Chapter Fourteen #2
I was not hiding away—what a ridiculous accusation. The spare bedroom did need to be dusted. If you waited until there was actual dust to dust then dust would get everywhere. Better to dust before the dust gathered. Better for the filters, too—
“Whoa, okay. What’s going on darlin?”
I stared down the ladder at Oaks as he came into the spare room, hands coming to rest on the ladder’s legs for extra stability.
I was currently dusting the ceiling, my notebook and pen resting on the final step of the ladder that wasn’t meant to be stood on in case I had a sudden thought or question to write down.
“You can do lunch, I’m not that hungry,” I admitted. The idea of food had my stomach rolling. I’d just skip lunch today. Maybe do a snack later.
“Yeah, that’s not going to happen. Pretty sure you’re not supposed to be on a ladder unsupervised. Even the little safety diagram shows you should have somebody nearby.”
I waved my hand. “That’s for heavy duty work. Not dusting.”
“Hm, let me see. Nope. It doesn’t say, ‘disregard if only dusting.’ Now, why don’t you tell me what has you stressed, darlin. That way I can fix it. Can’t fix it if I don’t know what’s wrong.”
I couldn’t seem to convince myself to get off the ladder. To step down and explain the phone call. Instead, I flipped back the pages in my notebook that outlined the call with Bartholomew and handed it to Oaks. It only took him a moment to read it all.
“Ah, I see. It seems you got a choice to make.”
I said nothing.
I heard him flipping through the next few pages.
“Or, maybe you’ve already made your choice.”
My heart squeezed inside my chest. But was it the right choice?
“I don’t know what to do.” My words were soft. A confession more than anything else.
“First, you need to get off the ladder. Then we can figure out everything else.”
The moment I stepped off the ladder, Oaks was folding up the large piece of equipment and setting it against the wall. Pretty sure he was going to try and hide that from me later, which was ridiculous.
“Come here, darlin.” He opened his arms, and I ran into them, desperate for the contact. His arms wrapped around me tightly, like he knew I needed to be grounded against him. “Tell me what you’re worried about.”
“Atlas.” He was my first worry. I knew he didn’t see himself as a typical omega, and it was probably one of the reasons I loved him so much.
That he was simply ... him. Undefined by society.
But that wasn’t technically true. It didn’t always matter what you considered yourself.
Society considered him an omega. The public would, too.
“What else?”
“Hannah.” She’d already gone through so much, and only in the last year. I knew if I spoke up, it would drag her back into the public’s attention. Maybe even Koda, too.
“And?”
“I don’t know. There’s so much. There doesn’t seem like a better path. Just two options.”
Oaks’s hands started to rub around my back, comforting me as he thought through his words before speaking. “I know what Everett would say. I also know what Atlas would say.”
I chuckled into his chest. Everett would want to protect me, would want me to do litigation as the safest option. Atlas would want me to go public, to declare all the injustices to the world. “What do you want me to do?”
“Does it matter? You’re the one that has to do it. That has to fight.”
I shook my head. “If I do this, any of this, we’ll all be in it together. Because of Atlas’s bite.”
Oaks growled, his hand fisting my hair and pulling my head back so suddenly, I gasped at the shocking movement. “What did you just say?”
I blinked my eyes, my lips parting without any words coming out. I had no idea what I’d just said. Had I spoken? I didn’t remember.
“We are pack, Eve,” he growled. “Pack. You and me. You and Everett. And you and Atlas. We are not begrudgingly bound to you. We are very fucking impatiently waiting to sink our teeth into you. To claim you as ours.”
Oaks’s cracker scent spiked, the smell of honey, sweet and cloying in the air, surrounded us, nearly making my mouth water even as my beta senses managed to pick up his possessiveness.
“You are part of pack Wilder, darlin. I thought you knew that. I thought this was enough.” He brought a hand to the collar of my shirt, pulling it down to show off Atlas’s bite.
“Or this.” He wrapped a finger around the Wilder necklace, putting a slight tension on my throat.
“Do you need more, darlin? Do you need my claim on you, too?”
My head was spinning. Was that allowed? Was that even possible? It was just a random day. A random hour. Atlas’s heat was nearly two weeks ago, Everett was back to work, and we were continuing to our normal.
I didn’t even know what day it was exactly. I needed to check my planner!
