Page 32 of Knottily Ever After (Crescent Lake Cozy Omegaverse #1)
Chapter Thirty-One
Quinn
“ Y ou’ve got this, sweetheart.”
Another workout day with Vi at Golden Fitness. She’s on the stair-climber, and I am doing my best to think about the biggest turn-offs I can come up with at the sight of her shapely ass on this machine.
Whichever leg steps up, the round globe of her ass formed by that bent leg calls to me, tauntingly.
You can fuck her in this position.
You can do it right here inside your gym.
No one else is here.
Motherfucker.
“I’m going to get some water for us.” That’s a good distraction.
Vi’s glistening skin makes her scent even more potent, makes the draw to her difficult to resist. But I know better than to do something like that here. Leaving our scents inside this gym would be bad for business.
I return with a water bottle just as Vi’s wrapping up, cooling down. I grab a clean towel and hand them to her as she steps down.
“Thanks.” She smiles at me brightly, and I purse my lips, head shaking.
Ever since she fucked Ben—me first—Vi has been in an amazing mood.
Sex agrees with this goddess.
And I am here for it.
When I return home with groceries to cook dinner tonight, Vi is waiting for me at the kitchen island and hops off the stool to try and help me.
“No way,” I say, dodging her incoming hands and placing the bags on the island.
“What?” she laughs.
“I don’t need your help lifting stuff, sweetheart. It’s nice of you to offer, though, Muscles.”
She lets out a loud “ Pffft,” then joins me at the counter to unpack my payload.
“Are you making chicken tacos?” She sounds surprised or confused.
I give an affirmative hum, peck her forehead. “Gotta get this stuff in the fridge so I can shower then cook.”
“I’ll take care of that. You go shower.”
I cut her a look.
“Time efficiency,” she says with a smug smile as she starts putting groceries away.
She stops before I turn around, catches my eye, her smile turning warm. “I love you, Quinn.”
My knees wobble at her declaration, my body stands frozen, eyes wide on her. When I can breathe again, I swallow and say, voice rough, “I love you, too, sweetheart.”
Warmth enveloping my body and soul, one shower later, I come back to the kitchen and find Ben there with Vi, his glasses down a bit on the bridge of his nose, his hand gently placed on her lower back at the counter where she’s talking and looking down at something.
“And then you hold it like this, fingers curled in, just in case.” She has a quarter of an onion on a cutting board with a medium knife, showing Ben, who could burn water, how to cut it properly.
I want to laugh at them, but damn, he is watching her every move like he means business. I can’t be a dick about that. The kid wants to learn.
When I get closer, Vi looks up at me and grins, then goes back to her lesson. “Depending on how large you want your chunks, this part is important. You cut it into slivers length-wise, leaving enough of the root end intact to keep it all together.” She starts chopping, slowly. “See?”
Ben’s dark head bobs. “I got it.”
“And then,” she twists the cutting board, “you cut it across to complete the size you want.” And she does just that.
“You like your onions tiny,” I note with bemusement.
She laughs, nodding. “I like the flavor of onions in dishes, but I don’t eat them raw like some people.”
“Oh?” Ben is enraptured. “Why not?”
Her face scrunches, nose wrinkling in the cutest way. “It’s the crunch.”
I laugh. “I remember at lunch you saying you don’t eat raw tomatoes, either.”
She makes a little gagging noise. “It’s the squish.”
Ben has just about lost it laughing, that deep voice of his echoing off the kitchen surfaces.
It isn’t long before we’re all in the kitchen prepping food together, smiles and laughter abound.
I have to admit that it’s nice having Ben helping in the kitchen instead of staying as far away as possible out of fear.
We give him the easy jobs, but Vi still watches over him.
When the front door opens, I call out, “Welcome home, Vaughn!”
Vi and Ben chime in their happy greetings, and when Vaughn enters view from the hallway, something… changes.
There’s a scent in the air, harsh and sour, so instantaneous and overwhelming, I’m not sure what’s happening at first. But I look at Vaughn, and I realize the scent is radiating off of him, and it wasn’t until he saw us in the kitchen.
I peer over at Ben and Vi, both of them looking at Vaughn questioningly, Vi’s head tilted a bit.
“Looks like you’re all having fun,” he says, and his tone is just as off as his scent.
Vi’s demeanor changes with a deep breath. She goes from happy to calm and serious in a blink, and I am more than impressed, maybe a little scared.
“We are having fun,” she tells him simply. “You should join us and help cook.”
The expression on his face is nothing I’ve ever seen Vaughn wear. It was a contorted sneer. “I wouldn’t want to interrupt. I’m sure you’ll all be fucking after you’re done.”
My fist slams on the counter so hard, I don’t know if I’ve broken it, my hand, or both. “That’s enough. Back off, Vaughn.” It’s a challenging bark, my breaths coming ragged.
Ben had moved to physically shield Vi the moment Vaughn started speaking.
Vaughn shoots up straight, eyes wide, lips parted. His brows slowly draw together as he looks around the kitchen like he doesn’t know how he got there. As his gray eyes grow watery, that terrible scent fades like his body is sucking it in and hiding it.
“I’m so sorry,” he whispers, voice hoarse and cracking at the end. “To all of you.” He looks at Vi, who moves out from behind Ben’s back, slow and careful. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me.” There’s a near sob in his words, and my stance eases.
He’s going into a rage. It’s not going to be long before this is every day. Until…
Vaughn turns and rushes to his room, where he shuts the door firmly behind him.
Vi lets out a steady breath, looks at me, then Ben, with a small smile. “Will you two be okay without me for a while?”
I grin at her. “We’ll be just fine.”
She nods, washes and dries her hands with an unmistakable glint of determination in her eyes, then heads for Vaughn’s room.