Chapter 15
15
EMMA
I rush down the stairs, drawn by a strange flickering light coming from the kitchen.
Orange and yellow dance across the walls, casting ominous shadows that seem to reach for me with grasping fingers.
“Hello?” I call out, rounding the corner to find a small fire spreading across the kitchen counter.
The flames lick at the cabinets, consuming dish towels and jumping to the wooden spice rack.
Smoke reaches my nose, and I cough.
“About time you showed up,” a male says behind me.
I spin around, startled by the voice.
Chad stands in the doorway, arms crossed over his chest, watching the growing blaze with detached interest. He looks exactly as I remember—expensive clothes, carefully styled hair, and a smile that reminds me of a shark.
“Chad? What are you doing here?” My mind spins in confusion.
“Why is there a fire? We need to get out!”
“This was supposed to be our vacation,” he says, ignoring my panic.
“Remember? The cabin I booked for us before you decided to go slumming with your firefighter toys.”
The fire grows as he speaks, spreading across the ceiling now, crackling and popping as it consumes the wooden beams. The heat intensifies, sweat beading on my skin, but Chad seems unbothered.
“We need to leave,” I insist, reaching for his arm and coughing.
“Now!”
He shakes off my grip, his face twisting into something unfamiliar, something that makes my blood run cold.
The carefully maintained charm falls away like a cheap mask, revealing what’s always been lurking beneath—cold calculation and rage.
“You went behind my back with three fucking Alphas?” he snarls, advancing on me as the flames rise higher, circling us like hungry predators.
“I always knew you were trash.”
“Chad, please,” I back away, but there’s nowhere to go.
The fire has surrounded us, closing in with unnatural speed.
“I didn’t ? —”
“Always knew you were worthless,” he continues as if I hadn’t spoken.
“Just another desperate Omega pretending to be special. You’re nothing without me.”
His hands shoot out, grabbing my shoulders with bruising force.
His pale blue eyes, always cold even when he smiled, now gleam with malice that chills me despite the inferno around us.
“You belong in the fire,” he hisses, shoving me backward.
I stumble, falling into the wall of flames behind me.
The fire catches on my clothes, my hair, my skin, and I scream ? —
I jolt awake with a gasp, my heart pounding against my ribs like it’s trying to escape.
The sheets are tangled around my legs.
For a disorienting moment, I can still feel the fire licking at my skin, can still see Chad’s icy stare, watching me burn.
“Just a dream,” I whisper into the darkness of my room.
“Just a stupid dream.”
But my body doesn’t seem to have gotten the message.
I’m burning up, skin flushed and covered in sweat.
Between my thighs, I’m embarrassingly wet and throbbing with an insistent need that makes no sense, given the nightmare I just escaped.
I kick off the sheets, trying to cool down.
The air on my overheated skin brings temporary relief, but the ache deep inside only intensifies.
Something’s wrong. I’ve never felt like this before, as though I’m being consumed from the inside out.
A terrible suspicion forms in my mind.
No. It can’t be. My heat isn’t due for weeks, and it’s never hit this suddenly before.
There are always warning signs, gradual buildup, not this freight train of sensation.
I press a hand between my legs, shocked at the slickness I find there.
My fingers come away glistening in the faint moonlight filtering through my window.
“Shit,” I mutter, panic rising.
“Shit, shit, shit.”
This can’t be happening.
Not now, not here, not when I’m living with three Alphas who already make my pulse race.
I need a cold shower.
Now. The deep, sharp pain of heat hasn’t set in yet, so maybe this is just my body responding to the Alphas being so close to me.
Stumbling out of bed, I grab fresh pajamas from my dresser, the shortest shorts and thinnest tank top the guys bought me, but anything heavier feels like it would suffocate me right now.
The room tilts alarmingly as I move, my balance off-kilter, my limbs heavy and uncooperative.
I make it to the door through sheer determination, easing it open as quietly as possible.
The last thing I need is to wake one of them in this state.
The hallway stretches before me, the bathroom door seeming impossibly far away.