“Well?” he demanded. He nipped at my skin, just at my shoulder, making my eyes close at the pleasure that shot through me. “Do you want me to claim you? I’ve been dying to put my mark on you. To feel you when I’m away from you. To know that you’re irrevocably mine.”
This wasn’t what I’d expected for my day. “I made a three-themed sandwich for you.” The words weren’t an argument, just a statement for the normalcy of the day.
He chuckled. “I’m pretty sure I’ll be hungry after. Might even manage to work you up an appetite, hm, darlin?”
I nodded. More than just agreeing with his words. Agreeing to his claim. “Yes, please, Oaks. Bite me. Claim me.”
He bent down so quickly, the loss of his presence made me sway, before he wrapped his arms under my ass and threw me onto the spare bed.
I stared at him as he undressed. He’d already taken his hat off, his pale blond hair had a slight bend to it where his hat had sat, making him look authentically beautiful.
Since the summer heat was still clinging to the days, his shirt was short sleeved, the fabric breathable, even though he spent most of his time indoors.
It still had a slight collar with a pin in the shape of a W for his pack.
I watched, with rapt attention, as his fingers undid his belt. It was the first layer, and my heart was already beating faster in my chest. His forearms, the veins on them, his fingers, how long and elegant they were, shouldn’t be so attractive.
My gaze was completely focused on the teeth of Oaks’s zipper as he carefully undid his slacks. His movements were slow and steady, like he was teasing me with his movements. Drawing out my anticipation.
With his slacks off, he grabbed the hem of his shirt and pulled it over his chest in an effortless swoop that was so sexy.
Of course, it helped that he was suddenly bare chested.
The light smattering of blond hair on his chest trailed down his stomach like a line pointing to the starting of a bulge in his boxers.
Without any hesitation, he pulled off his underwear. His dick was slightly hard, still dangling as he fisted it. “Strip.”
I wanted to touch him. I wanted him wild for me.
It was slightly awkward to undress while already on the bed, but I managed it.
I had to undo the buttons individually on my blouse, the lightweight fabric falling open and off my shoulders.
I had to wiggle to get my shorts off, the high waist of them making it difficult over my butt.
Then we were both naked. Just staring at each other.
My legs were extended, just barely crossed, not quite hiding my core, but not showing off my most vulnerable spot either.
“I need you to get nice and wet for me, darlin. I won’t be able to go easy on you once I start and I need your body ready for me. All right? Now, spread those delicious thighs and I want to see you touch yourself. I need to see you dripping wet.”
It was hard to swallow. All the moisture in my body was already making its way to my core. Just from his words.
My legs slowly parted, and I lay back on the bed, letting my hands slowly find their way down my body and between my thighs. I dipped my finger inside, just testing my own self to see how wet I was. Not very. Even if I was aroused, my body’s natural lubrication was harder to come. Literally.
Lifting a finger to my mouth, I sucked on the digit, making it nice and wet before putting it back to my clit, starting to gently rub. My other hand roamed my body, nails lightly scratching my thighs, before I gentled my touch up my stomach and toward my breasts.
I hadn’t played with myself in so long, that my own touch almost felt strange. What did I do before my pack? Before their constant attention? Before their touches and kisses?
I traced the outline of Atlas’s bite, knowing where it was instinctively, pleasure coursing through my body at the slight contact.
I dipped my finger inside myself, finally feeling my wetness grow, and then I pulled it out, sucked two fingers in my mouth, and pushed them back in.
Oaks groaned, the sound adding fuel to my own growing arousal. “Keep going, darlin. I need you soaking for me.”
“You know I don’t get that wet.”
“I know no such thing. I’ve been inside that sweet pussy, I know exactly how hot and wet it can get for me. I want you to keep playing with yourself.”
I nodded, agreeing with his request. My legs were shamelessly spread, my knees bent and feet on the bed so my hips could buck and flinch against my own touch. Without any toys, I wasn’t sure if I could make myself come. Not without help.
“Please, Oaks.” I was not above begging. “I need you. I need more.”
“All right, come here, darlin. Come get my cock nice and wet for you.”
I scrambled onto all fours, crawling to the edge of the bed where Oaks was still fisting himself slowly. As soon as I reached for him, he tsked, stepping back.
“No, darlin. Keep touching yourself. That’s it, now stick out your tongue for me.”