Page 91 of Now Their Starlet

My eyes fly to his, and I see the steady reassurance there. It’s exactly what I need to regulate my breathing.

As Dr. Brenner begins packing up her equipment, she leans in and lowers her voice. “I don’t mean to be presumptuous, but it certainly seems like you have a lot of options” Dr. Brennar winks.

I let out a sharp bark of laughter before grinning at the five of them—all wearing expressions ranging from sheepish to smug.

Dr. Brennar has a few more recommendations about food and nutrition, nesting habits, and nurturing my neglected instincts, but to be completely honest, I barely listen to anything she’s saying. I hope one of the guys is paying attention, because my mind? It’s in the gutter right now.

My thoughts are absolutely filthy. The only issue? I cannot shake that bone-deep sense of anxiety and insecurity, never a good headspace for that.

CHAPTER 19

Leo

Andi is overwhelmed. It’s obvious in the tension around her eyes, her shoulders, and in the general way she’s holding herself.

Dr. Brennar leaves us with a few pamphlets, her contact information, and the schedule for when she’s going to see Andi again.

The moment she leaves, the energy in the air changes. There’s an undeniable sweetness to Andi’s perfume that tells me she’s not just anxious about this whole situation, but there’s a bitterness there too.

Before I have a chance to second-guess myself, I’m standing from my seat on the couch and kneeling in front of her. She’s perched on the armchair like a grand fuzzy-blanket queen.

“What’s going through your head, Lucky Duck?” I murmur softly.

“I’m—I’m kind of nervous,” she says, swallowing hard. “I’m not—I don’t do this sort of thing often, you know? As much as the media or my mom paint me to be a slut at worst or some sort of seductive temptress at best, I’ve only been with one person.”

It’s not particularly surprising, considering Ezra was her only public relationship and the two of them met in high school.

“That’s not necessarily a bad thing.” I reach up and tentatively brush some of her hair away from her face. I find myself doing this often, I don’t want anything blocking those wide, expressive eyes from my gaze.

“I—I guess.”

“There’s something more, something bigger going on, isn’t there?”

“Are you a mind reader, or something?” She lets out a small huff of laughter. Despite the month I haven’t seen her, I can still tell when she’s deflecting.

“No, just observant.”

I wait patiently for her to be ready to talk. She needs to know she’s safe to do things at her pace, especially considering the trust required to let us help her.

“I—I feel guilty,” she says, her shoulders curling in on herself. Her gaze flickers to where Eli, Everett, and Cameron all sit on the couch. “The doctor said no knots.”

“There’s nothing you need to feel guilty about.” My lips are pursed at the implication and intensity of her guilt around the no-knotting recommendation made by Dr. Brennar.

“But—but knotting is the whole point of sex.”

There it is.

Even if Ezra isn’t completely evil and played a part in helping us make sure Andi is safe, there are certain things Andi will casually say that make my skin crawl. I can tell she only shares certain things about their relationship because to her, they don’t seem as bad as him slamming her head into the counter while high out of his mind.

Everyone in the room, especially the alphas, bristle at the implications of her words.

“Sex can be a whole lot of things, Andi. It doesn’t just have to be knotting,” I say past the lump in my throat.

“It’s important you understand that every single one of us has the self-control to help without knotting you, Honey,” Everett says, his voice sharp.

“Hell, without coming, even,” Eli huffs.

The shock on Andi’s expression continues to frustrate me. I’m not mad at her at all, but it seems like the universe has been determined throughout her life to make her feel like her own needs, wants, and desires are too much to ask for.