Gripping the wall for support, I make my way down the corridor on unsteady legs.
Left foot. Right foot.
Don’t fall. Don’t make noise.
Don’t think about how good the cool wall feels against your overheated palm.
I reach the bathroom without incident.
The face that greets me in the mirror is almost unrecognizable—cheeks flushed, pupils wide, and lips parted and swollen as if I’ve been kissed senseless.
I look drugged or feverish or both.
Turning the shower to its coldest setting, I strip off my sweat-soaked pajamas and step under the icy spray.
The shock tears a gasp from my throat, but the relief is immediate and profound.
The fire under my skin recedes, the fog in my brain clearing slightly .
I stand there until I’m shivering, letting the cold water wash away the slick between my thighs, the sweat from my skin, and the lingering tendrils of the nightmare.
When I finally shut off the water, I feel almost normal again.
Still warm, still on edge, but no longer desperate.
As I towel off, I catch myself thinking about the three Alphas sleeping just down the hall.
Each is so different, yet all stir something in me I’ve tried desperately to ignore.
I can’t keep doing this, can’t keep letting my guard down around them.
The balcony with Atlas, the tunnel of love with Levi, the way I find excuses to touch River whenever we’re in the same room.
.. it’s like I’ve lost all self-preservation instinct.
“Get it together, Emma,” I mutter to my reflection as I pull on clean pajamas.
“They’re being kind, that’s all. Don’t make it weird. Don’t get attached. And for God’s sake, stop imagining them naked.”
The last command is futile.
I’ve already had Levi’s cock in my mouth, had Atlas’s face between my thighs, and watched River’s muscles flex as he won carnival games.
My mind has filled in the blanks quite vividly.
I gather my wet hair into a messy bun to keep it off my neck.
Then I step back into the hallway, ready to return to my room and figure out what the hell I’m going to do if this really is an early heat.
But as I turn toward my bedroom, a scent hits me, warm, rich, intoxicating.
Cinnamon, firewood, and brown sugar.
Something primal stirs in response.
My head turns, seeking the source of that delicious smell, nostrils drawing more into my lungs.
My feet follow, one step, then another, drawn as if by an invisible thread.
It’s River. I know it with absolute certainty, though I can’t explain how.
The sweet, spicy scent is unmistakably his, and right now, it’s the most delicious thing I’ve ever encountered.
My body responds instantaneously, a fresh wave of slick soaking my clean pajama shorts as heat surges through me again.
A small, rational part of my brain screams warnings, telling me to return to my room, to lock the door, to put as much distance between myself and the Alphas as possible.
But that voice is drowned out by the overwhelming need to be closer to that scent, to wrap myself in it, to taste it.
I find myself outside his door without any memory of deciding to go there.
My hand trembles as it reaches for the doorknob, turning it with exquisite slowness to avoid making noise.
The door swings open, revealing a bedroom bathed in silver moonlight.
Slipping inside, I carefully close the door behind me with a soft click that sounds deafening in the quiet room.
River is sprawled across his bed, one arm flung above his head and the sheets tangled around his waist, exposing the sculpted planes of his chest and abdomen.
The sight makes my mouth water.
I should leave. I should open the door and run back to my room.
I should…
I’m already crossing the room, drawn by the intensifying scent that fills the space.
It’s everywhere here, concentrated and pure, wrapping around me like an embrace.
A small sound, half-purr, half-whimper, escapes me as I breathe it in.
The need to be closer overwhelms all rational thought.
Before I know what I’m doing, I’m crawling onto the foot of his bed, sliding under the sheet, drinking in his scent with desperate gulps of air.
Each breath makes the ache inside me worse and better simultaneously.
I can’t stop myself from moving higher, drawn to the source of that intoxicating smell.
I slide along his body until I’m face to face with him, only then realizing his eyes are open, bright teal gleaming in the darkness.
“Well, hello there, sugar cube,” he murmurs, voice rough with sleep but amusement clear in his tone.
“This is a pleasant surprise.”
