Page 21 of Match (Damselverse #1)

Chapter twenty-one

Halle

A shaft of warm sunlight pierces the thin curtains of the nest, highlighting Penn’s gorgeous face as he sleeps right beside me, and I still can’t believe it…

I have an Alpha. One who is sleeping soundly beside me, just like a precious baby.

Not for the first time, I appreciate his features as my eyes trace every sculpted angle of his face.

His full lips are puckered up as he presses his cheek against the pillow, snoring away peacefully.

Well, no. He doesn’t snore, not really. His mouth just makes little puffs of sound.

I can’t believe Penn is real at times, and that he’s all mine. In sleep, he is truly beautiful, the taut lines between his eyebrows a thing of the past.

I have never seen this side of him, and I could happily watch him sleep forever.

He soon stirs, opening his gray eyes, and they settle on me for a moment. He seems to be trapped in that momentary place between waking and sleep as he tries to figure me out for a second, and then the line returns between his brows.

“You’re watching me sleep.”

It's a statement rather than a question.

I peer away coyly. “Is that creepy?”

He shuts his eyelids, smiling lightly as he rubs the grit from his tear ducts. “Normally, yes. But not with you, princess. I could feel you watching me sleep. It was pleasant.”

I bet, but that face just deserves an audience. I am still sheepish when I say, “Sorry.”

He opens his eyes to their fullest now. “Don’t ever apologize. I would have watched you sleep, too, if I had risen first.”

I snort, booping his pert nose. “Ha, well, I beat you to it.”

Penn rubs the spot on his nose that I just booped. “And I thought I was an early riser.”

Oh, no. No one beats me in that department. As soon as I’m awake, I don’t fall back asleep.

Those five a.m. starts back at my old pack’s house were some of the best hours of my life. Since they all liked to sleep until noon, I cherished those quiet hours.

Being able to watch the sun rise and thinking about my grandma…

I wonder if she would have liked Penn. No, I don’t have to wonder because I knew she would have. If she were alive, she’d be giving me a high five right now for scoring such a hottie.

Grandma loved her men. She was a natural flirt, too, even in her senior years. She had been a young Omega in the sixties, wearing her short miniskirts and whatnot, so it goes without saying…

Sex was liberating in her eyes.

Someone knocks on the nest door, and Penn and I raise our heads.

He glances at me. It's one of the others, and I have no doubt who it will be.

Aiden is still giving me the cold shoulder. I don’t think that Alpha will ever warm to me.

There were moments in the surgery when I would catch him stealing glances my way or whenever I walked Sabrina.

Sabrina!

Who is walking the sweet dog now?

“Come in,” I call.

Dane finally pops his head in, trying his best to remain poker-faced. No doubt the nest reeks of sex.

“Hey, Petal,” he says.

Penn starts rolling out of bed, searching for his pants as I brush a stray strand from my eyes. “Hey, Dane.”

Dane peers at Penn, raising his brows. Penn is too embarrassed to meet his pack brother’s gaze as he keeps searching for his pants.

“So…you had a good night?” Dane asks.

I bite my lower lip, glancing over at Penn quickly. His cheeks are bright red as he grits his teeth.

“Not now, Dane,” he hisses through clenched teeth.

But the big firefighter just laughs, stepping inside the room. “No. I want details.”

Penn gives him a warning glare, but Dane merely folds his arms, hiking up his brows further.

In the end, Penn just grabs his glasses, placing them on his face as he brushes back a messy curl. “ Fiinnne . Halle and I have officiated our bond. We are now mates.”

My heart pounds at the word officiated. When he puts it that way…

Penn finally finds his pants, stepping inside them. “I’m only sharing this information with you because you are my pack brother, Dane… and you were the one who brought her into our lives. But don’t push it.”

That is true. If it weren’t for Dane, I would have been burned to a crisp.

Not a pleasant thought.

That’s when my Omega picks up on the tantalizing scent of food, and I whip my head around at Dane.

He grins, stepping outside to bring in a breakfast tray, and I reach my hands out. “Gimme!”

Dane chuckles, stepping closer to the bed as he places the tray on my lap. “Only if you let me be the one to feed you, Petal. I may not be your Alpha yet , but you are still mine by extension. What is Penn’s is mine now, too. Isn’t that right, Penny?”

Penn has to close his eyes, taking several deep breaths before he answers. Alphas are not known to share, but a pack of Alphas are a whole different story.

