There’s a tug at my hair and I notice that Griffin’s sitting behind me, brushing my wet strands.
“You okay, honey?” he asks. He looks so tired, he has a full-fledged beard at this point. To be honest, part of me wants him to never shave it off. His eyes have light purple bags under them like he hasn’t slept in a few days.
“A little sore. What day is it?”
“Sunday morning. Do you want some Tylenol?”
I nod my head in agreement, and he stops brushing my hair. As he goes to get up, Dion walks in with a glass of water and two capsules. I swear Dion has spidey senses.
“Here you go, sweet girl. Glad to see you back with us. I thought Griffin and I were going to have to beg the moderator for sex toys soon.”
My cheeks heat and I have a flashback to Dion taking care of me in the tub a few days ago. I remember it being just as nice.
“Sorry if I was too needy.”
Griffin grunts and resumes brushing my hair. I know I should probably take the brush from him and do it myself, but it feels so good. He places a quick kiss on the top of my head.
“We like you needy. We’re just tired and hungry. Once you're done with your bath, I’m pretty sure they’re kicking us out of here.”
“Oh, okay.”
I look over to Dion and I note a look of loss in his brown eyes and it makes me feel guilty. Shoving the thought out of my head, I keep washing my body. Dion goes into the main nest and collects my things for me, while Griffin helps me get out of the tub and dry off. My whole body feels like a limp, wet noodle.
Griffin kisses where my throat and collarbone meet. “You sure you’re okay?”
“Yeah, I’m okay. I remember bits and pieces.” I furrow my eyebrows and look at him.
“Do you remember Jenson joining your heat?”
I give him a sheepish look. “Yes, I remember him choking me. I also remember you and Dion taking care of me. Thank you for being there.” I grab his hand and kiss the knuckles that are starting to scab over. The last time someone put their hands on me all I felt was complete terror. Though I had a moment of fear when Jenson’s hands wrapped around my throat I knew I was going to be safe and that Griffin would take care of me.
“We’re just lucky I didn’t end up in jail for kicking his ass. I’m also going to need to have a word with Heat Haven management about how everything went down.”
I pat his arm. “Having you here made everything better. The last time that happened I was scared and alone.”
Griffin has a murderous look on his face. “Who touched you before?”
“The last Alpha I dated, Dale. That was the whole reason choking was on my hard limits list.”
He strokes a hand through my hair. “When you’re with me, sweetheart, I promise I will always protect you and I will never put my hands on you like that.”
“I know, I trust you Griff.” I nuzzle up against him, he makes me feel so safe.
“Next time I hope I’ll be there to help you select anyone else for your heat so we can avoid the douchebags. We also need a fourth Alpha. I’ve never been so fucking tired in my whole life.” Did he just insinuate he wants to be in my next heat? I’m overcome with relief that he still wants to see me.
I give him a tight hug. I know if I apologize, he will tell me I have nothing to apologize for, so I go the easier route. “Thank you for being here with me.”
“Nowhere else I would rather have been.”
He kisses my wet hair one more time before taking a towel to dry it. “Dion was pretty cool too, I don’t think I could have done it without him.”
“You like him?” I ask with surprise. Griffin doesn’t seem the type to welcome new people easily.
“Not in the same way that I think you might like him.” He arches a brow at me. I barely know Dion, but that one little glimpse I have of him bathing me gives me butterflies.
“Maybe we could invite him to get breakfast with us?” I suggest.
“I think that's a great idea, sweetheart.”
His hands haven’t left me in one way or another as he gives me a quick kiss on the lips.
Dion strides in, putting my bag on the vanity as I put on a clean outfit to wear. Past Emily was looking out for future Emily as I put on stretchy yoga pants, a soft black cotton top, and Griffin's Harvard hoodie.
Dion smiles down at me, and I smile back.
“Dion, would you like to come and get breakfast with us?”
“I would love nothing more,” he replies and I can tell he wants to kiss me, but he holds back. It’s kinda funny all the different things we did over the last couple of days, and now a kiss seems like crossing the line.
“Aright, well let's get the fuck out of here,” Griffin says as the two guys get dressed.
I take in the neon suite one last time and think about how lucky I am that I could have this experience with two fantastic Alphas.
Epilogue
7 Months Later
I look over at my girl. Her head is nestled into a bunch of pillows, her dirty blonde hair fanned around her face. She's grown it out since we first met and I love how it looks on her. Looking down at her collarbone where my bond mark sits, my heart swells. Every time I see it, it makes me smile.
Griffin and Emily bonded three months after her heat at Heat Haven, while Emily and I just bonded a little over a month ago. It shocked me when Griffin put his bond mark on her thigh. I thought he would want it somewhere where more people could see it. When I asked him why he chose her thigh, he said it was because he spends so much time in between her legs.
I always thought joining a pack would be difficult, and even though Griffin can be a grumpy bastard, I love him. Not in the same way I love Emily, but he is pack and I would do anything for that man, and we would do anything for our girl.
I don’t think we're done growing our pack, but right now, we’re pretty fucking happy. We all moved into Griffin's place in Beacon Hill a little over four months ago. We all usually sleep in the master together, but we each have separate spaces we can go to when we need alone time.
We’ve been preparing for our second heat with Emily, and since we already know we are not enough during her heat, we’ll be going back to Heat Haven. Our memberships are covered and Emily was offered a suite upgrade by Heat Haven. They wanted to make everything right after the incident with Jenson. Today is the big day where we go in to decide the other Alphas that will join us. Since Emily has two bonds, we’re allowed to be a part of the process. Which entails a lot of pheromone sniffing and file reading. Kill me now.
I snuggle up closer to Emily, knowing that Griffin is already up. He is the early riser of the bunch, while Em and I like to sleep in.
She rubs her butt up against my already erect cock, and I groan. I go to slide my hand down her sleep shorts as a big black poof ball jumps right on top of us.
Emily giggles, “Binx, do you need attention?”