Page 36 of Pack Plus One

“I hate you,” she mutters into Caleb’s skin, but there’s no real anger in it.

Caleb’s arms tighten around her, his lips brushing her temple. “Sleep,” he murmurs, his voice taking on that gentle note thatIusually use.

But Leah shakes her head, forcing her eyes open. “I should…I should go…”

Not a chance.

Mason catches my eye, his expression unreadable to anyone who doesn’t know him as well as we do. But I recognize that subtle tightening around his eyes. He’s thinking the same thing.

“It’s late,” I say smoothly, reaching for the blanket tangled at the foot of the bed. “Stay.”

Leah hesitates, her gaze darting between us—Caleb’s possessive grip, Jude’s playful smirk, Mason’s quiet intensity, my outstretched hand with the blanket.

Jude pokes her thigh. “Also, you’re naked. And wejustgot you all comfortable and...satisfied.”

“I have clothes,” she mutters, but there’s no real conviction in it. She makes no move to actually get up.

Caleb growls softly, nuzzling the spot where he’d almost marked her earlier at the wedding. The sight had turned me on more than I’d like to admit. “Stay.”

No alpha command, but Leah shivers, her resistance crumbling visibly under the weight of his request.Ourrequest. “...Fine. But just until morning.”

We’ll see about that.

I catch Mason smiling slightly, the corner of his mouth lifting in that subtle way that speaks volumes. He knows as well as I do that “just until morning” is already more than we had any right to hope for.

“I should at least clean up,” she says, making a half-hearted attempt to sit up.

“I’ve got it,” I offer, heading to the en-suite bathroom. My fingers tighten around the warm washcloth as I return, torn between handing it to her and doing it myself.

Her fingers tremble slightly when she reaches for it—that small, vulnerable motion deciding for me. I let her take it, though every instinct screams to care of her myself.

“Thanks,” she murmurs, her eyes meeting mine briefly before darting away.

I watch, jaw clenched, as she cleans herself. The sight is more intimate than the sex—her fingers hesitating, the flush creeping up her chest, the way she keeps her thighs pressed together like she’s still getting used to the feel of us.

Next time, I promise silently,I won’t hand you the cloth. I’ll kneel between your thighs and clean you with my own hands, slow and thorough, until you’re sighing instead of trembling.

For now, I give her this small control. But the possessive ache in my chest doesn’t ease. Not when Jude steals the damp cloth to press a kiss to her palm. Not when Caleb growls at him to stop crowding her. Not even when Mason wordlessly offers her his shirt to wear.

She’s ours now. Even if she doesn’t know it yet.

Jude, predictably, breaks the moment.

“So,” he drawls, stretching like a cat and deliberately flexing his abs. “Since we’re allveryawake?—”

“We’re not,” Caleb mumbles, pressing closer to Leah.

“—let’s play a game.”

Mason exhales through his nose, but there’s a flicker of amusement in his eyes. “What kind of game do you suggest at—” he checks his phone, “—one in the morning after we’ve all just had the best sex of our lives?”

At his words, a fresh wave of heat reddens Leah’s face.

“Never Have I Ever,” Jude declares, his grin turning wicked.

Caleb lifts his head just enough to glare. “That’s a terrible idea.”

Leah releases the cutest little giggle. “I agree.”