After all, our bond is still new. Penn is going to be pretty clingy for the next few weeks. Maybe even forever.

“I guess so,” he growls out.

Dane grins, patting his pack brother on the back. Penn is tense, but I can tell he is trying to calm his Alpha down.

In the end, Dane is not a rival Alpha. He is his pack brother. There is no threat here.

But Penn doesn’t look pleased by the whole breakfast in bed. I bet he thinks Dane is trying to show him up.

“Appreciate it, brother,” Dane gives Penn a man hug now, and the gesture seems to calm Penn a little.

So, Dane finally feeds me breakfast in bed as Penn sets out my clothes for the day, a simple tee and leggings, hanging them up on the closet. He even gets out a lint roller to remove any lint, and he is so thorough.

Damn, Dane makes some nice scrambled eggs. He places them in my mouth with a fork, letting me take my time to savor the taste.

“These are amazing!”

The firefighter grins, flashing me his teeth. I spy his fangs, and my pussy betrays me. My pulse burns, itching for his bite.

Soon. When the time is right.

“Glad you like them, Petal. Nice and fluffy, just for you.”

I nod, taking another bite of eggs as I ask. “Who walked Sabrina?”

Dane grabs a napkin, wiping at my mouth. “I did. The dog is fine. You just rest, Petal. You’ve gone through a transformation. Your Omega needs this.”

She does. This is the first time since she manifested that she’s been doted on. Truly. And she is lapping up every moment.

Now Dane handfeeds me crispy streaks of bacon, and both Alphas watch with bated breath as I make eating bacon sound like porn.

It’s just good bacon.

Where has this Alpha been my whole life?

Dane grins mischievously. “You just take your precious time, Petal. Savor every bite.”

Oh, I will. I chew slowly and methodically as I cherish every bite. Penn observes quietly the whole time, and…are his glasses steaming up again?

Dane even helps me drink my orange juice, tipping my head back as he presses the glass to my parched lips. Once I’m finished, he pours me a hot bath, carrying me across the room to the en suite.

He averts his gaze like a gentleman as I dip my big toe into the hot water, yet I decide that it’s time he saw all of me, too.

“You can open your eyes, Dane. It’s fine. I’m your Omega, too.”

The Alpha nods, and now he opens his hazel eyes, taking in the sight of me from the top of my head to my toes.

“Fuck,” he whispers.

Now I try to avert my eyes as his dick hardens beneath his pants. Someone growls in the corner of the bathroom, and I look over at Penn.

He swallows back the sound as soon as I toss him an accusatory look. He had his turn, and now he needs to learn to share.

Dane and I need to get acquainted.

“I will fix your sheets,” Penn mutters as he steps out of the bathroom, and I roll my eyes.

Always with the cleaning.

Dane glances back at me, and I meet his eyes. “You can help me in the tub.”

Trust me, I know how to step into a tub, but I can tell that his Alpha is desperate to take care of me.

So, now the big Alpha steps toward me, picking me up bridal style as he places me into the tub.He sets me down gently, and once again, I am treated as if I am made from breakable porcelain.

I pick up the loofah. “You can wash me.”

Dane’s pupils expand at the prospect, and now they take over his hazel eyes as he grabs the loofah, rubbing it over my skin.

I can sense Penn through the bond. He hates that Dane is washing away his scent from me, but then I assure him that he is still my Alpha too, as I press a light finger to his bitemark.

It shuts the Alpha up.

Dane is hesitant as he runs the loofah up and down my shoulders, avoiding my intimate areas.However, I grab his big, callused hand, directing it over my breasts in a circular motion.

He rubs soap over my breasts as I direct, his breath coming faster.

Once he’s done with the loofah, he drops it into the water behind me, and now we sit in silence.

“Wash my hair,” I suggest.

With a deep breath, the Alpha grabs a bottle of shampoo, and now he squirts it onto my head, lathering my hair up as he massages my scalp.

I melt beneath his magic touch. So good with those fingers. What else are they capable of?

Now, I grab his wrist, running the pad of my finger over each callus of his large hand. Then, I brush his fingers down my body until they reach the apex of my thighs.

His breath stutters. “Halle.”

“No. It’s fine, Dane. I want you to bond me. It’s time.”

Better now than later.

Besides, with two bitemarks, then the harder it will be for my old pack to take me back. They will have no claim on me with both Penn’s and Dane’s bites.

He swallows. “All right, Petal. But only after I pleasure you first and knot you.”

