Gold Rush (Golden Omegaverse #1)

Chapter 17 – June

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

JUNE

The first movie plays through without a hitch, giving us all something to focus on.

Well, it keeps their attention. Mine seems to be divided, and impossible to corral because as Seth switches the movie over to the sequel to continue our marathon, I survey the room, fidgeting between the tangle of his and Bennett’s legs. I’m warm, and have already politely declined a blanket, because Seth’s chest radiates heat.

Or maybe that’s just me.

Arin is twisted in his chair, his long legs extended to rest on the coffee table in front of him. Half the snacks are gone, and what’s left are picked through. Theo is spread out in his seat, his thighs wide and legs open as his drained glass of wine hangs loosely from his fingers, his head tilted toward the TV.

I down the rest of my glass and lean forward, pushing it onto the coffee table.

“Grab my soda, please, June?”

I make a noise of acknowledgment, reaching for Bennett’s drink as my eyes linger on the movie. Leaning up, I hold it behind me to the alpha, and his fingers snag it. I glance back at Bennet as he takes a drink, flashing me a small smile. “Thank you, darling.”

Goosebumps rise on my arms as I put his soda back on the coffee table, my cheeks warming as I readjust on the couch, pulling my legs up underneath me. I’m sitting like an absolute goblin, but the more curled up I am, the better I seem to feel.

Seth’s body serves as a buffer between myself and the alpha on the couch, and it feels safer this way. He makes a little noise, pulling me closer, one arm hooking around my hip and pulling my body into his chest. It’s a comforting kind of weight, a solidness that I turn my head toward, willing myself to behave as he hums and squeezes me. Seth grins down at me, and in the lowlight, my heart flutters.

For just a moment, it feels like it’s only us in the room. I can imagine coming home to him after long days of touring, his infectious happiness ready to cheer for each and every new goalpost I pass in my career. The vision shifts, seamlessly adding in Bennett, his cool presence an anchor. I could crawl out of my office after drafting for hours to find him in the kitchen, warm food ready for me.

It feels right .

Seth’s smile softens as I gaze up at him, my heart in my throat.

As soon as the feeling hits me, Bennett shifts behind us both, his hand moving to reach for the fallen blanket next to me. His hand brushes up my arm, loose near Seth’s waist, his nails catching and sending skitters up my body, like striking a match on my overheated skin.

I gasp, arching into the touch, all the careful composure I tried to keep from the encounter with Theo in the kitchen flies out of the window as my perfume explodes in the small living room.

I’m mortified.

Pulling back immediately, Bennett’s hand falls off my skin, my heart pounding in my ears as I glance over at him. His face twists in confusion and shock, his eyes locking on mine, his pupils blowing out. I swing my head to the side, suddenly cognizant of the two other alphas in the room. Arin grips the fabric of his armchair, while Theo adjusts, his jaw tight as his eyes flicker over to me. Their blue is near-black with want.

Seth untangles himself from Bennett, grabbing my hand and tugging me up from the couch. I feel like I barely blink before I’m in the open foyer, away from the mix of their perfumes, their eyes on me. My skin feels tight, my cheeks blazing, as I step away from him, the embarrassment overriding churning desire as I put my head in my hands.

“I’m sorry, you never should have invited me to stay here. I keep causing problems —”

“What problems?”

I jerk my head up to look at him sharply, but Seth just stands almost chest to chest with me, his expression patient, albeit a little confused.

“All I’m doing is driving a wedge between everyone!” I motion to the archway. “I’m making everyone uncomfortable —”

“Not me.”

“What?”

“You don’t make me uncomfortable.” Seth takes a step closer as my mind screeches to a halt. He touches my hands, pulling them away from my face and hair. I didn’t even realize I was tugging at my skin, the sweatshirt, heat radiating up out of every pore of my body. Seth smoothes my fingers out, squeezing my hands in his, tilting his chin down, his voice low. “You make me the opposite, in fact.”

I scoff at him. “That’s only because of my designation.”

