Page 13 of Knot Enough (Fruity Omegas #1)

“Can you text Corretta and let her know we need to take Lydia home?” I asked Gabriel.

He made another quick glance at Lydia before nodding his head.

He took out his phone and called Corretta while Lydia leaned on him.

I went down on one knee to better see Lydia’s face.

Her eyes focused on me, and she giggled.

“You're cute. Are you proposing to me?” She asked as she giggled. I smiled at her, hiding my worry. If she felt sick, there was no reason to stress her out.

“Maybe another day. Would you like me to carry you, or can you walk?” I asked as I brushed a piece of hair out of her face.

She closed her eyes and hummed in satisfaction at my touch.

My heart warmed at her reaction, but I wished she would do the same thing when she wasn’t dazed.

After a few seconds, she finally opened her eyes.

She brought up her arms in a pick-me-up motion to me.

I chuckled at her response before standing back up and lifting her in my arms. She immediately relaxed in my hold and brought her face into the crook of my neck.

I could feel her sniff my neck as we waited for Gabriel to finish his phone call.

“You smell nice, like watermelon candy, " she laughed against my neck. Her breath covered my neck in tingles. My chest started vibrating without my consent, letting Lydia know how much I liked the compliment.

“I’m done. Let’s go.” Gabriel said, bringing my attention from Lydia. I watched his eyes soften as he moved some hair from her face. She giggled again at his touch. “She gets needy when she isn’t feeling good,” Gabriel explained.

“Don’t worry. I wish this was under different circumstances, but she’s adorable right now,” I said honestly.

Something about how Lydia openly sought my touch and comfort called to a primal part of me to protect and care for her.

I sat Lydia in the back seat while Gabriel joined her.

I was glad he would watch over her while I drove us back to the house.

After both had their seatbelts on, Lydia moved her head onto Gabriel's lap. Without needing words, he started messing with her hair. A slight purring noise began, and it instantly warmed my heart. This was the first time I heard an omega purr, and I was even happier because it was Lydia. I was jealous I wasn’t the one who brought it on, but I was delighted that she was content.

Before starting the car, I texted Finn and Graham about Lydia in the group chat.

They both immediately replied, saying they would return home as soon as possible.

The entire car ride was filled with Lydia and Gabriel’s purring.

There were several instances when Lydia had a coughing fit, but they quieted down pretty quickly.

By the time we got home, Lydia was already half asleep.

Gabriel picked her up and handed her over to me.

To not wake her up too much, I started my own purr.

The vibrations caused her to nestle closer to my chest. I tightened my hold on her, letting a feeling of protectiveness spread through me.

Gabriel took the house keys from my pocket and unlocked the door.

We walked down the hallway to their bedroom.

Once we were in the bedroom, Gabriel approached Lydia and me.

He brushed her hair lightly with his fingers, causing her eyes to open.

“Lee Lee, do you mind if Sorren enters the nest to lay you down? " he asked her softly. Lydia closed her eyes again and nodded. Gabriel looked back at me.“Let’s go then," he said.

“Are you sure that’s okay?” The nest wasn’t just Lydia’s, but Gabriel’s too. I didn’t want to cause him any distress about my presence being there. Gabriel shook his head.

“I would love for you to enter the nest.” He said, his face becoming a shade of red I’d never seen before.

Entering an omegas nest was a big deal. A nest allowed an omega to feel safe and comfortable; they only allowed people, scents, fabrics, and things they liked in the room.

It was essentially a giant bed or nest meant for an omega’s comfort and safety.

An omega would quickly become distraught if anyone or anything they didn’t like or trust entered that space.

“Alright, if you're sure,” I said, feeling proud to be allowed into such a private place.

“I am, " he said as he brought me to the door leading to their nest. Entering the room, I was fascinated by it.

I had seen the room plenty of times before the omegas, imagining what it would be like if we had someone to fill the space.

The reality of the situation far exceeded my expectations.

The only people who had entered the room after the Omegas came were the movers who put the furniture in here and them.

Several plants with long limbs covered the edges of the room.

In the middle of the room was a large round bed nearly covering one side of the wall.

Behind the bed were several shelves and spaces with books or knick-knacks.

The bed was covered in multiple blankets and pillows that didn’t look like they had an organized design, but I’m sure it did in the omega’s minds.

The only lighting in the room was several fairy lights that covered the ceiling, giving the space a warm, homey glow.

The windows of the nest were drawn, hiding the place from the outside light.

Above all this, though, it smelled heavily of them.

I wanted my body consumed by this mixture of scents with mine added.

“It looks beautiful,” I said, looking around the room, enraptured by the design. Gabriel preened at my comment with a proud grin spreading across his face.

“You can let her down on the bed, " he said with his wide, proud smile. I followed after him and headed towards the bed. When I tried to set Lydia down, however, her grip tightened on me.

“Lydia, baby girl. You have to let go. I need to set you down.” I cooed. Lydia shook her head more aggressively.

“No, stay.” She commanded, tightening her grip even more as she looked at me defiantly. I looked toward Gabriel for help. He shook his head, amused at the situation.

“Lydia, dear. Let Sorren set you down, and he’ll cuddle you once he changes.” He said, watching us from where he was seated on the edge of the bed. Lydia considered his words for a moment before she relented her grip on my clothes.

“Fine, " she grumbled as she allowed me to set her down. Once she nestled in the blankets, she had another fit of coughing. I missed her weight in my arms, but I reminded myself of the future cuddling session.

“I’ll be right back,” I said as I kissed her forehead. She purred softly at the attention. Gabriel moved to settle beside her on the bed.

