Page 35 of Omega Ruined

"Are you serious?" Dean shook his head. "Those are for old men. You may be aging prematurely, but I am still in my prime."

"It would be practical," Olivia mused. "Or maybe just some fleece that you can keep in a bag with you. Do any of you work?"

"We're independently wealthy, trust fund kids," I told her with a blank face.

Olivia studied me with gray-blue eyes that narrowed when she spotted a twitch of my lips. "You liar. What do you do?"

"Well, these days, I build furniture," Dean told her. He held up his hands, covered in bruises and cuts. "I used to be a banker, can you believe that?"

"Why didn't you become an accountant?"

"Because I wanted to do something different, something I could do with my hands and see the direct result of my work."

"Where do you build furniture?" she asked curiously.

"Out back. I have a workshop out there. I'll show you sometime."

Olivia nodded and rested her head on my shoulder. "What about you, Vale?"

"I was a football player, but I fucked up my knee five years ago. I coached for a while, but then the virus caught up to me, so now I paint."

"What? Really?"

"My studio is above Dean's workshop," I told her. "It's noisy, but it's mine."

"Kienan?"

The man himself pushed off the doorframe and walked over. "I'm a business owner."

"What kind of businesses?" Olivia prompted.

"He's being modest," Dean told her. "This guy owns five franchise restaurants, a bunch of real estate, and a supermarket."

"Wow." She frowned at Kienan. "So you all really meant it when you said you had money."

"We did," Kienan said. "And Zephyr is an actor. You've probably seen him in a couple of commercials."

"I don't watch television," she said. "At least, I haven't in years, not since…" She trailed off, but we all knew she meant until she'd taken a pack. Or they'd taken her.

We walked further into the living room and settled down in the seats. I sat with my legs stretched out along the couch so Olivia could stay in my lap, facing the others while she leaned against my chest. Feeling her warm skin on mine made me want to rip the rest of the buttons out of my shirt so she could lie chest to chest with me, but I resisted.

"Did you have any hobbies before the heat dens?" I asked, trailing a finger down her cheek. It was impossible not to touch her. Even Dean came and sat on the floor so he could brush against her leg.

"I cooked and cleaned and tried to make babies," she said, obviously trying to joke. It wasn't funny though and I squeezed her tightly. "There was never time to do much else. Sometimes, if I had a bit of spare time, I'd read or watch recipe videos on YouTube."

"Well, we've got the cooking and cleaning sorted out here," Kienan told her. "We take turns doing the jobs we hate and the rest of the time, we stick to what we enjoy. Like I'm the cook because it's something I like to do."

"Who cleans the toilets?"

"We clean our own."

She nodded. "I like this system, but you have to let me do something. I can't just sit around being treated like a princess."

"You absolutely can," I told her, nuzzling her neck again.

Olivia shook her head. "Nope. I want a job, too. In the house," she added hastily when everyone stared at her.

"We'll find something for you to do," Dean assured her.