Page 20 of Unbonded (Pack’s Companion #3)

Breakfast is served on the terrace, and I’m feeling so blissfully happy, I’m certain it’s only Dash’s hand in mine that keeps me from floating off into the dawn-streaked sky.

My lips are raw and my legs like jelly, but I’m sparkling clean, Dash having spent an age on his knees in the shower, lathering every inch of my body with his tongue and hands.

While I was still coming down from another mind-scrambling orgasm, he brushed out my hair and patted some of his suppressant on my tingling skin.

He told me I didn’t need it – and maybe I don’t, given that his scent is now friction-burned into my pores - but I insisted.

Our blissful bubble can only last so long, and the last thing I want is my bitter scent to be the thing to pop it.

I grip his hand tighter as an immaculately dressed Corbus rises from a table loaded with exotic dishes.

My empty stomach growls at the tantalizing spread, but more than a little of my hunger is directed at the magnetic man in his wool-silk plaid suit.

He removes his sunglasses as we approach, and I watch the alpha carefully as he examines us, his gaze lingering on our clasped hands.

Dash seems completely unconcerned – smug , even – and I try to remember his reassuring words from last night.

“Morning, Corbus,” he hums, kissing the alpha’s lips and tugging me down into the seat next to him. “I’m famished. Ooh! You got the good pastries.”

“It’s a special occasion,” Corbus replies in his lilting accent, his gaze sliding from Dash to me. “ Goedemorgen , Kate. I hope the bed was comfortable.”

I bite my lip, my manners struggling against the influx of wild images from last night. “Um, yes. It was very comfortable, thanks.”

Dash smirks around his pastry, his heavy-lidded look making my pulse throb between my legs. There’s no way Corbus can miss the spike of arousal in his scent, but he just smiles at the omega. “Good to see you’ve worked up an appetite. We should do sleepovers more often.”

“Shouldn’t we?” Dash purrs, licking his fingers with cat-like precision. “In fact, we should make this a regular thing.”

I try to give him a reproving glance, but I’m pretty sure I just look hopelessly giddy.

Since I opened my eyes to Dash’s beautiful face, I’ve been telling myself I shouldn’t get my hopes up.

This could just be a fling. A chance to burn off some sexual steam.

But my hungry little heart isn’t listening, especially when he reaches under the linen tablecloth and dances his fingers up the inside of my thigh.

“Coffee, Kate?”

My head snaps up, bobbing jerkily as Corbus fills my cup from a steaming pot. I bury myself gratefully in the hot drink, eating blindly from the plate in front of me until Corbus says, “Ah, here comes Bram.”

Dash leaps out of his chair and dances over to the other alpha, who tracks him like a shooting star streaming across the sky.

Bram is dressed in a no-frills business suit, the fabric straining against his broad shoulders.

His short hair is damp, and his ink and leather scent even more potent as he pulls Dash in for a long, slow kiss.

Seeing them together – two very different forms of masculine beauty - brings those wild images from last night back to the fore, and I squirm in my seat.

“You both look refreshed,” Bram remarks in his low rumble, stooping to kiss my cheek. I hold my breath so I don’t breathe in too much of his scent, but he does the opposite, and I wonder if he can smell Dash on my skin. “Did Corbus discuss the contract with you yet?”

“Contract?” I look between the two alphas. “You mean for the remodel?”

He shakes his head. “This is about you.”

He places a neat stack of papers beside his plate, and I can’t help but think of Lachlan’s information pack on my kitchen counter. Could this be about my heat? Has Bram somehow found out about the auction and decided to place a bid?

It’s a crazy thought, but my heart speeds up as he slides the papers towards me, and I scan the top page.

It’s on Paragon letterhead and reads like an offer of employment, with a live-in arrangement and a monthly wage that makes my jaw drop.

Are they asking me to be their housekeeper?

But it’s only when I flip to the next page that I see the position title.

“You want me to be your pack’s companion? ”

Dash has been reading over my shoulder, but now he scowls and tosses his pastry back on his plate. “I don’t know how you say significant other in Flemish, Corbus, but it better sound exactly like the word ‘companion’.”

I breathe a little easier at his outrage, because how can I be disappointed when he just called me a significant other?

