Forbidden: Part One – Chapter 30

I walked into the kitchen, a little thrill going through me when I spied Josie trying on my glasses. Her warm brown waves framed her face, and she was wearing a loose sweater and leggings, looking deliciously cozy. She must have made her way down here while I was in the shower. Theo and Cam were holed up in the office after they’d been pulled into work—so much for taking time off.

“Are we doing a sexy librarian role-play?” I asked, leaning against the door frame.

Josie jumped, whipping her face towards mine. I cringed internally, hating that I’d startled her. She seemed more at ease the past few days, but moments like this reminded me of everything she had been through.

Relief rushed through me as she snorted out an adorable giggle. “I just wanted to see how bad your eyes are.”

“And?” I strode across the kitchen, wrapping my arms around her, reveling in the feel of her soft body against mine.

“Let’s just say, if you cuddle up with Theo at night thinking he’s me, I won’t be surprised.”

I laughed, taken off guard by her sassy response. Any glimpse of playfulness from her felt like a gift.

She took off my glasses and placed them gently on my face before returning my embrace, sighing as she pressed her face into my chest. It killed me not knowing what I smelled like to her, but I also secretly loved our game. It made me feel like we had something just between us. I’d spent most of my life overshadowed, unsure of what I had to offer, but Josie made me feel seen.

“You looked adorable in those, precious,” I murmured, leaning down to kiss her. She wiggled happily in my embrace. “Just so you know,” I continued, “I’m down for sexy librarian role-play anytime the mood strikes.”

She shivered in my arms and I was momentarily anxious I’d made her uncomfortable, but then I caught the scent of her arousal—deep and sugary and so completely Josie. My dick was rock hard and I wanted to strip her, to slip my fingers into her wet heat again. We hadn’t done anything sexual since the vibrator, aka the hottest fucking experience of my life, and I wanted more. I was hesitant to push anything physical, though. I knew Cam and Theo felt the same, unsure of what she needed and what the right timing was.

Josie’s stomach growled. I pulled back from her with a chuckle, but she averted her gaze, her cheeks growing pink. My jaw clenched, and I had to force myself to take a breath. I had wanted to rip up the meal plan the Designation Center sent over, but Theo had convinced me we might need it when the DC came to check in on us. I couldn’t believe any alphas would agree to deprive their omegas of food. Just the thought of doing that to Josie made me nauseous.

“I’m starving,” I said, lifting her chin. “I was going to make cinnamon rolls if that sounds good to you, gorgeous.”

I held my breath as she paused and chewed on her bottom lip. But then she smiled. “Can I help?”

“Wouldn’t have it any other way.”

I leaned down to kiss her, planning on a gentle press of lips, but the moment I tasted her, I groaned and deepened the kiss. Josie brought her arms around my neck, tugging me closer and sucking on my lower lip. Just when I had decided to abandon my breakfast plan and feast on her instead, Josie’s stomach made another sound. I broke away, chastising myself for losing focus. My mate needed to eat.

Josie whimpered at the loss of contact, her pupils blown and her skin deliciously flushed. She was a living, breathing dream come true.

“Stop distracting me,” I said, squeezing her ass for good measure before reluctantly letting her go and pulling out the baking supplies from the pantry.

“I’m distracting you?” she said with indignation.

“Constantly,” I replied with a wink.

I took every excuse to touch Josie while we were baking—brushing my hands down her side as I helped her put on an apron, pressing my body against hers anytime I leaned to get an ingredient, guiding her hands while she kneaded dough. I was so distracted I almost forgot to put sugar in the filling. My behavior was absurd, but Josie didn’t say a word. She hummed contentedly to the music playing from the kitchen speakers, gently placing the completed buns in the prepared pans.

“You’re so good at this, Ben,” she said as we placed the last tray in the oven. “You could totally run your own bakery.”

I stilled, searching her face to see if she was teasing me. But, of course, all I saw was genuineness.

“Do you really think I could?” I croaked out.

“Of course,” she said, scrunching her nose in confusion. “Why wouldn’t you be able to? You’re amazing.”