“No, it isn’t.” He shakes his head, his voice soft but firm. “You lived as a beta for nearly thirty years, you know your scent doesn’t have that intense of a biological effect on me as it does an alpha. You and I both know how it feels to be outside of the designation politics, just as much as we know what it’s like to suddenly be entrenched in them.”

He moves closer and I swallow, my heart in my throat as I stare up at him, my mouth opening. My eyes catch on the bond mark on his throat — he’s not wrong. He must have lived exactly like I did, largely ignoring alphas and omegas, until he fell in love with Bennett — until he was bonded to someone.

“What it does do — what you do” — his hands tighten their grip on mine, his confession barely a breath — “is make me want you.”

The heat is coming on — that’s all this is.

My blood feels like it’s boiling, not from anger, but from sheer want , scorching me from the inside out. I’m not blind — I’ve been attracted to him since I stepped into that stupid elevator, with his hair swept back into a bun, and his easy smile. It was an instantaneous spark, igniting the air between us.

I’d risk everything to be close to him.

He drops my hands and then reaches up, pushing my hair back, his palms smooth against the skin of my face.

“But Bennett —” My gasp is soft as he pulls me closer by the chin.

Seth pauses, a hair’s breadth from me, our noses almost brushing.

“It would be stupid of me to invite you into our home, our lives , when you’re about to have your first heat, without my alpha’s blessing.” His smile is slightly lopsided, juxtaposing the fire in his gaze as his eyes flicker to my lips.

I suck in a breath before I grab onto the front of his shirt and tug him against me.

I don’t know which one of us moves first, maybe it’s at the exact same moment — the chemical reaction flares, and he’s on me . Seth sweeps me into his arms in the middle of the foyer, devouring my lips with a kiss that makes my toes curl in my socks. His breath smells like fudge — he tastes like fucking candy — his tongue sweeping into my mouth, consuming me from the inside out as he backs me up a few steps. I gasp as I knock into a table, a vase rocking back and forth, the poor flowers inside spinning as their water sloshes over the side and onto the marble tiles.

He presses closer to me, pinning me against the side of the wall as my hands fist his shirt, attacking him with my lips and teeth.

Each touch, each half-panted moan, each brush of his hands on my face, my hair, my neck, holding me to him, tilting me so he can get at me at the exact angle he wants — they’re all satisfying, making my blood sing — but it’s not enough . I want to bury myself inside his chest, wrap myself around his heart and sink my teeth into the organ.

It’s the best damn kiss of my entire life.

I’m panting by the time he pulls back just enough to suck in a lungful of air for himself. His lips are swollen as he grins down at me like an idiot, voice rough and laced with awe. “ Fuck , I’ve been waiting days to do that.”

I flush, feeling more right in my body than I have since the night of the signing. Staring up at him, I pull his shirt closer, kissing him again. “That was the kind of first kiss I write about.”

He smiles, his eyes lighting up as he cups the back of my head, holding me in place as he wiggles his eyebrows and devours my mouth, muttering, “Oh, I know what you write about.”

I dissolve into giggles, our noses brushing as he kisses me over and over again. Finally letting go of his shirt, I wrap my arms around his neck, sinking into him as his hands wrap around me, resting on my hips as he kisses my jaw, nuzzling it. His arms transition from holding to hugging, and I screw my eyes shut, breathing in the smell of him, my head finding his neck, fudge entwined with orange.

When I rub my nose against his throat, he groans softly. There’s suddenly a long, hard pressure against the front of my thigh, fighting against his sweatpants as he mumbles, “Bennett’s going to lose his fucking mind. You’re getting that dripping honey smell all over me.”

I bite my tongue, shameless as I keep our bodies flush, kissing his jugular as my skin heats at the thought of Seth and Bennett pressed together. They could touch each other, and I could touch them. I could be between them, hands and mouths and shared breath —

He inhales sharply, kissing the side of my head, his voice low. “Do you want to sleep in our room tonight?”

