17. Icarus
Chapter seventeen
I have never been so tired in my goddamn life.
I mean, not even when I went through residency was I this tired.
It's been four days. Four days since Jordan fell into her heat and hasn't resurfaced. My dick feels like it's got rug burn from overuse.
I suddenly very much understand why packs are a thing. I know some solo Alphas can manage a heat on their own, but if every heat with Jordan is like this, I may not survive.
Is this what being old feels like?
Grabbing the blue sports drink, I chug it down, draining it in one go. I am so fucking dehydrated. Jordan has been relatively compliant when it comes to eating and drinking, but by the time I've gotten her fed, she's ready to fuck again, so, regretfully, I have been neglecting myself.
Maybe I'll hire a Beta heat sitter for the next one to ensure we both eat and drink enough.
"Alpha," my beautiful Omega groans from within the nest. I think we're close to the end, her periods of lucidity between begging for my knot longer and longer. But she writhes in the filthy sheets, her skin sticky with sweat and fluids, her hair a tangled mess that would not stay in any braid or hairstyle, no matter how hard we tried.
"Yes, Omega?" I ask around the protein bar I've shoved in my mouth. I'm pretending like I don't know what she is about to say. Like we haven't gone through this song and dance at least twenty times since she went into heat.
"Knot," she whines pitifully. "I hurt."
"I know, sunshine," I say softly. I don't want her to think I'm rejecting her, but I really do need a bit more time. My refractory period is good, but not that good. "But I need to eat something so I can knot your brains out."
"Alpha!" she whines, louder this time. "Knot! Rut!" Her cute nose wrinkles in anger, and the heat haze over her moss-colored eyes gives them a dreamy look.
"Remember what we said about delayed gratification?" I remind her as I take another bite from the protein bar. These are fucking gross, and I make a note not to order them again, but it's better than passing out mid-thrust. "I promise I'll make it worth it for you."
"Rule. One."
Fucking rule one. That one is going to have to go.
She's thrown it in my face every time I've so much as tried to delay fucking her, no matter what the reason is. There is no reasoning with an Omega in heat, so a few times, I have resorted to some pretty rope work to restrain her so I could take a small break without being mauled.
I shove the rest of the protein bar in my mouth and down half a bottle of water before entering the nest again and holding the rest of the bottle out to her. "Drink this, Omega."
Jordan opens her mouth, and I pour the water in for her. I'm happy she's not fighting me on this, at least. When she finishes the bottle, she pounces on me, pushing me onto my back and impaling herself on my cock in one movement.
I throw my head back, eyes falling closed at the tight, hot squeeze of her cunt. "Fuck, Jordan," I groan, wrapping my hands around her hips and squeezing tightly.
I'm fucking obsessed with her body. Every curve, every inch of skin, every freckle. As she bounces on my cock, her sizable breasts moving as she does, I can't help but marvel at how lucky I am. Jordan is a goddess, and every part and piece of her looks like it was designed to my specifications for my pleasure.
Reaching up, I pinch her nipple, and she squeals, batting my hand away. It's not a hard limit for her, but she's extremely sensitive and not always up to nipple play.
No big deal. There are plenty of other parts and pieces of her I can explore.
"Harder, Alpha," she growls, resting her hands on my chest. "More. Rut. Knot."
"I don't have another rut in me, sunshine," I say gently. "But I can give you my knot."
She wrinkles her forehead and goes to protest, but I hold up a finger and shake my head. "Rethink what you're about to say, Omega." I tap my hand around the nest, and a devious grin lights up my face when my fingers close around what I'm searching for. "Be very sure you're willing to deal with the consequences."
"Alpha. Rut. Now."
"Ah, that's what I thought. Bratty Omegas need bratty accessories," I tell her, bringing the spider gag up to her mouth and buckling it around the back of her head. Her mouth is spread wide open, giving me a view of her pink tongue and down her throat.
Her throat that I have gotten a lot of use out of.
She grumbles around the gag, drool seeping out of the sides of her mouth, but whatever she's trying to say is garbled. Wrapping my hands around her waist, I flip us over, pressing her back into the nest as I thrust into her. She stares up at me defiantly, like she's won an argument I wasn't having with her. I roll my eyes and smack the back of her thigh to wipe that smug look from her face.
Around the gag, she moans, taking every sting of pain offered and turning it into pleasure. That's something I've learned these past four days. Jordan likes to dance across the line of pleasure and pain frequently.
And it has been so much fun to learn what her tastes are.
I throw both of her legs over my shoulder and lean down, tightening her cunt around me as I pound deeply into her. "Brats have to fight for their orgasms, sunshine," I tell her through gritted teeth. "So if you want to come, you better get started on that."
