Deliberate.
It’s the kind of kiss that saysthis is happening.
When he withdraws, his gaze drops to my mouth, then to my eyes. The fierce determination in his sends my pulse skyrocketing.
“You’re going into heat,” he says quietly.
I huff a faint breath that almost feels like laughter. “Yeah,” I reply. “I know. Worst timing ever, right?”
Kai runs a hand through his hair. “It’s not full yet.”
“No,” I agree. “Just…prickling. Inconvenient though.”
And it is. A low, steady hum beneath my skin. My body feels warmer than it should, my senses sharpened to an almost electric awareness. Their scents wrap around me thickly, amplifying everything. But Soljustgot shot. The timing isawful.
“Where do you want to do this?” Finn asks gently.
The bluntness doesn’t shock me.
It steadies me.
Kai gestures toward the door. “We have an omega suite built in at our place.”
I blink. “You what?”
Koa’s mouth twitches. “It’s not set up properly. We’ve never used it.”
“Our parents built it years ago,” Kai adds. “Just in case.”
“In case what?” I ask.
“In case the right omega ever showed up,” Finn says simply. “I think they were hoping we’d pack up and settle down.”
The words settle into me like weight.
“It’ll smell more like us,” Sol says quietly. “Walls. Floors. Everything.”
The idea sends another pulse of warmth low in my stomach.
I glance around Gran’s place. At the cracked plaster from the scuffle and the gun shots. At the sheet that was covering my father’s body earlier, discarded on the floor. At the history embedded in these walls.
“I don’t want to desecrate her house,” I say softly.
Kai snorts lightly. “That’s fair.”
“We’ll go next door,” Finn agrees immediately.
They move with efficient ease, slipping into motion as if this is simply the next necessary step.
Kai pauses by the freezer on the way out and yanks it open.
“What are you doing?” I ask.
He pulls out a box of frozen cookies and tucks it under his arm.
“There’s enough sugar in these to fuel an orgy,” he says casually. “We’re going to need it.”
I stare at him. Koa sniggers. Even Sol’s mouth twitches faintly.