My heart pounds, and then he slips his finger inside me. A pleasured gasp escapes me as he finds my clit, brushing his calluses around the sensitive nub, and I have to hold onto the sides of the tub for support as the blood rushes to my pussy.

When he pushes further inside me, hooking his finger in a come-hither motion, I shatter.

My core clenches around his large finger, squeezing it tightly, and I know…it’s time my Omega had another knot.

With a strangled growl, he lifts me out of the tub dripping wet, then rushes us back to the bed.

He uses a towel, wrapping up my wet hair so it doesn’t soak my sheets, and then he starts licking away at the water droplets on my skin.

I arch beneath him, wrapping my fingers through his thick brown hair as he nips and licks at my flushed skin.

Penn will be furious, as he had just fixed up my bedsheets, but they were bound to get messy again, anyway.

He's still in the room, sitting in a big rattan chair in the corner quietly. He can’t go too far, as it will only hurt my Omega.

It won’t always be this way. It’s only because our bond is new, but over time, we will be able to increase the distance between us.

Which is good, because I want a healthy relationship. Being tied at the hips was never sexy to me.

We’re still our own people. We can’t forget that.

Dane kisses a hot path between my breast, wrapping his lips around my left nipple as he sucks it hard.

I can sense how tense Penn is through our bond as he half-sits on the chair, ready to pounce at a moment’s notice should I need him.

And I will. Very soon.

Dane finds my core, and when he slips his tongue inside, flicking the tip in circles around my clit, my head snaps back.

Lights sprinkle in my peripherals, and I’m getting close.

Fuck!

“You taste amazing, Petal. Much better than I dreamed…”

His Alpha growl vibrates against my pussy lips, and then I gasp a moan as he continues to tease me with his tongue.

His tongue digs deeper, and my body tenses as I ready for release.

When he licks at a certain spot, I come apart on his tongue, and the Alpha laps up every drip of my slick.

The strong scent of rose fills my nest, and poor Penn finally loses control. From the corner of my eye, I watch as he unzips his pants and starts working on himself.

Finally, Dane takes off his pants and his T-shirt, and I get an eyeful of that physique.

This is an Alpha that can bust down any door, running into a burning building without hesitation, and I reach up now, brushing my hands down his hard pecs.

They flex beneath me, and I make a giddy sound.

He's all hard muscle, and I lick my lips, spying that happy trail that runs around his belly button down to the sharp V of his thighs.

His cock extends toward me, and I grab it, guiding him toward my opening.

Dane enters me with ease, and soon he stretches out my pussy, reaching more places I never knew existed.

When he flexes his hips, I expand further, and soon we build up a rhythm as he works us up to an orgasm.

We unravel at the same time, and the moment his knot swells, stretching out my muscles even further, his mouth finds my throat, and he bites. Hard.

Another flash of light blinds me, and I sense Penn tearing apart at the seams as another joins our bond.

I bet they were close before they met me, but now they will be even closer as I have only brought them together.

Now they will understand each other on a deeper, more intrinsic level as they now share an Omega—the most sacred bond of all.

Dane licks at the wound his teeth left, and now the bite will heal nicely. An Alpha’s saliva acts as a sealant on a newly formed bond, helping to set it in place.

My veins practically hum as Dane sends good vibes through the bond, helping to balance out Penn’s broodiness.

“How does it feel, Petal?” he asks, and funny—Penn asked the same thing last night after he knotted me, and I tell Dane the same thing I told him.

“Like I’ve been reincarnated.”

Dane grins, flashing his bright white teeth. “My thoughts exactly. I am a whole new Alpha when I am with you, Petal… You are now mine . No one will ever come between us. I promise.”

A tear drips from my eye, and Dane reaches down, kissing it away with his lips. “That old pack of yours won’t stand a chance.”

It's all too much, and now the waterworks make their appearance. That’s when Penn rises, nestling in beside me as he wraps his arms around me, even while Dane is still notched in deep.

It will be some time before his knot deflates, but I bask in the moment.

Now, I have two Alphas who will move mountains for me and destroy all my enemies.

Two out of three.

My Omega still feels the rejection, and she knows that Aiden will never trust her…trust me.

After all, I lied. I am nothing but trouble.

The last thought echoes as I fall back asleep in my Alpha’s strong arms, trying to hold on to any semblance of peace I’m able to find in my tumultuous mind.

I am safe. Right now, that is all that matters.