She doesn't wait to be told a second time, her hand sliding between us and circling her clit with some of the slick that she's covered in. A pulse of electricity zaps down my spine before I spill inside her, my knot swelling as she fights for her release. I bat her hand away and give her clit a solid pinch, watching as she crumbles beneath me and feeling her pussy pulse around my cock as she comes down.
Jordan's eyes flicker open after a few minutes, the haze of heat satiated, and she smiles gently. "Vick," she whispers. "Hi."
"Hey, sunshine." My breath is heaving as I roll onto my back and pull her on my chest. "How are you feeling?"
"Clearer. How long has it been?"
"Four days."
"Fuck. Work!" She attempts to pull off of me, and I yelp in pain. Her eyes find the place where our bodies meet, and she slumps back down on my chest. "Shit, sorry."
"Don't worry about work, Jordan. Everything is good. Heat leave is normal."
"Mmmmkay," she mumbles, resting her head on my chest. "Tired."
"I'm sure you are." My soft chuckle bounces her on my chest. "Rest, my love."
On the sixth day, Jordan's heat finally breaks for good.
I can't help but wonder if it would've been quicker with more Alphas. As much as I am loathe to admit it, I don't know if I'm enough for her. I'm worn out, feeling like my body is going to fall apart, and I clearly couldn't produce enough pheromones or give her my knot enough times to break her heat at the standard length of four days.
But we can talk about that later. Right now, I need to ensure our affairs are in order while Jordan sleeps this off. She's freshly showered, and I was able to change the linens of the nest while she cleaned up before she immediately passed out.
I snag my laptop and sit at the kitchen table, ordering some takeout for when Jordan wakes up before getting started answering some emails and letting the Clinic know I'll be back in on Monday. This gives us a couple of days to get rested before we're thrown back into the rat race, but I am excited to go back. There's an email from a colleague about the unidentified gene Jordan has that I'm interested in following up on.
The next thing I have to do is dial Lanie.
I don't dislike Lanie specifically, but I am convinced she is terrible for Jordan's mental health, and I will defend my girl until my dying breath from that kind of negativity.
Lanie picks up on the second ring.
"Has the heat broken?"
I roll my eyes, taking a deep breath so I'm not unnecessarily aggressive. "It has. She's sleeping right now. I just wanted to let you know she'll return on Monday."
"Why did it take so long? Could you not handle her?"
"I handled it just fine, Lanie. It was her first heat; it's going to last longer." Lanie seems to be a heat-seeking missile for people's insecurities because she pegged mine right off the bat.
"Sure you could. Tell her to call me when she wakes up, Vick."
"It's Icarus, Lanie." And then I hang up.
My mom is next on the call list, as I have missed about twelve calls since I missed the monthly dinner and fell off the face of the Earth.
"Icarus Valentine!" my mother scolds. I hold the phone away from my ear in an attempt to save my hearing. "Where have you been? You missed dinner! You didn't call. You didn't answer my messages. I've been so worried!"
"Sorry, momma," I say sheepishly. I really should've given her a heads-up. "Jordan went into heat."
She squeals loudly, and I have to pull the phone farther from my ear. "Does that mean grandchildren now?"
Momma honestly does like Jordan more than she likes me. They've only met twice at a family dinner but got on well. More than that, my family was ecstatic that I'd met my scent match. I should've known the grandchild hammer would come down swiftly.
"Not yet, momma. We'll consider it once we have more time to settle into our bond."
"So you did bond! Oh, Icarus, honey, I am thrilled for you both."
Absentmindedly, I rub at my chest. "I didn't know it was going to be like this. I feel her with me. I know how she's feeling and can also tell she's sleeping now. It's the strangest thing." I drop my voice, even though only Dae and Blush can hear me. "I never thought I'd feel this, momma."
"My sweet boy. I'm so happy for you both. Did you get her parents to sign off on the bonding?"
My nose wrinkles. I hate how our society treats Omegas. While most families do not take it to the extreme, unlike the Perfect Omega case, it's still a requirement for parents to approve a bonding.
But Jordan has been treated as a Beta all this time. She filed as an Omega with the government, but due to her age, we could bypass her parents and get approval to have me as her Omega guardian. I think the woman at the Office of Omega Affairs was so confused about the whole thing that she would let anything slide.
"They didn't have to because of her age. I'll file our bonding paperwork on Monday and establish our pack officially."
"Well, don't delay on that. I want to plan a big party!"
I chuckle softly and rub my eyes. "Of course you do. I'll talk to Jordan, but it'll have to-" A loud pounding at the door interrupts me. "Sorry, momma. Food is here. I'm going to have to get the door. I'll call you later."
"Love you, sweet boy."
"Love you too, momma." The pounding continues, and I call out, "Coming, coming, calm down!" I get these delivery guys have to keep a tight schedule, but it's been seconds.
When I rip open the door to a panting, harried man with a leather jacket and green hair, a strange feeling overwhelms me, and I immediately know that this is no delivery driver.