Gold Rush (Golden Omegaverse #1)

Chapter 30 – Theo

Waking up next to her half-naked body, breathing deeply and heaving little sighs every time she adjusts, is all I want for the rest of my life.

I could die right now and be satisfied. The thin straps of her top slid down at some point during the night, dangerously close to letting the scraps of fabric over her chest droop. She only put it back on because we ate leftovers like rabid animals and then went straight back to fucking.

I shouldn’t be looking, but my eyes trace the round swell of each breast, and I want to reach over and slide my hands over each one, to grip them and let my fingers sink into her soft flesh as I bury my head into her neck. The entire bed smells like her perfume, light, herbal, and warm. I’ve fucked her so much the other smells are dimmer, undercurrents of fudge, orange, and mint.

June shifts, and her hair falls to one side, exposing her neck to me. I bite my tongue, trying in vain not to give in. I fail — arching my head so I can press my lips to the curve of her throat. Her scent is concentrated here, and nearly knocks me back on my ass when she makes a little sound, a half-moan that turns into a sleepy sigh.

Fuck it , I’m a goner anyway.

I slide my hands up, my chest pressed against her back as I skim them under her sham of a top, fingers finding the soft skin of her tits as I cup them and squeeze once. June whines and drops back against me, and I don’t know if she’s fully awake, or coherent, but I run my tongue over her pulse point anyway, leaving filthy, wet kisses as she arches her back and yawns.

“Mm,” she sighs, sinking back against me. “Shouldn't you take me to dinner before you fondle me?”

“Where do you want to go, princess?” I nip at her earlobe, watching goosebumps race down her skin with a little smirk. “Paris? Luxembourg? Monaco? I'll have a jet chartered before you’re done with your first orgasm, then I’ll give you another one on the plane for fun.”

She laughs, and the sound echoes off the walls, high and delighted. June turns her head and stares up at me, her eyes bright, but half-lidded from sleep.

“Theo…”

I don’t let her finish, I dip down and crash my lips to hers, holding her body to mine possessively as I devour her. She may be allowed to overthink with every other asshole in this house, but not me. Her anxiety is going to come to heel even if I have to force it every damn time with a handful of mind-blanking orgasms. She can’t think if she’s dumbstruck by pleasure.

I don’t even know what fucking time it is. I just kiss her, and every single other mark I left on her in the past however long it’s been.

Before I lost our phones, I sent Arin a text that we’d eaten some of the dinner that Bennett left, but that was hours ago, before another two rounds and however long the last nap was. I couldn’t bring myself to admit to him that we’ve been in the nest the entire time. He’ll figure it out when he gets home.

June wriggles under me and I grab her by the hips, grunting as I kiss down her thighs. “Stop moving.”

She laughs, trying to get away. “You can’t eat me out again, I have to pee .”

“Good, me too.” I slide my arms under her and pick her up. June laughs even louder, but she doesn’t protest as I manhandle her, throwing her over my shoulder and smacking her round ass. She shrieks as I walk us into the bathroom, her little hands beating me across the back.

“Theo!”

I drop her onto the counter, flipping on the dial for the heated floor. She gives me an indignant look, her cheeks flushed and red. I do a double take as I flip the shower on. We’re both sticky and kind of a wreck — her red hair is matted in some areas and I feel kind of bad about it. I shouldn’t have come on her face that one time, she just looked so good with her tongue out.

“You feeling okay?”

June reaches up, pressing her hands against her cheeks, mumbling something under her breath.

I step closer, sliding my hands over her hips. “June?” I lift a hand, pressing it against her forehead. Her eyes look a little glassy as she stares up at me. I curse when her hand reaches for me, brushing my cock, pawing at it with a whine.

Something instinctual makes me pull back.

I’ve never seen her like this. Not even in the marathon of making her give me every noise I could draw out of her throat in the last twelve hours. Turning to the cabinets, I dig through them and rip open a box for a thermometer. Pushing her hands away from me again, I check her temperature, pausing when I see the readout.

“Fuck.”

It’s high .

It’s concerning levels of high, like this fever requires a doctor levels. Except it doesn’t — because I know exactly what it means. I pull her closer when she tries to get off the counter, holding her to my chest so she can’t wiggle away or drop to her knees on the floor. June sighs when her nose presses against my bare skin, breathing in deeply. I let the thermometer clatter to the countertop and swing her back up into my arms, stepping into the shower.

“They should be home soon.” Panic sets in as I try to shift her carefully.

She jerks away from the water, groaning, “I feel nauseous, Theo. I don’t want a shower right now.” Her voice breaks, her eyes turning up to me, filling with tears. “I don’t feel good.”

“I know, I know.” I run my fingers through her messy hair, grabbing a bottle of shampoo and tearing it open. “Let me clean you up, okay? Then I can get you some food and call Arin.”

“No food,” she whines, her hands going to my chest. They shake as she presses closer to me, “I need you , please alpha .”

Fuck , why have I never looked into how to care for an omega? Why have I spent over thirty fucking years insisting I’d never be in this situation? I rub her back, holding her as I think. I’m already tired — I’m not superhuman — but somehow, in all of this, we must have crossed the line from her climbing me because she wanted to, to her heat setting in.

At some point we went from enthusiastic fucking to her body just giving into me.

Did she even want me?

Nausea rises in my throat.

Blinking hard, I make myself focus as I pull her hands off of me, my voice firm. “No, June.” I grab the shampoo, cleaning her hair as best as I can as she fights me every second. Her perfume mixes with the humidity in the air and it makes my head spin.

Bite her. Fuck her. Stuff her full and seal it in with the knot .

I wash her body off, careful as she whines and tries to push herself onto my fingers. Ignoring my alpha is like taking a rusty saw to my arm. I pick her up before she can reach for my dick again, pulling her wrists to the side and binding them in one hand as I swaddle her in a towel with the other. My muscles scream, from holding her upright, keeping myself at bay — and I barely manage to get us out of the bathroom with a clear head.

I climb back down into the nest, switching the towel around her for a blanket. Her forehead is burning when my hand brushes it, and I scramble away, trying to find my phone in the mess of clothes we left in our wake.

From behind me, June’s hands run over my sides, her voice soft and heart-breaking. “Do you not want me?” Her fingers are warm, her body plush as she rubs against my back. “Don’t you want to keep fucking me, alpha? I want you too. I really do.”

Closing my eyes, I breathe in, fighting every part of me that does want her — but she’s not herself. It was one thing to have her consent before, to jump into the nest when she was teasing me, this, us — it’s another to know she’s not entirely herself.

I’m so fucking scared I’ll go into a rut and be as mindless as she is.

And I’d never forgive myself if I hurt her. She asked me not to.

“I need to go.”

I mutter the words as my hand wraps around my phone, jerking away from her touch. I climb up and abandon my clothes, searching for Arin’s number as I make a beeline for the door.

I’m not fast enough. Her broken sob haunts me as I slam the nest door shut and walk away from the crying omega inside.