Page 86 of Bubblegum Pop
Their scents blanketed me again as we stepped into the sunlight. Lemon vodka, mango, passion fruit, and everything I had been searching for since our gazes first locked all those years ago.
I flinched as I walked towards the car, gravel biting into the soles of my feet, but I kept my head held high. They could fuck off if they thought they had won.
“Almost there,” Odin said as Bones jumped ahead and opened the back door of the car, standing aside, making room for us to enter. Maybe it was an apology, yet Bones said nothing. Any trust I might have had for them had vanished the moment Michael revealed the truth.
Odin made space for me to climb into the back of the car. I wanted one last look. I turned back to the rundown mansion, bunching the shirt in my palms, pure anger filling me at how simple the building was, and how it was a complete ruin. Broken windows, a collapsed roof, flaked paint on the outside walls, hidden by ivy. Why Gordon thought I’d be happy with all that was a mystery I didn’t want to solve.
As I swept my gaze around, all I could see were trees and land for miles around. I had no clue where we were, or how long it would take us to get back. If it hadn’t been part of Michael’s plan, I could have died out there and no one would have found me.
Odin climbed in first, filling the large seats that faced each other in the car, with enough room for all of us. There was a divider blocking the driver from us and blacked-out windows, as well as the smell of fresh leather that I knew would fade as soon as we closed the car door.
He looked back at me as I stepped inside, and I couldn’t help it. Even though my body ached, I loosened one knee and tripped, flying forward, letting gravity win as I fell towards him with a grin on my face.
His arms shot out, his palms on my stomach, saving me before I could hit the floor. I laughed as he swung me up and planted my ass between his stretched thighs.
“You’ve got to stop doing that,” Odin murmured against the back of my neck. “You’re going to hurt yourself one day,” he groaned, pressing his lips to my hair again.
“Not if you’re always here to catch me,” I replied, relaxing my back to his chest.
Despite everything we’d gone through and how tense I was, I still melted at the sheer size of my mate, and, just like that, my heat reignited.
“Thank fuck,” he whispered, sinking his nose into my neck and inhaling deeply.
I wiggled my ass, making sure I was on his cock as I notched my head back, flush against his chest. Everything about him was big and hard, and all I wanted now was to feel him against me and know he was mine.
I needed to be buried in his scent, so all I could smell was his sharp lemon vodka blended with my sweet bubblegum.
“I thought we’d lost you.” His voice was so gentle and vulnerable as he pressed his lips to my neck, scent-marking me as his own.
“Me, too,” I replied. I shuddered at the thought of how close I’d been to dying. If I’d held my tongue back for longer, maybe I would have escaped without a bruised jaw. Though it was nothing compared to a caved skull.
“I thought I’d never see you again,” I said quietly, my fingers dancing over his broad forearm. I sighed heavily as the full weight of what had happened sank into me.
“We’re here now. You’re ours, forever. Understood?” He gripped me hard, and I knew he was serious, but I needed proof. I wasn’t going to ask for a bite now—it was too raw, and I couldn’t handle it if they denied me again.
Since I started fucking alphas, I’d never met anyone as strong as Odin and Zeus, yet he held me so delicately, like I was the most precious thing in the world, and I needed that. I needed alphas who were going to treasure me, not treat me as if I was some prize to be bought and won, or who pushed me away because of some noble idea of protecting me.
“Why did Michael have to go so far to prove his point?” I asked, resting back against Odin’s chest.
“I honestly don’t know. None of us could have predicted that. I mean, we know he’s fucked-up. I just didn’t think it would be that elaborate.”
I looked up at him, frowning. “It’s better it was some kind of messed up play than outright killing us.”
Odin sucked in a harsh breath as he cupped my neck, his thumb brushing the dried blood from the cut Gordon gave me. “That, I mean, what Michael just did to us, it will never happen again. I don’t know how, but we’ll find a way to get out of this.”
“We’ve been saying that for years.”
My skin fired under his touch, calling to the alpha in him, and he responded with a low rumble, the cold ice of his scent growing thicker, along with his hardening cock on my back.
“Well, I’ve already got an idea,” he said, his thighs caging my hips.
“Really? What kind of idea?” A grin split my face as I curved my back against his chest.
Desire flashed in his eyes. “Like fucking you until you know we’ll never leave you.”
“Hmm, it sounds perfect.” I rolled my hips. “So, do you want me to dance on your cock? Or shall we skip to the part where you fuck me raw with your knot inside me?”
He growled as he tugged at my waist, grinding his hard cock on my back as he bent to skim his teeth over my shoulder.