The offer is quiet, and my heart tugs as I carefully untangle from him, giving myself space to breathe as I lean back against the wall, shaking my head. “Not tonight.” It’s not a no, and as I lick my lips, I force myself to be an adult. “We should go finish the movie.”

“Yeah.” His smile is soft as he takes a half step back, but his eyes drag over me, something rough in his gaze. “We can be done with this for now.”

I press my lips together, my cheeks heating at the insinuation.

He grins, grabbing my hand and dragging me back into the living room.

Somehow, we manage to make it through the second movie.

I sit a little further from Seth instead of piling on top of him. He still keeps his hand on my arm the entire length of the movie, and I find it both cute and a little maddening.

There’s no way that Bennett, Arin, and Theo don’t know what we did in the foyer.

I try to ignore it as we all part ways, Arin heading down the hallway to his office, his shoulders a little tight as I watch him go. Theo jogs up the stairs past Seth and Bennett, like he can’t get away fast enough.

I fall into step behind Seth and Bennett, stopping on the second floor as Seth lingers in front of my room.

“Goodnight.” He flashes me a little smile, his eyes flickering to his door. “I’ll be in there if you need anything.”

“Okay.” I press my lips together, watching him follow Bennett into the room before turning and slipping into mine.

Even after a shower, I can’t stop tossing and turning in the bed. I can’t take it anymore. My skin is flushed and tight, like my body is trying to rip free from it. I can’t get the thought of Seth’s lips out of my head, so soft, touching me exactly how my body needed.

Is this it? Is this the heat? It can’t be, because I’m aware of myself. I’m aware of everything, from the way the sheets brush over my skin, to the sticky feeling between my thighs, my sleep shorts bunched between my legs.

Everything online said I’d be half out of my mind by the time the heat set in — but I can’t fathom wanting someone this much without there being a greater reason behind it.

I punch my pillow as I turn over again, freezing when I hear something through the wall.

Pausing, I wait the span of a breath, but there’s only silence. Sliding out of the bed, I creep toward the door and ease it open, lingering in the threshold as I survey the empty hallway.

There’s a groan and my eyes dart to Seth and Bennett’s partially open door.

I take a half-step without thinking. The sound of bodies, hips and skin slapping into each other, heavy panting, fills the air, making me flush as I slow to a stop.

I’m transfixed by what I see.

Seth whines, one knee on the bed, his body partially bent forward as Bennett stands behind him. They’re both half-clothed. Seth’s shirt is rucked up, Bennett’s hand running over Seth’s chest, holding him upright as his hips jerk forward rhythmically, fucking Seth from behind.

“Please, please .” Seth begs.

Bennett grunts something in his ear as his nose drops to Seth’s neck, inhaling as his hand on Seth’s chest drops down, wrapping around the other man’s dick.

I stand, stock-still, my eyes following the curves of their bodies. Seth’s sweats are in a pile on the floor, Bennett’s pool just under his hips, exposing his bare ass as it flexes. Seth’s arms lift, pulling Bennett closer as the alpha moans, “ Fuck .”

It’s a mistake the second I inhale — breathing in deep the smells of sex mixed with their perfumes. It’s a cloudy haze of orange and chocolate and my mouth waters. Bennett’s citrus overpowers Seth’s fudge, and it’s decadent and dangerous, coating my mouth and throat.

Bennett groans again, and Seth’s breath catches.

My eyes open as I shift forward, looking past them and straight at myself. A mirror hangs on the other side of the bed, taking up a chunk of the wall and providing me both a view of the front of Seth’s chest and Bennett’s hand working him, along with both of them a view of me in the open doorway.

Seth’s eyes catch mine in the mirror, locked on me as I stop short, my heart in my throat.

He licks his lips and then reaches back, jerking Bennett’s head up from his throat and twisting to kiss him. I shiver, pressing my thighs together, stuck in my place, reduced to a voyeur as I watch them devour each other — watch Seth devour Bennett with only his mouth as thoroughly as he did earlier to me.

