Chapter 23
LANDON
Skylar’s a beautiful wreck.
Now would be the wrong time to tell her that I’m in love with her and so fucking proud of her that she’s trusting us to do this.
Vincent knew what she needed. So did I.
I’m more than happy to let him command the situation, especially if I’m the one reaping the benefits of it.
I lift the hem of her nightgown and guide her to straddle me, my cock aching with need.
Her beautiful pussy is on display, her pink lips glistening with her slick, and it’s all I can do to not come again.
She sits on me slowly, and I watch her face carefully, making sure it’s not too much for her.
But her cunt envelops me, and I slide into her easily, all the way to the base of my knot.
I tilt my head back and groan as she moans. I grip her hips tighter, gently rocking her on my knot.
“Oh my God,” she chokes out. “Oh, Landon?—”
When she says my name like that, I’m done for.
I pull her close and kiss her, her lips easily parting for me as my tongue brushes against hers. I can taste the remnants of my cum still in her mouth, and she gasps in surprise as I purposely suck on her tongue to get it off.
When I pull away, I grin at her expression, and thrust my hips up. She bounces on me, her gorgeous tits visible through the sheer gown.
I almost forget Vincent is watching us until he growls in approval.
“Vincent’s jealous,” I whisper to her. “He wants to feel how tight you get when you’re about to come. How you stop breathing just for a moment, and your pretty face turns pink.”
She whimpers. “Landon…Alpha?—”
“Can you see her pussy from here?” I ask Vincent shamelessly. “Can you see how she’s taking my knot?”
I would never put her in this position unless she gave me her absolute permission. And judging by her sweet, thickened scent, she’s more aroused than ever.
Skylar screams as she clamps down around me.
“If you lift up her nightgown, I can see her cunt,” Vincent growls.
I yank the hem up as she collapses against me, burying her face in my neck as she continues to ride my cock.
My knot is all the way inside her, and my head swims with desire.
Her mating gland is so close to my mouth. Her tongue licks up my neck, and it would be so easy to bite her and claim her as my own…
Take her. Make her yours.
As tempting as it is, I can’t.
Everything we do is on her terms.
Even when she’s moaning into my skin and her cunt is twitching around my cock, it’s still up to her.
I’ll only take whatever parts of her she lets me have.
“Fuck, look at that,” Vincent says in approval. “You’re right. She looks like pink silk.”
“And she’s still coming,” I groan, rocking her on my knot. “Aren’t you, sweetheart?”
But Skylar’s no longer speaking. She only closes her eyes and gasps on my cock, my cum pumping into her while my knot stuffs her.
Finally, she’s so tight that she can no longer move her hips. She nuzzles into my embrace, sucking marks into my neck as I run my hands up the globes of her ass.
Mine.
I’m exhausted. My body is drenched in sweat and my cock is spent, but I continue to thrust gently into her, causing her cunt walls to flutter around me.
I’ll give her as many orgasms as she needs. I’ll fuck her in front of Vincent as often as she wants if it brings the tiniest bit of peace to her soul.
I pull her nightgown back down and keep her seated on my lap, her breath coming in little huffs against my neck.
She fell asleep on me, my knot still buried inside her.
“Do you think she’s alright now?” Vincent asks, looking at her sleeping form. His eyes flick to my arms, which are wrapped tightly around her, cradling her to me.
Jealousy flashes across his face.
I know why he didn’t touch her today.
We came to an agreement while she was sleeping, knowing that when she woke up, she would most likely need to be taken care of.
And he didn’t want their first physically intimate moments to be when she was like this, desperate to come.
So, I was more than happy to take care of her while he watched.
“I think she’ll be for a bit,” I murmur, kissing the top of her head. “But I can sense her anxiety and worry.”
“Me too,” he grumbles. “And I can see it in her face. She’s easy to read.”
I run my fingers through her hair and she sighs contentedly. Vincent watches, his expression pained.
“She likes you, you know,” I tell him, and he scoffs.
“It’s the suppressant withdrawal,” he says smoothly. “She doesn’t even know me.”
It probably should have been awkward to hold Skylar as she still sits on my cock, but I’d already come to the conclusion before Vincent had.
We’re a pack. Me, River, and Vincent.
A stressed and broken one, but a pack, nonetheless.
“I think she knows more about you than you think,” I shoot back. “Give her the benefit of the doubt.”
But longing and anguish still live on his face.
Back before he quit the bureau, I would have pointed it out. But we’re not even friends after he chose to shut all of us out.
I can’t figure out Vincent’s emotions for him, and frankly, it would be too much of a mess.
