas were being held as blackmail. Neither of us had found anything. What if we never found the evidence? What if the serum didn’t work?
I breathed through my own anxiety, cupping Josie’s face and kissing her cheeks. Of course, I wouldn’t deny her request. I hated the idea of using my bark on her, of taking away her choices. But she wanted me to do this.
I started to say we could give it a try when I felt it—a sharp burst of agonizing panic through the bond so intense it felt like I’d been punched in the stomach.
Cam let out a primal roar that reached us even from the gym basement.
I grabbed Josie’s hand and ran.