Despite my state, embarrassment floods me.
“I-I’m sorry, I don’t know what I’m?—”
“Shh,” he soothes, his arms coming around me as if it’s the most natural thing in the world to find an Omega in his bed in the middle of the night.
“No need to explain.”
His skin against mine is electric, sending sparks dancing across my nerve endings.
I shudder at the contact, unable to suppress the small moan that escapes me.
“Bad dream?” he asks, one hand gently stroking my back .
The simple touch shouldn’t feel so good, but in my sensitized state, it’s almost overwhelming.
“Yes,” I manage, struggling to form coherent thoughts with him so close, his scent filling my lungs, his warmth seeping into my overheated skin.
“And I don’t feel right. I didn’t want to be alone.”
River shifts, pulling me closer until I’m tucked against his side.
Only then do I register that he’s completely naked under the sheets, his arousal evident against my hip.
The realization sends another flood of heat through me.
“Well, you picked the right Alpha to cuddle with,” he whispers.
“I’m excellent at chasing away nightmares.”
I turn away from him, needing a moment to collect myself, to try to regain some control over my runaway body.
But the movement only makes things worse because now we’re spooning, his chest pressed to my back, his arm wrapped around my waist, his breath warm against my neck.
“Mmm,” he hums appreciatively, nose tracing the line of my throat.
“Fuck, you smell delicious. Why do you smell so good? And you’re so soft, like velvet.”
The praise sends a shiver down my spine, and I arch back against him.
My ass presses against his erection, drawing a sharp intake of breath from him.
I do it again, a deliberate roll of my hips this time, feeling him harden further against me.
The friction is delicious, a small relief to the building pressure inside me, but nowhere near enough .
“Be careful, sugar cube,” he warns, voice dropping to a growl that vibrates through me.
“I’m not someone who can say no to someone like you.”
The heat in my veins makes me reckless.
“Who says I want you to say no?”
“Are you sure you know what you’re asking for?” His hand tightens on my hip, fingers digging into my flesh in a way that’s just shy of painful.
“Because right now, you smell like an Omega on the edge of heat.”
The words confirm my suspicion, sending a spike of panic through the haze of desire.
“No, I’m not,” I protest automatically.
“It’s just from being around you three so much... my body’s just adjusting. My heat isn’t due for another couple of weeks.” Even as I say it, I know it’s a lie, but admitting it makes it real, makes it something I have to deal with.
River’s hand slides up to cup my face, turning me slightly so he can see my eyes.
“I’ve been around enough Omegas in heat to recognize the signs. Your scent has been changing for days.”
I close my eyes, not wanting to see the truth in his gaze.
“Sometimes being around compatible Alphas can trigger a heat,” he explains gently.
“Especially when...” He trails off, seemingly reconsidering his words.
“When what?” I press.
He hesitates, then says, “When there’s a potential mate nearby.”
The word mate sends another rush of heat through me, my body responding instinctively to the concept .
“That’s ridiculous,” I say, with less conviction than I’d like.
“I’ve known you guys for less than a week.”
“The body knows what it wants,” River says simply.
“And right now, yours seems to want me pretty badly.”
I can’t argue with that, not when I’m practically writhing against him, desperate for more contact.
“This is insane,” I mutter, more to myself than to him.
“Completely,” he agrees cheerfully.
“But here you are, in my bed, grinding that perfect little ass against me like you’re trying to start a fire.”
Despite everything, I laugh.
“Since when are you a philosopher?”
“I have hidden depths,” he retorts, nipping my earlobe.
“Speaking of which... what other secrets are you keeping from me?”
The question is playful.
His hand has resumed its maddening path along my side, up and down, each pass bringing him closer to where I’m aching for his touch.
“Wouldn’t you like to know,” I tease, even as I arch into his touch.
“I would, actually,” he says, voice dropping lower.
“Tell me what turns you on. Just so a man knows how to bring you ultimate pleasure.”
The request sends a thrill through me, both the words themselves and the power they give me.
But I’m not ready to surrender all my secrets just yet.