“It’s okay, Dash,” I murmur and flip another page, reading carefully.

Since Stanley King brought his wrecking ball into my life, I’ve gotten better at checking the fine print on contracts, but I can’t see a definition of the position anywhere.

‘Companion’ was once a term used to describe an employee – who was usually a beta –engaged by a pack as a sort of emotional support person for their omega.

While Dash clearly disapproves of the label, I’ve definitely done worse jobs.

“I don’t mean to offend you,” Corbus says quickly, and when I glance up from the contract, there are spots of color on his high cheekbones.

His cedarwood scent has also spiked, flooding my senses with what tastes like regret.

“My intention is only to give you protection, legally and physically. As a member of the Paragon family, you will have a safe place to live while your renovations are complete, as well as granting you access to our pack’s resources.

That includes a salary for an initial six-month period, even if you decide to end the arrangement before that time. ”

I skim the details, not quite believing my eyes. Unless I’m mistaken, they want me to live in their palatial home and provide companionship to their pack for an absurd sum of money. “This is very generous, but I don’t understand. Why are you offering me this?”

“It’s a mutually beneficial arrangement,” Bram says, using his soothing voice. “And the formality is just to protect you.”

“But this is a companionship contract. What does that mean to you?”

“Friendship,” Corbus says, opening his hands like he’s offering me the world - and isn’t he, in a way?

I’m not so blinded by pride that I can’t recognize a highly attractive proposition.

“Emotional support,” he goes on. “Company while at work. Even dates to public events, if you’re both so inclined. ”

I glance at Dash, finally understanding what they’re trying to achieve with this offer. “You want to pay me to spend time with Dash?”

“Oh my God,” he huffs, glaring at the two alphas. “You make me sound like such a catch, guys.” He turns to face me, cheeks flushed as he rolls his eyes. “Ignore them, Kate. You stay because you want to stay. Not everything is a soulless business transaction.”

His censure is clearly being levelled at the alphas, but I don’t object to the formality of the contract.

The actual responsibilities might not be spelled out in full, but I’m confident they’re making the offer in good faith.

I’ve learned the difference between an opportunity and a trap while dealing with King, but there is still a major hitch in their plan that I have to point out.

“My design work is very important to me, and I have a number of projects I can’t just abandon.

I refuse to leave Florence in the lurch. ”

“Of course not.” Bram looks unfazed by this complication. “But this contract would allow you to quit the housekeeping work and focus on your career. There’s a line item in the budget for materials for your own projects, although I may have underestimated the cost. Fashion isn’t really my forte.”

He shifts his shoulders in his too-tight suit, and I tilt my head, considering him. “It’s not so bad.”

“Hmm. I outgrew the big and tall store when I was a teenager. Nothing fits.”

“Is that a challenge?” He raises his brows at me, and I shrug. “A few tweaks, a couple of tucks, and I’d have you ready for Fashion Week.”

He doesn’t look convinced, but Dash seems to have warmed to the plan.

“You could work on your own designs from here. There’s plenty of space, and there’s even an empty room next to my studio.

” He leans closer, his voice dropping an octave.

“I bet we could squeeze some wraparound mirrors out of Bram’s budget. ”

I blush, my skin tingling at the heat in his eyes. But there’s more than just our attraction to consider. The alphas are in the process of courting Dash, but there’s nothing in the pages I’ve read to suggest they have any romantic intentions towards me .

It shouldn’t squeeze my heart. I’ve just spent one of the best nights of my life with Dash. Am I really greedy enough to want more?

But looking at Bram sparks that same magnetic pull I felt before I climbed all over him in his car, and I’ve been floating on Corbus’ addicting scent ever since I sat at the table.

He hasn’t given me any sign of a connection between us, but maybe exposure will awaken it.

If I’m living under his roof, at least I could work out if it’s real, or just my hormones going haywire.

Which brings me back to my approaching heat, and Dr. Green’s warnings.

I’ll need to see her again and find out how living here might affect my condition.

For now, I’ll keep my appointment with Lachlan, if only to decide if I could go through with a heat auction.

But at some stage, I’ll have to discuss it with Dash, especially if I’m going to keep sharing his bed.