44. Zoe
Zoe
"I don't know how much help I can be." Cliff wrings his hands as he walks back to the bed. I've got my knees pulled to my chest in an attempt to squeeze out the pain, but it's not working.
Not that I expected it to.
Now that I've accepted that I'm going into heat, it's silly that I ever thought I was sick.
"Please just touch me."
He sits beside me and soothes his hand down my back. It's not enough. "I don't want our first time together to be when you're like this."
"Why not? I want you. I've been wanting you; there's just been so much going on."
"Maybe I should get Cameron or Dominic." He knows better than to suggest Ray.
Fucking Ray.
I feel so manipulated by him. He would've continued being an ass to me if I weren't his scent match.
I can say a lot of things about Dominic, but at least he's not let the fact that we're scent matches change how he treats me.
It hurts to know that Ray has only been spending time with me to endear me to him.
"I don't want them. I want you, Cliff."
"I don't have a knot, Zoe."
"I'm aware."
He pulls one leg up on the bed and turns sideways to face me. "Omegas in heat need to be knotted."
"We'll figure something out. Maybe it's a heat spike. All I know is that I want you."
I wouldn't be opposed to Cameron joining us, but Cliff would have to leave to go get him, and the idea of being left alone right now makes me want to scream.
Unable to wait for him to make the first move, I throw myself at my Beta.
He catches me with a grunt but doesn't bother trying to deny me anymore.
Our lips come together in a fevered kiss, his beard and mustache surprisingly soft against my skin, and I'm probably imagining it, but the pressure in my abdomen eases up a little at the contact.
I pull away and get a good look at Cliff's chest tattoo.
I saw it when we first met, but I couldn't make out what it was.
Now I can see that it's a stylized volcano with ornate smoke and flames emerging from it.
It's beautiful, highlighting his broad build.
My bite sits at the curve of his neck, just out of reach of some of the flames.
"How long have you had this?"
"Since right after I was designated as a Beta." He glances down at it with a shy smile. "I got it because it reminds me of home, but now I wonder if there was something buried in my subconscious that knew you and I would end up together."
I guide his hands to the bottom of my sleep shirt and help him peel it off me. There are no tattoos decorating my skin, but I still feel as if I carry his mark.
Cliff touches my body with reverence, dragging his fingertips across my collarbones, down my sternum, and caressing my ribs. I don't know if he's trying to tease me by ignoring my breasts, but it's working. I whine and shove my chest out. He chuckles.
"Impatient, aren't you?"
"I need you."
"And this is the first time I've gotten my hands on you, my bonded mate. I want to take some time and enjoy it."
"I propose a compromise."
His hand tightens around my ribcage. "Oh?"
"Yes. You fuck me, then you can touch every part of me for however long you want."
Amusement lights up his eyes. "Counter proposal. I can touch every part of your body for however long I want, but you can touch yourself, too."
I groan and rotate my hips, seeking pressure that isn't there right now. "Hold on. You get exactly what you want. A good compromise means everyone is a little bit miserable."
"Fine. I can touch you until you make yourself come."
Oh, that is something I can do. I feel like I'm close to exploding already. I stand and peel off my shorts and underwear, baring myself to Cliff.
He groans and palms himself as he looks over my naked flesh. "You're exquisite." His words sound like a prayer, making me want to fall to my knees in rapture. When I step closer, he runs his hands up the side of my thighs and squeezes my hipbones. "Just perfection."
A wave of heat washes over me again, and I grab my nipples, ready to take full advantage of my side of the deal.
Cliff watches me for a moment, licking his lips as his cock strains his pajamas.
Using the grip on my hips, he pulls me forward until I land on his lap.
With a leg on either side of his thigh, my pussy falls right on his hard bulge.
He drags one hand up my spine, and I move to rub my throbbing clit. He grabs my wrist and pulls my hand away. "I didn't say you can touch yourself. I said I can touch you until you make yourself come."
"That's what I'm trying to do."
Before I can protest more, he's got both of my wrists in the grip of one large hand behind my back. "I believe in you, Omega. Make yourself come."
The brush of his soft lips, combined with the soft rasp of his facial hair against my overheated skin, has me groaning with need. I squirm against his hold, desperate to get some stimulation to cool me down.
As I wiggle, I end up grinding myself on his lap, his shaft pressing against me through the thin layer of clothing he still wears. The feeling isn't quite what I want, but I am so needy that it feels like lightning is running through me. He groans and stiffens beneath me.
I continue to thrust myself against him, using his hardness to get myself off.
His free hand strokes my nipple with feather-light touches, but they are so sensitive right now he may as well be pinching them.
As I pick up speed in my quest to get myself off, Cliff starts to thrust against me, groans falling from his lips.
He's feeling the effects of this just as much as I am.
It's not long before an orgasm crashes into me, and I moan out my pleasure. It was a small one, not satisfying any of the desire coursing through me, but still enough to get what I want.
"Fuck me," I demand.
He lets go of my wrist and plants his hand between my shoulder blades before flipping us. Cliff sits up and pushes his pants down just enough for his cock to spring free.
My mouth waters at the sight of it. It's thick, curving up toward his stomach, and dark hair stretches across his pelvis and down the tops of his thighs. I wrap my hand around it and pump, the skin moving down to reveal his dripping head.
"I need you, Cliff. Now."
He falls on my lips, nipping and licking into my mouth, and doesn't stop as I feel his tip slide through my slickness and push against my entrance.
"Holy fuck," he moans as he pushes inside me. It's slow, but the stretch of him and fullness after I've been feeling so empty for so long is enough to make my toes curl. "You're so wet. I forgot about slick."
My words come out in panting moans as he pulls almost all the way out before thrusting slowly into me. "One Omega benefit."
The gentle pace does not last long. It's as if with every stroke, Cliff grows more and more feral for me until he's kneeling with my legs wrapped around his waist. He grabs my pillow and shoves it under my hips as he drives into me.
"Look at my pretty Omega. I can't believe you're mine." One of his hands leaves my waist to pluck at my nipple. "But you are. You're mine forever."
He hits a spot inside me that has me seeing stars. The cramping in my abdomen has abated, overshadowed by the mind-numbing pleasure my Beta is giving me with every thrust of his hips.
Though I'm sure half the floor can hear our passion, neither of us bothers to tamp them down.
Cliff licks his thumb and places it on my clit, rubbing small circles in time with his thrusts. The dual sensations have me arching my back, and my moans become fast pants.
"You going to come for me?" Cliff groans as he fucks me so hard my teeth rattle. "I need you to come, Zoe. I want to lose myself in you as you drench my cock."
There's a moment where I feel like the orgasm may be too far out of reach, like my body doesn't want it or isn't ready for it, but that passes as soon as he pinches my swollen clit. Slick floods out of me like a dam burst, soaking him, my pillow, my sheets, and I scream my release.
Cliff's hips stutter as he shouts my name and unloads himself inside me. He collapses, careful to land beside me instead of on top. "Fuck. That was life-changing, Zoe."
The heat living under my skin has faded, and my cramps are no worse than a period now. I feel closer to Cliff than ever before.