Page 92 of Bubblegum Pop

I went ahead to keep the corridors clear and make sure all the doors were closed so no one could see us escort her to her apartments. I didn’t trust any of the security teams at the moment. No one was allowed near our mate except us.

Apollo’s hands still shook. A few good orgasms had helped ward off the pain, but it wouldn’t be enough if he got an infection because I was more interested in making him come.

Every room had a first aid box and, as soon as Odin brought her inside her apartment, I went straight for it. It was fixed to the wall near the front door, and I was so fucking glad I didn’t have to search for it. Odin aimed for her bedroom, but Candy stopped him with a squeeze of his wrist.

“No,” her voice was firm as Odin lowered her to her feet, “not here.”

I turned around, softening at how Apollo and Odin were watching her. With three out of six bites already, all that was left was mine and Apollo’s, and then she’d really become ours.

The swaths of pink fabric, decorations, the fluffy pink carpet in her bedroom, along with the crystal chandelier and all the other pieces which filled her room seemed so alien after everything we had been through.

I caught sight of the bruises on her ankles and wrists, of the purple marks spreading across her face. I grit my teeth, clenching the first aid box as I thought of how that fucker had treated her. He deserved every single punch Apollo had landed.

Apollo came to me, placing a hand on my shoulder, his now calm presence surrounding me. “I’m still here,” he said in an easy tone.

“I know. But I need to keep checking. Just in case.”

Just in case I ever lost him again.

Candy wrapped her hand around Odin’s. She purred the moment he smiled at her. She was drenched in my black shirt, as she should be, though she was completely enthralled by my brother. As soon as we took her to our pack house, I’d make sure she wore nothing but my shirts. No matter how much Apollo and Odin complained, it was my scent she was going to wear.

“This way,” she said faintly, guiding us through her apartment. Her bare feet on the soft carpet were silent compared to the heavy clumps of our boots.

She led us all the way to her living room, pulling us towards a pink drape which covered the back wall. She licked her lips nervously as she pushed it aside and revealed a small door that looked like nothing special. It only reached her hips and just looked big enough for storage. Drawing in a deep breath and rising on the balls of her feet, her throat bobbed as she turned back to us.

“I wanted to show you this in the morning—when we woke up together, when I knew you weren’t going to push me away again.” She pursed her lips, glaring at all three of us. We’d be taking the blame for all that from now on.

I grinned back at her. I wanted to see every side of her, not just the cute performance she put on at night, or the horny temptress who captured me every time she stuck out her pretty ass, or the vulnerable woman who had given herself to us in the back of the limo. I wanted her anger, her love, her frustration. I was going to be there for every moment of her life now, and I wasn’t letting Michael stop us.

She gently twisted the knob, and we automatically moved back as the door opened outwards, and she clicked a switch inside.

She bent down, my shirt riding up on her waist as she dipped under the frame and entered the space. Apollo bit his lip, shooting me a look before he followed her. I smirked at Odin, whose brow furrowed as they both vanished through the door.

“Are we even going to fit?” I asked.

“We have to,” he said, all his seriousness returning. Candy may have softened him like butter in the car, but it didn’t stop him being a git at times.

I went first, getting on my hands and knees, the first aid box thunking on the floor as I dragged it with me.

The door was barely wide enough. I had to twist my shoulders to squeeze through, but I made it.

The instant I stepped inside, I knew it was her nest.

Every inch of the room was coated in her scent, and my eyes nearly rolled into the back of my head at the pure hit of Candy’s sugar.

I always imagined her nest would be the same as her boudoir and apartments—bright, pink, everything luxurious and shining.

I didn’t expect the sparseness of the room. When I had imagined her nest, I’d thought of sweeping ceilings, huge decorative pieces of art, feathers, photos, bright colours that reflected something of who she was, but it was so simple… And so right.

Clutching the first aid box to my chest, we crowded around her, our scents blending as she looked up at us. “I’ve been waiting so long to show you this,” she said, biting her lip.

The room was tall enough for us to stand in, with at least a few feet further still. There was a broad mattress laid out on the floor—no bed frame, no covers apart from a single white sheet. There were four white pillows, four chairs, and a kettle tucked away in the corner, surrounded by four mugs. Nets of fairy lights hung above us, scattering the room in soft, golden light.

The thing that gripped my heart the most was the pile of clothes with a Candy-sized indent in the middle, where she had obviously been lying. A smile split my face as I saw all the bits and pieces of us we’d given her over the years. I wanted her to tell us straight up why there were four of everything, why the mattress was so big, why the lights were so high. Because it was clear, but so far she’d only said ‘I love you’ to Odin.

I stepped forward, making space for Odin to enter, and I pulled in a breath as he took it all in. A huge buzz of love trembled through the bond as he let out a long sigh.

Apollo watched her, his gaze hard, his guilt seeping out of him. She returned it, the pain filling her eyes reflecting his.