“Hurry back.” She pouted as she moved to rest her head against Gabriel.

I nodded and hurried out the door. Graham and Finn were the caretakers.

My job here was to ensure she was happy while they cared for her.

That thought didn’t stop me from grabbing a glass of water and cold relief medicine after I changed.

When I returned to the room, Gabriel and Lydia were still in the positions I left them.

Walking across the room, I set down the glass of water and pills and lightly touched Lydia’s hair to wake her up in her drowsy state.

“Baby girl, can you take this medicine before going to bed?” I asked softly. She grumbled at my words but silently lifted herself up from where she was lying with Gabriel's help. She took the medicine and glass of water from me without any fuss and downed both.

“Now, cuddles.” She commanded as she laid back down and held out her hands in a grabbing motion.

I chuckled at her shenanigans and moved to get comfortable next to her.

Lydia’s front was in front of me while Gabriel laid behind her with one of his arms across her waist. She moved to rest underneath my chin where I could hold hands with Gabriel and wrap her closer to me with my other hand.

Gabriel and I started to purr, which caused Lydia to relax even more.

Before we all knew it, we were asleep.I woke up to a soft knocking on the door.

The scents alone told me that it was Finn and Graham.

“Come in!” Gabriel yelled as softly as possible, not wanting to wake up Lydia. At Gabriel's words, the door opened softly. Graham and Finn wore concerned expressions as they entered the room.

“Can we step inside?” Graham asked, looking at Gabriel. Gabriel rolled his eyes at the question.

“I just said you could,” Gabriel said in mock frustration. Graham’s eyes darkened, most likely at the thought of doing something about his brattiness. Instead of commenting on that, however, Graham asked a different question.

“How is she?” He asked, watching her face and breathing. I rechecked her forehead.

“Her temp’s gone down, but it’ll probably be another few days before she’s feeling better,” I commented. Graham nodded.

“Finn will start making dinner then. You two are probably hungry, and she needs to eat something before she can sleep all night.” Graham reasoned.

“When was the last time she took medicine?” Finn asked, stepping closer to the bed. I lifted my phone from where it sat on one of the shelves and looked. I squinted my eyes at the brightness of my screen. Only a couple of hours have gone by.

“She still won’t need more for an hour or two. I say we get her to take more when she eats." I said as I set my phone back down. Finn nodded at my words.

“I’ll get a cold towel to put on her head then,” Finn said.

He walked out of the room and returned several minutes later with a damp cloth.

He reached over to Gabriel and tucked the towel on Lydia’s forehead.

The sensation caused her to wake up. She stared into Finn’s eyes.

Her eyes narrowed as she took him in. Finn’s expression transformed into worry.

“Cuddles, now, " she said before closing her eyes again. Finn stared at her in surprise. When Lydia noticed Finn hadn’t moved from where he was, she opened her eyes again and glared at him.

“Cuddles. Now.” She said with more force.

The tone of her voice snapped Finn out of his haze.

He moved to settle next to Gabriel on the bed.

He moved one of his arms across Gabriel, where he could stroke one of Lydia’s arms. Gabriel moved his body to where he could touch Lydia and have his head nestled against Finn’s neck.

Lydia sighed in satisfaction as she moved slightly.

I looked at all of us and felt a warm sensation in my chest.

“I guess I’ll make dinner instead,” Graham said, rolling his eyes.

A warm look filled his eyes before he left the room.

After dinner, Lydia pulled Gabriel and me back to her room to snuggle the rest of the night.

I stayed in a deep state of sleep till movement woke me up.

I opened my eyes to find Lydia sitting up in the middle of a large cuddle pile.

I watched her look around and disappointment entered her eyes.

“What’s wrong?” I immediately asked, worried that she might need something. I checked her forehead again. She was still warm to the touch, but it wasn’t as hot as it was earlier. She jumped at my voice and my touch.

“Oh gosh, you scared me.” She said before going silent. She looked around again and looked back at me. “Where’s Graham?” Her voice was small like she was scared to ask the question.

“Oh baby.” I say getting up to move to her side. Finn was on the left of her and Gabriel had moved away from her other side giving me a small space to be next to her.

“He left after he brought us dinner. He had to get up early tomorrow morning and didn’t want to disturb you.” I told her, pulling her closer to my chest to give her a side hug. Her face told me she wasn’t satisfied with that answer. I decided to try and distract her from her thoughts.

“You know, you were really cute when we were at the gym. You kept trying to hug me and wouldn’t let me go.” I told her, grinning slightly at the memory. Even in the darkness, I could see her face reddening.

“Did I really do that? I’m so sorry.” She groaned as she covered her face with her hands. I chuckled at her reaction and peeled her hands away.

“It’s okay, I didn’t mind a lot, in fact feel free to do that all the time. I like you close to me.” I said, moving slightly closer to her.

“Me, as well.” Finn said from out of nowhere. He sat up from her other side and moved closer to her.

“Me three.” Gabriel said, moving to lay his head and arms on her legs. We surrounded her with our attention and her face got even redder.

“Oh gosh.” She said, Looking at all three of us and down to her hands. She stayed silent so long I began to think we teased her a bit too much, but she spoke again. “Just cuddling?” She asked with a hint of worry. I felt my body melt at her nervousness.

“Just cuddling.” I affirmed. Running my nose along the edge of her face.

“Nothing more unless you want to.” Finn said, laying back down and covering her stomach with one of his arms. Gabriel stayed silent, but he had a warm smile as he watched our interaction.

I leaned over to give him a quick kiss before following Finn’s example and laying back down with my own arm covering Lydia.