CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR – LOGAN
“Holy shit,” Tristan breathes at my side, his fingers sunk into my bicep like they plan on fusing there. “I knew it wasn’t just the road trip vibes making me hard.”
I’d side-eye him for that, since he’s been twitching in his seat ever since we entered the Rocky Mountains, but I can’t tear my gaze away from the sight in front of me.
Lily is naked on her back, her arms stretched between two bedposts and secured with a pair of ties.
Otley – who looks a hell of a lot different out of his three-piece-suits - is rocking against her, his cock buried between her thighs.
And, if I’m not mistaken, he’s not just fucking her, but he’s knotted her so deep I can’t be certain they aren’t fused together, too.
“Lily?”
Her head turns towards me, but her reflexes are sluggish, her eyes hazy and unfocused.
The smile she gives me is as breath catching as ever, but it barely twitches over her lips before her gaze slides back to Otley.
He murmurs something low and intimate and her back arches, a gasp spilling from her lips.
“Oh, wow,” Tristan gasps, his fingers digging deeper into my muscle. “That’s a beautiful stretch.”
I grunt in reply, because I know he isn’t just talking about her posture.
I can see how loose she is in his arms, like she’s clay and he’s spinning her on one of those wheels.
Jealousy, thick as tar, floods my system, and Tristan’s smile fades as he studies my face.
But what can he expect? She’s putty in his goddamn hands.
Or in this case, on his freaking knot. And the smell…
Lily’s arousal has always short-circuited my brain, but now it’s overlaid with the musk of a rutting alpha.
And not just any alpha, but one whose chemistry is a perfect match for my mate’s.
“Hey!” I snap before I can stop myself. “Ease up!”
The sharp edge to my voice gets Lily’s head turning back in my direction. But it also tightens the restraints on her wrists, and I catch the slightest wince beneath her haze. “Is he hurting you?”
She blinks, confusion written all over her face until I stride over and grab one of the ties fastened to the bedpost. “What is this shit?”
Painful color floods her cheeks, a thread of something sour marring her scent. “It’s okay, Logan. I asked for it.”
I sniff suspiciously, but there’s no denying that the perfume of her arousal is almost as strong as the cherry-scented pheromones in the air.
I take a step closer, reaching out to cup her flushed face.
Her lips are swollen and her hair is tangled around her shoulders, freshly fucked and irresistible.
I push back a messy curl, my thumb swiping across my mating bite.
No fresh marks that I can see, which is only polite when you’re dick-deep in another alpha’s mate.
“You like this, LeeLee?” She nods her head, her teeth sunk into her puffy bottom lip as her gaze darts around the room.
It’s like she’s looking for reassurance and something painful twinges in my chest. I have to remind myself that while I’ve known her most of my life, we haven’t been intimate for long.
Based on what I can see here, there’s clearly a lot I still need to learn about my beautiful mate.
I brush a soothing hand along the underside of her left arm, which is stretched above her head in a tempting arch. “You want me to untie you, so you can take a bath?”
It’s not lost on me that Otley’s knot has gone down, and that the spaced-out look in Lily’s eyes is fading. I’m assuming this is an appropriate time to step in, but the alpha makes a rumbling sound of protest, and I scowl at him in warning. “You got a problem with that?”
His gaze is still locked on Lily, whose cheeks are growing redder by the second. “No, just…”
“Aftercare,” Tristan says softly, his touch on my arm now careful, like he’s trying not to spook me. “Ot just wants to make sure she’s okay.”
“Right.” I’ve heard of aftercare, but I don’t know much about it, except that there’s not a lot of time for it when you’re getting off in the desert. “I think we’ll manage.”
I make quick work of the restraints, then carry Lily through to the bathroom, which is like something out of a magazine.
The entire house is pretty much picture perfect, and I feel a stab of insecurity in my tight chest. I’m self-aware enough to know that finding Lily riding the knot of a guy who can give her a dream life is messing with my head, no matter how okay I thought I was with the whole scent match thing.
I mean, it makes sense that she’s into the other alpha.
I wasn't joking about him giving off a can-do vibe. If he’d signed up, he'd probably be a fucking general, while I’ve never had the stomach – or patience - for politics.
I enjoy telling people to jump just as much as the next domineering alpha, but now I reserve that shit for the gym.