“Why don’t you find out for yourself?” I challenge, reaching back to slide my fingers into his hair.
“I’m right here.”
“Mmm, playing hard to get even when you’re practically melting for me?” His hand slides to my bare thigh.
“I like a challenge.”
His touch moves higher, skimming the edge of my sleep shorts, deliberately avoiding where I need him most. The teasing is exquisite torture, my body coiling tighter with each brush of his fingers.
“River,” I whimper, unable to keep the need from my voice.
“Yes, sugar cube?” He sounds far too composed, too in control, while I’m falling apart.
“Touch me,” I plead, past pride now.
“Please.”
His lips brush the edge of my ear.
“Here?” His hand slides up to just below my breast. “Or maybe here?” Down to the outside of my thigh.
I groan in frustration, grabbing his wrist and trying to guide his hand where I need it between my thighs.
He resists easily, chuckling at my impatience.
“Not so fast,” he murmurs.
“First, I want to know what my Omega likes. What fantasies keep you up at night? What makes you bite that pretty lower lip when you think no one’s watching?”
The questions make me squirm, both from embarrassment and arousal.
“Why are you teasing me?”
“Because you’re magnificent when you’re desperate,” he admits, the honesty in his words surprising me.
“And because when I finally give you what you need, it’ll be that much better for the waiting.”
His logic is infuriating and arousing in equal measure.
“Fine,” I huff. “What do you want to know?”
“Everything,” he says simply.
“But let’s start with how you like to be touched. Soft and slow? Hard and fast? Do you like to be in control, or do you prefer to surrender?”
The questioning makes me blush, but the heat in my veins pushes me past shyness.
“It depends on my mood,” I hedge.
“And what mood are you in right now?” His hand has resumed its maddening journey up and down my side, each pass bringing him closer to my breast.
I consider lying, consider playing coy, but what’s the point?
My body is already betraying every secret.
“I like it doggy style,” I admit, voice barely above a whisper.
“Something about it just... hits different.”
“Is that what my sugar cube needs?”
“Is that a problem?” I ask, suddenly self-conscious despite the fire racing through my veins.
He laughs. “Oh, not at all. I just want to make sure this is what you really want.”
“Does a girl have to beg for it?” I grind back against him for emphasis, more deliberately this time, drawing a hiss from between his teeth.
“Christ, Emma,” he groans, his hand sliding down my side to grip my hip harder.
“Keep that up, and this will be over embarrassingly quickly.”
I do it again, relishing the power I have over him despite my desperate state.
“Maybe that’s the plan.”
His responding growl is pure Alpha .
I reach back to run my fingers through his golden hair.
“Especially with you.”
In one fluid motion, he rolls me onto my back, looming over me with those bright eyes that seem to glow in the darkness.
His hand comes up to brush my hair away from my face with surprising tenderness.
“Look at you,” he whispers, gaze traveling over my flushed face, my heaving chest, my parted lips.
“If you could see yourself right now, all flushed and wanting, those gorgeous eyes begging me for relief. You’re a fucking vision.”
My chest squeezes.
“River,” I breathe, only knowing that I need him with an intensity that frightens me.
“I’ve been dreaming about having you in my bed,” he confesses as his thumb brushes my lower lip.
“Imagining how your skin would feel against mine, how you’d sound when I make you come.”
Before I can respond, his mouth is on mine, and all coherent thought dissolves.
There’s nothing hesitant or careful about his kiss; he claims my mouth, his tongue claiming me, taking playful nips at my lower lip, with a hunger that matches my own.
His hand tangles in my hair and angles my head exactly how he wants it while his body presses me into the mattress with delicious weight.
I’m breathless within seconds, my body arching up to press against his, seeking so much more of him.
A whimper escapes me when he sucks my bottom lip between his teeth, the slight sting followed by the soothing swipe of his tongue.
“God, you’re intoxicating,” he murmurs against my lips.
“Could kiss you for hours.”
His hands slide down my body, exploring the curve of my waist and the flare of my hip.