No wonder he and River still can’t get along.
I hope I’m not there when their inevitable blow-up happens.
Skylar stirs in my arms and opens her eyes, the piercing blues staring straight into my soul.
“I’m sleepy,” she whispers.
I run my hands up and down her back, and she flinches.
“I was too rough with her,” Vincent mutters, his lips pulled into a thin line.
I shake my head and stroke her hair. “No,” I say. “We would have known.”
“I would have said no,” she mutters into my chest. “Don’t be stupid, Vincent.”
His eyes widen a fraction, and I chuckle before pressing a kiss to her hair. “There’s my girl,” I whisper.
She hums contentedly.
Her scent has changed from thick and sugary-sweet to subtle and light. For now, her inner Omega is satiated.
We did the right thing.
Vincent stands to leave. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” he mutters, shooting one last longing look at Skylar. “Make sure she gets sleep and eats.”
He says it like I wouldn’t. As if he doesn’t know the depth of my feelings, and how all I wantto do is pamper her like a lovesick teenager.
“Of course,” I reply, not wanting to argue with him. Seeing Vincent fret or care about anything is a big enough deal as it is.
So, I stay with Skylar, stroking her cheek and murmuring sweet words into her ear as the front door shuts.
Her breathing has evened out, her chest rising and falling with deep breaths as I slowly pull out of her. She keeps her arms wrapped around my neck as I adjust myself, yanking up my boxers and zipping my pants.
I carry her to her bedroom, then place her gently on the bed as I run her a bath.
It feels right to do this for her. Somewhere in my soul, a primal urge is finally satiated.
After making sure the temperature is perfect, I return to the bedroom, where she’s sitting up and grinning at me sleepily.
“You don’t have to do all that,” she murmurs, as I scoop her up and carry her to the bathroom.
“Of course I don’t,” I reply, sitting her down on the side of the tub. She lifts her arms, and I help remove the nightgown from her body. My breath stutters as I gaze down at her naked form, marveling at her soft skin and the mating gland that’s begging to be touched.
Mine.
“Taking care of you makes me happier than you could ever imagine,” I promise her, leaning down to press a kiss to her neck.
She rolls her eyes as a blush forms on her pale skin.
Kneeling in front of her, I brush a lock of hair away from her face. “May I wash you?” I ask.
I want to leave her clean and free of my fluids before I tuck her under the covers. She deserves that much.
Her eyes soften, and her voice turns small. “Really?” she asks, and I see the insecurities flash across her face. “It won’t gross you out?”
I’m stunned. “Why would that be the case?” I ask softly.
She shrugs and looks away, trying to play it off.
It takes me a moment to figure it out.
And I suddenly hope that River’s coffee in the gas tank somehow made Jason’s truck explode.
“Skylar,” I whisper. “Look at me.”
She swallows and meets my gaze, her eyes watery. She forces herself to give me a small smile, and my heart aches.
“I’ll never find anything about you disgusting or gross. I don’t care what it is.”
She bites her lip and nods, but I can tell she doesn’t believe me.
“I can’t change what someone else has told you,” I say, running my hands up her thighs. “But I hope my actions can show you just how not gross I find you. The exact opposite, in fact.”
And before she can protest, I help her into the tub and spend the next half hour thoroughly washing every inch of her.
“Thank you,” she breathes, as I help settle her into bed. I cover her with some of the heavier nesting blankets and she pats the empty space next to her.
“Will you stay?” she asks softly, her face still flushed pink from the bath.
“Of course,” I reply. “Nothing would make me happier. Just one second.” I kiss her forehead and head back into the bathroom, taking a moment to wash up.
By the time I’m out, Skylar is passed out on the bed, her mouth slightly parted.
I crawl in behind her, covering us with plush blankets, and pull her to me. Her back is flush against my chest as I wrap my arms around her, cocooning her in my warmth.
Tomorrow is not going to be easy for her.
She’ll be forced to relive her nightmare and be pressured to remember every minute detail.
I pull her closer and press a kiss to the side of her throat. She hums in her sleep, and her scent fills the room.
At least she’s content at this moment.
Words threaten to spill from my mouth.
I’ve never been this sappy or this emotional for anyone—but with Skylar, all I want to do is confess my feelings to her.
To tell her how much she means to me. How I felt like my heart was ripped in two every day I was away from her.
How I’m in love with her.
But she’s so fragile now. I’m afraid it may be too much for her. The last thing I want to do is overwhelm her—I just want to be there for her.
And if I have to keep my feelings a secret, so be it.
I close my eyes and her scent washes over me as I hold her close.