Warmth bloomed in my chest, and I couldn’t stop myself from picking her up and spinning her around. Her giggles filled the air.

“Thanks, precious,” I said, sitting her down on the counter and pressing little kisses all over her face. “It’s something I’ve thought about, but I’m not sure I’d actually be good at running a business, you know? Honestly, it’s a miracle I can bake at all with how air-headed I am.” I forced out a laugh to cover the pain of my self-deprecation as the words I had overheard my father speaking to my mother played in my head. Can’t believe you only birthed a single alpha, giving us that clueless, weak idiot.

Josie gripped my face with her hands, pinning me with a fierce expression. “You’re not allowed to say things like that about yourself. You’re brilliant and sweet and funny. If you started a bakery, it’d probably be the most successful in the city. And how could you say you’re not smart? Ben, you’re a computer-hacking person. That seems, like, really hard.”

I couldn’t stop a smile from stretching across my face. “A computer hacking person?”

Josie shrugged nonchalantly. “Close enough.”

“Not sure Cam and Theo would be thrilled if I stopped my computer hacking activities to start a bakery.”

“I’m sure they just want you to be happy,” she said softly, stroking her fingers down my cheek.

Part of me knew she was right, but there was another part that was convinced I would disappoint them. Theo and Cam had protected me growing up, believing in me enough to put me in charge of our cyber security team. Leaving the company would betray everything they’d done for me.

“Is there anything you’ve wanted to do?” I asked, needing to change the subject.

“Oh,” she said, looking startled to have been asked. Her eyes had a faraway look to them. I moved in closer, wedging myself between her lush thighs.

“I used to have plans. Sam and I dreamed about what our lives would be like after we turned eighteen. We were going to find a place together, get jobs, and save money for school. I had thought about studying marketing and graphic design, but really, I just wanted anything that would get me out of my parents’ house. Sam turned eighteen a few weeks before me and secured an apartment. I secretly packed all my things so I would be ready to go.” She paused as if she was back there. I squeezed her leg, trying to remind her she was still with me.

She took a little breath and continued, “But then, a week before my birthday, the Designation Government took over. Just like that, I wasn’t allowed to work or attend college. I was stuck at my parents’ house for two years. Honestly, I feel like the past five years are a blur. I can’t remember a lot of it.”

That last part came out in a hoarse whisper. Her scent turned bitter and she didn’t meet my gaze. My heart ached. I wanted to soothe her, but I could feel how precarious this moment was. This was the most Josie had shared with me about her past, and I didn’t want to interrupt. I thought she had frozen up on me when she continued.

“Sam ended up going to a college close to home so we could still see each other. He got me suppressants and black-market books. But when they opened the Designation Academy, I was automatically enrolled in the inaugural class. At first, it was like a boarding school. We took classes to help prepare us for a pack. I thought they would force me to do pack interviews, but they didn’t… they…” she petered off.

Fine trembles worked through her body and her skin felt cold. I held her tightly against me, trying to lend her my warmth. She shuddered in my grasp, the tiniest whimper escaping her as she melted into me.

“Thanks for sharing that, precious. I’m so sorry for what they did. So, so sorry.”

We stayed there, arms around each other until the oven timer went off. I slowly pulled away, my heart clenching all over again when I realized I had a damp spot on my shirt from her tears. She wiped at her face, giving me a tremulous smile. I wanted to destroy everyone who had hurt her, take away every moment of pain she had felt.

I was at a loss for what to say as I pulled out the cinnamon rolls. They looked perfect. I imagined what it would be like to work together in a bakery. Vanilla cupcakes would have to be our specialty.

“Cinnamon rolls were my little sister’s favorite,” I said.

Josie tilted her head. “You two were close, right?”

“Yeah,” I said with a smile, setting the last pan on the stove. “My older three sisters were quite a bit older. They all bonded their packs when I was still young. But Lilah and I were so close. She’s less than two years younger than me and was my shadow growing up. God, she’s so smart. Like scary smart. She was supposed to go to college… She wanted to be a doctor or researcher and advance omega medicine. She and Cam’s sister, Ellie, always kept us on our toes. They were so much trouble. We spent so much time together—me, Ellie, and Lilah causing trouble, and Theo and Cam trying to keep us from getting everyone killed. They definitely would have thought you were too good for us.”