When he reaches the hem of my tank top, he pauses, looking at me with a question in his eyes.
“Yes,” I nod frantically.
“Please.”
He grins, that wicked, boyish smile that first caught my attention.
“So polite when you’re horny.”
In one smooth motion, he pulls the tank top up and over my head, tossing it aside.
His starving stare takes in my bare breasts, my nipples hardening to tight peaks in the cool air.
“Gorgeous,” he breathes, palming one breast with reverent care.
“Absolutely fucking perfect.”
The praise washes over me, heightening every sensation.
When his thumb brushes across my nipple, a gasp escapes me.
“Sensitive,” he notes.
“I’m going to have so much fun with you.”
He lowers his head, replacing his hand with his mouth, sucking one nipple between his lips while his fingers tease the other.
The dual sensation sends lightning down my spine, pooling between my thighs, where I’m already embarrassingly wet.
“That’s so good,” I moan.
My hands fist in his hair as he switches to the other breast, giving it the same thorough attention.
“Please. ”
He trails kisses down the valley of my breasts, across my ribs, toward my navel.
“I need you to touch me,” I manage.
“Between my legs. I’m so empty, River. It hurts.”
“Can’t have that,” he murmurs, hooking his fingers into the waistband of my shorts.
“Lift your hips for me.”
I comply immediately, and he draws the shorts down my legs with agonizing slowness, his eyes darkening as he takes in my nakedness.
“Christ,” he mutters, tossing the shorts aside and spreading my bent knees.
“You’re trying to kill me.”
I’m beyond self-consciousness now, naked before him in the moonlight, my need too urgent for modesty.
“Touch me,” I plead.
He settles between my thighs, pressing a slow kiss to the inside of my knee, then another, working his way higher with maddening deliberation.
Each press of his lips sends sparks dancing across my skin, winding me tighter with anticipation until I’m trembling, breath shallow, pulse fluttering like a trapped bird in my throat.
“So impatient,” he murmurs against my inner thigh, his breath hot and wicked, then pulls back up to sit on his heels.
“Good things come to those who wait.”
But I can’t help it—I glance down, needing to see him, all of him.
And when I do, I freeze.
He’s completely nude, gloriously so, muscles everywhere.
But the thick length between his thighs catches my attention, and not just because of the size, though he’s achingly hard and more than impressive.
No, it’s the piercings.
A row of small, gleaming silver bars runs beneath the head of his cock, glinting softly in the moonlight.
A Jacob’s ladder.
“Holy shit,” I whisper, eyes wide.
“How does that feel?”
River glances up at me through thick lashes, smirking like the devil himself.
“You’re about to find out, gorgeous.”
My mouth goes dry.
My pussy clenches. And still, all I can do is stare.
It looks wicked on him, dangerous and beautiful, like everything about him is designed to undo me.
The smooth metal contrasts against the thick, flushed heat of him, and the thought of what it might feel like inside me sends a fresh rush of heat through my body.
He’s still smirking as he leans back down and trails his mouth higher, eyes locked on mine.
And suddenly, waiting feels impossible.
I protest with a groan.
His hand finally, finally slides between my thighs, fingers parting my folds with gentle pressure.
We both moan at the contact—me from relief, him from excitement.
“Fuck, you’re drenched,” he says with evident awe.
“All this for me?”
“Yes,” I gasp as he drags one finger through my wetness, gathering it before circling my entrance teasingly.
“Only for you. ”
The first press of his finger inside me is both relief and torture—good, so good, but nowhere near enough to satisfy the emptiness.
I buck against his hand, seeking more, and he obliges by adding a second finger, stretching me deliciously.
“More,” I plead, my hands fisting in the sheets.
“Please.”
River’s eyes, bright with desire, lock on mine as he adds a third finger, filling me more completely.
The stretch burns slightly, but in the best possible way, my body adjusting quickly to accommodate him.
“Like this?” he asks, curling his fingers inside me and thrusting in and out, making my whole body shudder.
“Yes,” I cry out, hips lifting off the bed.