“You know,” I tell Lily as I walk us into a shower the size of a locker room, “if you want me to boss you around, I've had years of practice running bootcamps.”
Her head is resting on my shoulder, but now she looks up at me. “It’s not that.”
I try not to scowl as I fiddle with the water.
Three rainshower heads, and I need a fucking degree to take a shower.
It’s goddamn excessive, but Lily gives a happy shiver as I park her on the wooden bench and strip out of my clothes.
“Then what is it?” I’m not proud of the tense edge to my voice.
“If what we do together isn’t making you happy. ..”
“Wait up.” Lily is on her feet, a little unsteady, but a fierce look on her face. “Stop reacting to what you saw in there and feel me through the bond.” She presses a hand to my chest, right over my lily tattoo. “Is that clear enough?”
Warmth, trust, happiness, and a great big dose of love.
And just like that, all my petty jealousy runs down the drain, and I groan.
“Shit. Yeah, I can feel you, sweetheart.” I give her a look that’s both sheepish and a little awestruck, because the depth of Lily’s feelings for me always takes me by surprise.
Even when I’m a jackass, it seems, because when I draw her into my arms, her flushed skin wraps me in her rose petal scent. “I’m sorry, LeeLee.”
She squeezes me tight, still as fierce, but now for the right reasons. “I love you, Logan. I waited a long time to get here with you, and I don't want to change anything about us.”
“Me too, babe. I’m a narrow-minded dick sometimes, but I love you so much.
” I nuzzle my bite, her happy little gasp spreading through my limbs as we move under the steaming water.
I grab a bottle of something expensive off the shelf and lather it between my hands, sighing at how badly I nearly fucked this up.
“I jumped to conclusions, instead of just asking you how you felt.” I hesitate, but as I run soapy hands down her back, I realize that I’m not just regretful; I’m actually insanely curious.
“Can you tell me what you like about that?”
She hesitates for a moment, then tips her head back, lashes fluttering as I work the sweet-smelling suds into her muscles. “I like the fact I don’t have to think. Or worry. Or choose one thing over another. I just get to put it all down.”
Lily is the epitome of a multitasker, and while I know it’s not always by choice, it’s hard to get her to delegate things. “You mean the day-to-day stuff?”
“Yes, but also me. The masks, the responsibilities.” She looks up at me, something fragile and hopeful shimmering in her blue eyes.
“Sometimes, when I’m really anxious, I feel like I’m going to fly apart.
I usually have to push my way through it, but what you saw in there grounds me.
I can let go, because I know that someone else is going to take care of it. ”
If I hold my own feelings at bay, I can admit that it makes sense. I joined up because of both duty and itchy feet, but I stayed for the routine and sense of purpose. There’s a lot of responsibility in being a Marine, but there's also something freeing about following orders for a living.
And maybe there’s some redemption in admitting that I can’t give her everything she needs, but that’s okay, too.
Isn’t that what a pack is for?
“Can you wait here a sec?” I back out of the shower, hooking a hand towel off the vanity to swipe up some of the water streaming off me.
“Just keep soaping up those perfect breasts while I grab something.” She looks at me with wide eyes, but when she nods, I can’t resist adding, “Good girl, LeeLee.”
And holy hell, that feels good rolling off my tongue.
Despite being naked and frisky, it only takes me a moment to convince the guys that they need to relocate to the bathroom.
Lily’s eyes blow even wider when we return, but there’s no mistaking the joy on her face as Tristan saunters right up to our girl.
He wraps his arms around her, kissing away the water clinging to her temple.
“Ah, the joy of communal showers,” he hums, nuzzling her cheek.
“This is one of my favorite parts of pack life. Getting filthy dirty, then working up a sweat getting squeaky clean.”
She laughs at his cheeky wink, but when Tristan turns his attention my way, his expression is as serious as I’ve ever seen it. “Are you sharing, or are there limits you want to set out?”
“No limits, other than the obvious.” I rub a hand across my jaw, feeling even more of a jackass when I see the hesitation in Lily’s face. “I messed up. I should’ve just asked, instead of assuming the worst.”
To my surprise, it’s Otley who steps forward, extending a hand. “I should’ve waited and talked to you about it. You’re mates, and this is a lot to take in.”