“You don’t talk with her anymore?”

“I wasn’t allowed to after we were kicked out. My parents never really bought into the designation crap, but they were pressured to shun me like the other families. Back then, we didn’t have money, so I couldn’t hire someone to keep track of Lilah. I know she bonded a pack shortly after I left, but then it’s like she disappeared.”

Josie furrowed her brow, reaching out to grab my hand. “I’m so sorry, Ben.”

“I have to believe she’s okay,” I said quietly. I missed Lilah so much and was terrified she’d been harmed like Ellie.

Josie nodded. “You’ll find her someday.”

Somehow, her words eased the tension in my chest. I took a deep breath, wanting to change the subject.

“Maybe I should open a bakery now that I know someone who can handle all the marketing,” I said, tucking her hair behind her ear.

Josie’s sweet perfume filled the air.

“I probably wouldn’t be any good,” she said with a shrug.

Now it was my turn to growl at her. “If I’m not allowed to put myself down, you’re certainly not,” I said, fixing her with as stern a look as I could muster.

She hopped down from the counter with a smile.

“Thanks, Ben,” she said with a tender kiss before she started frosting the rolls.

We fell into an easy quiet. Soft music surrounded us and sunlight streamed through the window, catching the golden highlights in Josie’s hair. As she plated up the rolls, I got some coffee brewing.

“Mmm,” I said. “Cinnamon rolls and coffee. What a great combination. I wonder what could be missing…”

I waited to see if she would catch on to my ulterior motive for choosing cinnamon rolls this morning, and she did not disappoint.

“Oh my gosh, Ben! Cinnamon rolls and coffee. Is this all a ploy to get me to slip up and tell you what your scent is?” she asked, her eyes lighting with laughter.

I arched my eyebrow. “I would never be so diabolical,” I said, placing my hand on my chest in mock horror. “Although, if you want a cinnamon roll, you better tell me what I want to know.” I snagged the plate of rolls off the counter and held them above my head.

Josie gasped. “You would deprive me of breakfast?” Her lip jutted out in a pout, and she blinked quickly.

“What? No!” I exclaimed, setting down the plate on the counter and placing my hands on either side of her face. “Never.”

Suddenly, Josie’s sad expression transformed into laughter as she leaned into me with a giggle.

I slumped over in relief. “Fuck, precious, I thought I made you upset.”

Josie wrapped her arms around me and squeezed me close. “Sorry for freaking you out. You’re just too easy to tease.”

I lifted her by the waist and put her back on the kitchen counter, thrilled when she wrapped her arms and legs around me. I gripped the back of her neck, my other hand working my way higher up her thigh. She let out a breathy moan that went straight to my cock.

“You know how you can make it up to me?” I murmured.

“Hmm?”

“Tell me what my scent is.”

Her laughter started again, and it was the sweetest sound in the world.

“Pleaasse.”

“Don’t do it!” Theo yelled from the next room.

“Make him work for it,” Cam added as he entered the kitchen. He went straight to Josie, shoving me aside to pull her in for a heated kiss.

“No breakfast for you,” I said, glowering at Cam.

Josie sighed happily in Cam’s embrace. “You’re right, Ben, there is something missing. And it would be perfect now that it’s getting to be fall.”

“Aha! A hint,” I said, rubbing my hands together. “I can work with that.” I pulled out my phone and started searching for top fall recipes.

Cam sighed with exasperation, partly at me but mainly at Theo, who had tugged Josie out of his arms.

“This looks amazing, you two,” Theo said, kissing Josie’s forehead.

“Ben’s a creative genius in the kitchen,” Josie said easily.

“That he is,” Cam said, slinging his arm around my shoulder.

Happiness bubbled through my body. After years of waiting, our family felt complete, and it was better than anything I could have dreamed.