“Like that.”
He never pauses, his thumb occasionally brushing my clit with just enough weight to drive me higher without pushing me over the edge.
It’s deliberate torture, and he knows it.
“You should see yourself,” he murmurs, voice rough with desire.
“Flushed and writhing on my fingers, so wet I can hear it every time I move inside you. So fucking beautiful.”
I’m beyond words now, reduced to moans and gasps as he drives me closer to the edge.
Just when I think I might finally tip over, he withdraws his fingers, drawing a cry of protest from me.
“Shh,” he soothes, bringing his glistening fingers to his mouth.
My eyes widen as he sucks them clean, an expression of pure bliss crossing his face.
“Just as sweet as I imagined,” he says with evident satisfaction.
The sight of him tasting me sends another rush of heat through my body.
“I need you inside me.”
“I will be,” he promises, pressing a quick, hard kiss to my lips, letting me taste myself on his tongue.
“But first, I want you how you said you like it best.” He gives me a wicked grin.
“Turn over for me, Emma. Hands and knees.”
The command sends a fresh wave of slick between my thighs.
I comply immediately, rolling onto my stomach and pushing up onto all fours.
Cool air hits my overheated skin as River moves behind me, and I resist the urge to look back at him to see what he’s thinking.
“Goddamn,” he finally says, voice rough with desire.
“You’re a fucking masterpiece. All spread out for me, waiting to be filled.”
His hands come to rest on my hips, thumbs pressing into the dimples at the base of my spine.
I feel him shift on the mattress, positioning himself behind me.
The head of his cock pushes against my entrance, and I move back eagerly, drawing a chuckle from him.
“So greedy, and your pussy is already fluttering on my cock, sucking down on me,” he murmurs, one hand sliding up my spine to tangle in my hair.
“I need more.”
He enters me slowly at first. The stretch is beautiful, sharp and deep, just this side of too much, but in the best possible way.
And then I feel it. The piercings .
Oh God.
Each bar of metal drags over me with a distinct, delicious friction, catching on the most sensitive spots inside me, making me gasp.
It’s not just pressure, it’s texture.
Just the right amount of pressure.
Unrelenting. Like he’s lighting up nerves I didn’t even know I had.
My body clenches around him in reaction and already desperate for more.
It’s unlike anything I’ve ever felt.
When he’s finally fully buried inside me, we both pause, panting.
My hands are gripping the sheets, my body singing with sensation.
“You okay?” he asks, his voice tight with restraint, like he’s hanging on by a thread.
“Better than okay,” I manage, my voice breathless.
I wiggle my hips, testing how those metal bars feel when I move, damn, and his groan tells me exactly how much that affected him.
“Now,” I say, glancing over my shoulder with a grin, “show me what an Alpha can do.”
He doesn’t need to be told twice.
His hands return to my hips, holding me steady as he withdraws almost completely, then slams back in with enough force to drive me forward on the bed.
The angle is perfect, hitting spots inside me that make my vision blur.
“Fuck,” I gasp, dropping to my elbows, changing the angle to take him even deeper.
“Yes, just like that.”
River sets a punishing pattern, each thrust accompanied by the obscene sound of skin on skin and the creaking protest of the bedframe.
The headboard slams against the wall with each powerful drive of his hips.
He grabs me hard, moves faster, more brutally.
I can’t get enough of being fucked.
“This what you needed?” he growls, one hand sliding around to find my clit, adding another layer of sensation that has me seeing stars.
“This what you’ve been aching for?”
“Yes,” I cry, past caring who might hear us.
“Yes, God, River, don’t stop.”
“Couldn’t if I tried,” he pants, slamming into me.
“Feel too fucking incredible.”
Sweat slicks my body as we move together, the room filling with the sounds of our pleasure, my desperate moans, his guttural groans, the wet slide of him inside me.
“Close,” I gasp, pushing back to meet each of his thrusts, the beautiful ache of him shoving so deep into me, I can barely hold on.
“So close.”
“That’s it,” he encourages, fingers pinching my clit.