After a moment, Seth pulls back, his voice a low whine. “Use me, alpha. Help me put on a show for her.”

Bennett utters a soft curse under his breath, his head snapping up, turning to look at me. I freeze with my hand fisting the side of my shorts, a deer in headlights as his eyes narrow on me. He grabs Seth by the throat, pulling him fully upright as he thrusts faster, pounding into him mercilessly and reducing Seth to a whining mess.

“Touch yourselves, but don’t come until I say.”

The command makes me shiver, not a hint of a bark to it. I could turn and leave, I could run back to my room and lock the door, but fire flashes under my skin as I slide a hand under the waistband of my shorts, finding my panties soaked through. I whimper at the same time Seth does, watching his hand wrap around his dick in the mirror, jerking himself at the same rhythm that Bennett fucks him.

I muffle myself, shoving my other hand over my mouth as I press against the doorframe for support. My fingers slick through my sodden curls and find my clit. Two rubs has me thrusting against my own hand, writhing a little as I bite down on my tongue, forcing myself to keep my eyes open to watch them. If I’m doing this, I’m not missing a second of it.

Bennett bands Seth’s other hand around his back, holding him up by the throat as he snarls and then strikes, biting down on the tanned skin.

Seth lets out a little howl, his hips jolting forward as he groans, his legs shaking. “Oh fuck, I’m going to come. Baby, please let me. Please .”

Bennett pulls back, staring at me in the mirror as he holds Seth’s chin up, his voice low. “Earn it, beta. Show her how well you take me and what she has to look forward to.”

Seth groans, his arm moving faster as his hand pumps, the slick sounds of getting himself off mix with the sound of Bennett thrusting into him. I breathe harder, spreading my legs slightly wider, whining around my own hand as I thrust two fingers into myself. It’s not enough. I’m so empty . I want more — I want them touching me, not steps away. I want to be so overwhelmed I can’t think.

My legs shake as I try to stay upright. I abandon keeping quiet to cling to the door, too afraid my knees will buckle the second my orgasm rips through me. With a gasp and a shudder, my eyes flutter, and I clench around my own fingers, lips parting to beg for my own permission to come from the alpha still snarling and thrusting, chasing his own release.

“That’s it — god , fuck — look at you.” I don’t know which of us Bennett is talking to, but my skin prickles as he groans. “I’m coming. Come now .”

Seth’s breath hitches, and then I watch as ropes of cum paint the front of his chest and his rucked up shirt, covering himself as Bennett bends forward, his hips jerking as he comes seconds behind him. I shriek, trying to swallow the noise as my muscles spasm, my thighs shaking as I lean against the door for support. My toes curl against the hardwood from the force of the orgasm, my chest heaving while I come down.

A small shiver wracks my body, the aftershocks making me hypersensitive and hyperaware that I just got off watching the two of them fuck each other.

It’s quiet for a moment. I pull my hand away from my shorts, taking a half step back as Seth’s head rises, catching my eyes again in the mirror. His lips are swollen, his eyes dark as he stares at me. There’s cum dripping down his chest. He looks wrecked , devastatingly hot with a flush to his already dark cheeks and a rawness in his gaze.

Bennett’s voice is low, but soft as he kisses Seth’s throat and the bite mark he left. “You both did so well for me.” His lips move, pressing kisses to Seth’s skin, and I can’t breathe as his head rises, his gaze finding mine. “You’re so pretty when you come for me.”

I flush, head to toe, and then I turn and run. Shoving open the door to the guest room, I slam it shut behind me, adrenaline racing through my now-satiated body. My head feels clearer than it has in days, but the smell coating my skin makes me want to turn back around and crawl between them.

My thighs are sticky as I walk to the adjoined bathroom and clean myself up. When I crawl back into the bed with a fresh pair of underwear on, I pull a pillow to my chest, closing my eyes as I sink back against another one, willing myself not to pretend they’re orange and fudge-scented bodies instead.