Page 43 of Unbonded (Pack’s Companion #3)

I smirk at the barrage of sassy questions, but the change in the alphas hits me like a full-contact collision.

Their scents spike, and twin purrs explode out of them, their gazes locking on Dash with predatory focus.

I’m guessing they’re checking out all the lovebites we bit into his creamy skin, but the omega is completely unfazed by the attention, strutting across the room on a wave of perfumed heat.

“Hello, mijn liefje .” Corbus quickly rises to kiss both of his cheeks, European style. “You were missed.”

“Mmm. You were missed, too.” Dash leans into him, his eyes dreamy as he sticks his nose into the collar of his shirt. “And you smell divine . Like European leather and expensive chocolate.”

“That’s because of these.” Corbus opens the satchel he carried in and produces a gold box wrapped in ribbon.

It smells fancy as hell, and I’m not surprised when Dash squeals and throws grabby hands.

“Handmade pralines from Bruges!” He hugs the box to his chest and tells me, “My first ever courting gift was a pound of these babies. I think I ate them all in three days, and that was with me using a lot of willpower.”

Corbus gives one of his small smiles, but it’s clear he’s got stars in his eyes as he gazes at the omega. “We have other gifts for each of you. But first, how is your heat? Lachlan said things have been going well.”

Dash’s gaze finds mine again and clings, making my heart thump. “It’s been fabulous .” He draws the word out in a sinful drawl, his fingers playing with the biggest lovebite near his gland. “I’m achy and ridiculously needy, but I’m also very, very happy.”

He stretches up for a kiss, and I’m all instinct as I gather him in my arms and pull him to my chest. Of course, that just has the alphas shuffling closer, their purrs starting up again as he leans into Corbus’ chest and Bram nuzzles his neck.

It’s like being wrapped in a sex-coated sheet, and I’m all agreement as Bram croons, “Your scents are delicious mixed together.”

Dash hooks an arm behind him, drawing the big alpha closer.

They kiss, and then it’s a blur of hands and tongues as Dash locks lips with each of us.

It’s highly satisfying that he gives me exactly as much attention as his alphas, and I get a little jolt of exhilaration each time I taste their flavor in his mouth.

But eventually he gives a shiver and staggers out of our embrace.

“God, I want a whole lot more of this, but can we move it into the bedroom? Kate is asleep, I think, but I need you all together in the nest.”

The guys, I realize, have been waiting for this invitation, and snap to attention like a pair of well-trained dogs. “We showered on the plane,” Corbus says as I grab the snacks, and we follow Dash towards his bedroom. “But we can wash up again if you’d like.”

I’m pretty sure Dash is happy with them exactly as they are – travel-rumpled and ready to worship – but Bram gives a small chuckle. “The jet’s probably going to need new upholstery. We’ve been pumping out pheromones ever since we heard your voices on the phone.”

Dash bites his lip and looks over his shoulder, the familiar sight of his rising heat making his face glow. “God, I can’t believe how fucking hot that sounds. I hope you went mile high on each other?”

I smile, but then we step into the bedroom and my gaze snaps to movement on the bed.

Katie is sitting up and blinking at us, the tangled sheet pressed to her chest. If I had an artistic bone in my body, I’d spend a lifetime trying to capture the look on her face as she watches Dash enter the room with the alphas.

Relief, uncertainty, hunger, and something that looks a lot like love, especially when it swings my way.

She gives me a soft smile, then focuses back on the alphas. “You’re home. Is everything okay?”

“It’s perfect,” Bram says in his comforting rumble. “Can we come into your nest, Omega?”

Katie is in the process of sliding to the edge of the bed, but she looks up at him, adorably flushed as she clings to her slick-coated sheet. “Oh. It’s Dash’s bed-.”

“It’s drenched in your scent,” Corbus says in a voice that’s unnaturally thick. In fact, he’s staring at Katie the same way Dash looked at his handmade chocolates. “Please, can we come closer? I’d really like to give you a hug, mijn liefje .”

There’s a hint of strain to his request, and I watch curiously as Katie studies his face.

Corbus is one of those people who are almost impossible to unlock, but every crack in their mask is more than worth the effort.

“I’d like that, too,” she says softly, scooting forward and getting to her feet.

She brings the sheet with her, probably not realizing that it’s like waving a red flag at a very horny bull.

But when she stops in front of him, Corbus is the perfect gentleman, wrapping her carefully in his arms. If he sneaks a sniff of her rumpled hair, who can blame him?

My cock feels like it’s about to explode just from witnessing their awkward little cuddle.

Bram can’t resist either, moving to bracket Katie in their much larger bodies.

She almost disappears inside their embrace, and I hold my breath as they start to purr.

It’s a comforting sound for an omega, but in a heat, it can also be the first sign of an alpha rut.

Not that I need to worry with these guys.

They handle Katie like she’s wearing a Fragile sticker, Bram even leaning down to whisper, “Tell us if it’s too much. ”

“No, I like it.” Her head pops up, her cheeks pink and her pupils dilated. “It’s like getting a chocolate hug.”

Bram gives a low chuckle and slowly eases back, although his hands linger on her arms. “Half of the cargo hold was packed with pralines and truffles.” He draws Dash over to him, nuzzling his neck, then doing the same to Katie.

“Our bags are in our rooms. Do you want me to get the rest of your gifts?”

“Not right now.” Dash cuddles with his alphas a little longer but then nudges them over to the bed.

“I’m pretty enamored with the gift bearers, to be honest, but now that you’re home, I should tell you something.

