Page 30 of Follow Your Instincts (Fairview City Omegaverse)

Ben

I hated that it had taken Maggie being put in danger to get her under our roof, but I couldn’t lie and say I wasn’t ecstatic that my pack leader seemed to finally be getting his head out of his ass and trying to connect with Maggie.

I had been worried about Lachlan. He had withdrawn from all of us, and I thought giving him space would help, but it seemed having a reason to take charge was what he needed.

Based on how strong his scent had been lately, I knew he was attracted to Maggie, so maybe closer proximity would help speed things along.

We followed Steffi’s car back to the Center and waited while Maggie packed a bag.

“Thank you,” I said quietly to Lachlan in the backseat. Lucas and Soren were waiting for Maggie, leaning on the hood of the Range Rover.

“For what?” he asked.

“For getting Maggie to come home with us. Maybe now you can stop being a weirdo and talk to her,” I said with a smile. He scowled.

“I do talk to her,” he said and heaved a huge sigh. “I’m sorry that I’m still hesitating.”

“No, no moody bastard tonight,” I said, and poked him in the side.

“But I am sorry. About everything.”

“I don’t need any more apologies, Lach. We’re good.”

He held my gaze, and a strange tension rose between us. I’d felt it a few times over the last couple of weeks, like his intensity was boiling over somehow. It had started the night he’d growled at me in jealousy for Maggie, but that couldn’t be the full explanation.

My heart flipped in my chest at his proximity, his scent. I thought I was used to it, that I could shove those feelings down and see him just as my packmate. But it seemed like Maggie was stirring up everything, good and bad, and the deep ache I’d buried for years was resurfacing.

“Ben,” he said slowly. “I do need to-”

“Hey, she’s coming out,” Lucas said, peering into the backseat at us.

I hopped out immediately to give myself some breathing room. Focus on Maggie , I told myself. Lachlan wasn’t interested in me that way.

Soren had gone to grab her duffel bag from Steffi, and he slung it across his shoulder. I bounded over, ready to scoop her up, until I remembered the broken rib at the last moment. I settled for kissing her cheek.

“You’re sleeping with me tonight,” I whispered to her.

“She’s sleeping in her own room,” Soren said firmly. “We don’t trust you not to break the rules.”

“Do you see this? They’re so cruel to me,” I said melodramatically, and she laughed.

“I’m sorry, but they’re probably right,” she said. “I think if I said I wanted to fuck you in the backseat, you wouldn’t try to stop me.”

Even though I knew she was joking, my body still responded, and I growled softly into her ear until she shivered against me.

“Exactly what we’re talking about,” Soren said, stowing Maggie’s bag in the trunk .

“I’m not staying in the suite,” Maggie said stubbornly, refusing to climb the last flight of stairs.

“Baby, it’s your room,” Soren said.

“If I do end up moving into that room, it’ll be because of something… good. Not Todd fucking Phillips,” she said venomously.

“You can stay in the guest room,” Lachlan said before Soren could argue. “It’s at the end of the hall.”

The guest room was across the hall from Lachlan’s room, and shared a wall and a bathroom with mine.

It had a window overlooking the front of the house, and was furnished in shades of bronze and cream.

“The bathroom is through there. Unfortunately, you’re sharing it with this one,” Lachlan said, pointing to me.

“This is perfect,” Maggie said.

The rest of us were standing by the door and even though it was late, no one wanted to leave.

“Goodnight,” Lachlan said finally after an awkward pause. He turned to leave, but then course-corrected and walked to Maggie instead. “May I?”

Maggie nodded, looking confused, until Lachlan wrapped her in a tender hug. He pressed his nose to her hair and inhaled. She swayed into him and wrapped her arms tightly around his waist, burying her face in his chest.

“I’m very glad that you’re here,” he said, and stepped back slowly after brushing a kiss to her temple. “Sleep well.”

He met my eyes as he left the room, and that intensity was back. I tried to school my expression into something normal, but I wasn’t sure I had successfully hidden the rush of desire and blood that came from seeing the two of them together.

Soren was kissing Maggie goodnight when I shook my mind clear.

“You filthy hypocrite,” I said, yanking on his arm to break them apart. He was grinding into her, and she was whimpering, clutching at his shirt with her injured hands .

“Fair enough,” he said, smirking, and gave her one last peck. “Sweet dreams, baby.”

Lucas kept it PG. He embraced her gently while Maggie took deep lungfuls of his scent, the tension visibly melting away from her body. “See you in the morning,” he said, and gave me a stern look. “Keep the door cracked.”

“Ha ha,” I said sarcastically and slammed it in his face to make a point. Maggie laughed, but I could tell she was exhausted.

“I’m on my best behavior, I promise,” I said. “But I think getting ready for bed is going to be difficult with your little crab claws.” I gestured to her bandaged hands.

Maggie looked down at them and sighed. “Damnit, I think you’re right. Can you grab my pajamas out of the bag for me? I can get them on, but I don’t think that zipper is my friend right now.”

“I’ve got a better idea,” I said and bolted through the bathroom and into my room from the connecting door. I grabbed a t-shirt and a clean pair of boxers and sprinted back to her room.

“For you, milady,” I said, breathing hard. Maggie laughed at me and pressed the shirt to her nose.

“Thank you,” she said sincerely.

I helped her get out her toothbrush and toothpaste and plug in her phone to charge. “Do you need anything else?”

“I… would you… never mind,” she said, blushing again.

“Yeah, no, you’re gonna need to finish that thought,” I said.

“Would you mind staying with me tonight? I don’t want to be alone after today.” She was staring at the floor, but when I didn’t immediately answer, she looked up at me.

“Hell fucking yes,” I said, my heart racing. “But still on my best behavior, of course.”

I went back to my room to change and met Maggie in the bathroom. She was already wearing my t-shirt and boxers and she looked so good in them it should have been illegal. It didn’t help that her eyes went straight to my bare chest and traced their way down to the waistband of my sweatpants.

Best behavior , I thought sternly.

We brushed our teeth side by side at the sink. I tried and failed not to laugh at poor Maggie holding her toothbrush between two bandaged hands, and then followed her back into the guestroom.

She scurried into bed as quickly as possible, pulling the blanket up to her chin.

I switched off the light and slid under the covers beside her.

The sheets were cool and crisp. We lay in silence for a moment, then Maggie scooted closer to me and I met her in the middle.

She pressed her back against my chest, and I curled around her, draping my arm carefully across her waist so I didn’t hurt her ribs.

It felt so right, having her in my arms. She sighed and snuggled closer to me.

“Thank you for staying with me,” she said, already drowsy.

“The pleasure is all mine, sweetheart,” I said and kissed the curve of her ear.

She drifted off quickly, but I lay awake, breathing in her scent and marveling at the fact that we’d finally found our match.