“Let go for me. Show me how good I make you feel.”
His words push me closer to the edge, the pressure building to an almost unbearable peak.
Just when I think I can’t take anymore, he leans over me, chest against my back, and whispers in my ear:
“You’re mine now. Mine to please, mine to protect, mine to cherish.”
The possessive claim, combined with a particularly deep thrust and a clever circle of his fingers, sends me hurtling over the edge.
The orgasm crashes through me with the force of a tidal wave, tearing a scream from my throat as my body convulses around him.
Wave after wave of pleasure washes over me, each more intense than the last, leaving me trembling and gasping beneath him.
River growls, his thrusting becoming erratic as my inner walls pulse around him.
“Fuck, Emma, I’m going to?—”
His thrusts become desperate, feral, and then I feel it—the base of his cock swelling, catching just inside my entrance.
His knot.
“Yes,” I pant, pushing back against him, wanting, needing to feel that final connection.
“Please, River.”
With a guttural shout, he drives deep one final time, his knot locking inside me as he begins to come.
The sensation of being so completely filled, so thoroughly claimed, triggers another unexpected orgasm that tears through me with shocking intensity.
River’s hips continue to move in small, grinding circles as he empties himself inside me, his cock pulsing with each wave of his release.
It seems to go on forever, his fingers digging into my hips hard enough to leave marks, his breath harsh and ragged against my ear.
“Fuck,” he groans as the initial intensity subsides, leaving us both gasping.
“That was... damn, that was incredible.”
I can only manage a weak sound of agreement, too thoroughly spent for words.
My arms give out, and I start to collapse onto the mattress.
“Careful,” River murmurs, his arms wrapping securely around my waist as he guides us onto our sides, still joined intimately by his knot.
“There we go. Easy does it.”
We lie spoon-fashion, his chest pressed to my back, his arm draped protectively over my waist. His breath gradually slows against my neck, though occasionally, his cock still pulses inside me, smaller aftershocks of his release that make me shiver with residual pleasure.
“You okay?” he asks softly, pressing a gentle kiss to my shoulder.
“Mmm,” I manage, too boneless and sated to form actual words, but that was exactly what I craved.
He chuckles, the sound vibrating through his chest against my back.
“I’ll take that as a yes.” His hand strokes idly up and down my side, soothing rather than sexual now.
“You’re absolutely stunning,” he murmurs against my shoulder, lips brushing sensitive skin.
“Not just your body, though God knows that’s perfection, but everything about you. The way your eyes light up when you’re excited about something. The little crease between your eyebrows when you’re concentrating. How fiercely you protect your independence even when you’re scared.”
The unexpected tenderness catches me off guard, making my throat tight with emotion.
“I love how you’re not afraid to sass Atlas, even though he’s twice your size,” River continues, his voice a gentle rumble against my back.
“And how you match Levi in all those verbal sparring matches. And how you laugh at my stupid jokes, even the really bad ones.”
Each word sinks into me, warming places inside that have nothing to do with physical pleasure.
His knot keeps us connected, but it’s these soft confessions in the dark that feel more intimate somehow.
“You don’t have to say all that,” I murmur, strangely shy now that the initial urgency has passed.
“I know,” he says simply.
“I want to. I’ve been thinking about it for days.”
We fall silent for a while, our breathing gradually slowing.
“Let me hold you while you sleep.” He tightens his arm around my waist. “I’ll keep the nightmares away.”
The offer touches me more deeply than it should, this simple bit of care and protection.
“I would love that,” I whisper, already drifting toward sleep, warm and safe in his embrace.
“Sweet dreams, my sugar cube,” he murmurs, pressing one last kiss to the nape of my neck.
As consciousness slips away, I realize with distant alarm that my heat hasn’t broken—it’s merely receded temporarily.
This respite won’t last; the fever will return, stronger than before.
But wrapped in River’s arms, his heartbeat steady against my back, I can’t bring myself to worry about tomorrow, knowing it may not happen for another day or two, seeing how normal I feel once more.