” He waits until the alphas are perched on the edge of the bed, then looks at Katie and me, indicating that he wants us to huddle close.

I am more than happy to comply, and we form a tight little knot in front of our rapt audience.

“We’ve been talking while you were away,” Dash goes on, “and I’ve made a decision.

I want to bond you and wear your mating marks.

No more procrastinating; I want us to be a real pack.

Just as long as nothing changes between the three of us.

” He hugs Katie and I close, rubbing his cheeks against ours.

We get caught up for a minute, kissing and stroking him hungrily, but he eventually focuses back on the alphas.

“I want you both as my alphas, but I want all five of us to be a pack, and I can’t have one without the other. ”

The alphas exchange a look that’s loaded with meaning. “That’s what we want, too,” Corbus says in his slow, precise way. “Everyone together, however you’ll have us.”

I can feel some of the tension leak out of Dash’s body. “Great. We haven’t talked about the details, but I’m going to be lost to the haze soon, so I want us all on the same page.”

“I think we’re close,” Bram says, a glint of hunger in his gaze.

He’s still wearing the guise of the stoic businessman, but I don’t think it’s going to take much to strip it away.

Something is definitely stirring under his surface, and all of that intensity is suddenly raking over me and Katie.

“And what about you two? Are you open to being claimed as well?”

I look at Katie, since it’s her call more than mine.

“I’m not against it,” she says slowly, “but this is about Dash right now. We can’t risk your bonding in any way.

” That gets a few frowns from around the room, and she threads her fingers through Dash’s, squeezing tight.

“If we tried to form a pack now, and it went wrong because of my unbonding, I’d never forgive myself. ”

I’m already shaking my head, but Dash strokes her cheek, his gaze gentle. “Wrong how, sweetheart? I’m prepared to work around whatever you need.”

She gives a helpless shrug. “I don’t know, but Dr. Green said I was a bit like Ground Zero with my hormones.

To expect the unexpected. And there’s the issue that…

” Her gaze lowers to the floor, and the way her mouth twists makes my heart pinch.

“Bondings can trigger a heat. And I’m just not ready for my last heat to happen right now. ”

Fuck Lee Morrison to the deepest pit in hell.

“Whatever you want, Katie.” I can’t resist drawing her into my arms or tipping her head back so I can kiss that one little tear that’s clinging to her cheek.

“No one is going to trigger anything. Just more kisses and cuddles, same as we’ve been doing.

” I shoot the alphas a warning look, my hackles on the rise.

“Right? You bond Dash, and Katie and I’ll support you, as part of the pack. ”

Not everything in a pack needs to be about bites and bonds, after all. I could be packing the biggest knot on the block, and I couldn’t love Katie more than I already do.

“Agreed,” Bram says, like I didn’t just give him the ultimate cockblock. “We’ve been courting Dash for months, so I think you know we’re good at waiting.”

If I wasn’t staring straight at Corbus, I might have missed the way he twitched at that statement.

I’m sure it’s hard for him to sit on his hands with his beautiful, naked scent match right under his nose, but he just taps his fingers on his knee and asks politely, “What are your other limits, or is it rude to ask?” He doesn’t look to Bram for reassurance right now, all of his attention fixed on Katie.

Before she can answer, he rises to his feet and moves towards us.

Other than the faint flaring of his nostrils, he looks as placid as ever, but there’s a note of longing in his voice as he says, “I really need to kiss you, mijn liefje .”

“That’s fine.” She reaches out to brush the front of his shirt, her hold on the sheet slipping enough to expose the top of her breasts. “I’d like that, too.”

Corbus seems to grow in front of my eyes.

His chest puffs under her tentative touch, his scent rolling over us like a cedarwood mist. I wait for my jealousy to flare, but all those spiky, painful memories of Katie kissing Lee are wiped from my mind as I watch them come together like they were born for it.

Which I guess they were. According to Dash’s favorite movie, scent matching is a greedy bitch of a bond, demanding nothing less than total possession.

“I want more of that,” Katie says when they break apart, her chest straining against her sheet. “Kisses, touching, you can do as much of that as you want.”

Corbus unleashes the biggest smile I’ve ever seen from him, but Bram is watching my face. He must think I’m feeling left out because he asks, “What about you, Lachlan? How do you feel about alpha bites?”

My hand twitches towards the back of my neck before I stop myself.

I’ve done my research on the topic of scent matches, and all the evidence says that the bond only strengthens when scent mates are shared with the pack.

An alpha bite is the most effective way of connecting packmates, so being mated with these guys should supercharge my bond with Katie.

All in all, a win, even before you take into account the other benefits of being in a pack.

The silence has thickened as the implications ran through my head, and I feel my cheeks grow hot. “Ah. I’m open to it, in theory. I want to be a packmate, but Kate is calling the shots about if and when bites happen. Staying close to her and Dash is my end goal.”

“And ours,” Corbus assures me, and I see a gleam of approval in his eyes. “Pack means everything to us, and we’ll do whatever we can to help make that happen.”

“Then can we have a pack hug?” Dash is rising and lowering himself on his toes, while he palms his thickening cock.

His hair is tangled from being rubbed against the sheets and the bites on his body are red and raw on his pale skin, but his scent smells like pure, omega need.

“I know I initiated all this talking, but now I’m more than ready for a little action. ”

I can’t help laughing at his pout, but his alphas are already zeroing in on him in a cloud of alpha musk. I grab Katie’s hand as they herd him towards the bed and wag my brows at her. “Ready for the show, pretty girl?”

She leans into me, her mouth curving into a seductive smile. “Didn’t you hear? We’ve got front-row seats.”