Chapter 37
chapter
thirty-seven
“You have to let us in eventually!” Jesse points out.
“Yeah,” Dante adds. I hear him chewing through the door. “We sleep in there.”
God help us, but even that makes me growl.
I’ve never felt this way about anyone or anything. My Alpha might be strong when it comes to dominance, control, and sheer force of will, but his possessive impulses were never so severe.
It’s hard to be too worried about it while I’m buried in my omega’s body.
We’ve been locked together for about two hours. Long enough for me to roll us under the covers and work the tangles out of her hair. I’d moved on to massaging her back and arms when I heard the guys come in.
Bridget didn’t bolt the door earlier, but the others must sense how strong my scent is. Instead of busting in, they’ve gathered in the hall, listening to my half-growled record of events.
My gaze traces Bridget’s sleeping face. Regret burns in my gut.
“Twenty minutes,” I grind out. “I just—give me twenty minutes.”
They mumble among themselves and shuffle off. Sighing, I drop my forehead to our omega’s crown.
The motion finally rouses her. She stretches alongside me, freezing when she feels the intimate way our bodies are tied.
My eyes fall shut as shame swirls through my stomach. “I’m sorry, little blue.”
Bridget’s scent—which was sweet and almost creamy a moment ago—sours. Almost violently . My arms gather her closer, purr deepening. “Do you hurt, sweetheart? Was I too rough?”
She doesn’t answer, turning her face into my shoulder. My teeth grind. “Fuck, I’m so sorry, Bridget. I know how big my knot is. I had plans to ease you into taking it, if you wanted to. I never thought I’d lose my shit like that.”
One big blue eye opens, scrolling up to my face. It looks like she’s trying not to cry. I use the arm under her to feel around for my phone.
I’ll call a doctor to come right away if she’s in any pain. Maybe there’s a shot they can give me to unlock us ? —
“It doesn’t hurt,” she whispers, shifting against me, blinking while her mouth trembles. “Y-you feel good.”
Fucking hell. I’d rip my own heart out to wipe that look off her face. “What is it, baby?” I murmur, gathering her close and rolling onto my back so she can sprawl on top of me. My hand finds her head, petting and pressing her cheek against my purr. “Tell me and I’ll fix it for you.”
If anything, my promise only upsets her more. Bridget’s breath hitches—a quiet sound that lodges a dagger in my throat. “It—It’s nothing. I’m f-fine.”
But she isn’t.
I hum and hold her tighter, dropping my face to her hair and scent-marking her with slow, thorough nuzzles. Her stuttered breaths break into quiet sobs.
Fuck. Everything I do seems to upset her more. She may need space. Next to impossible, like this. And it will hurt like hell, but I’ll give her as much room as I ? —
“No!” she pleads, sinking her nails into my sides. “No, please. Just one m-more minute.”
To hell with this.
I flip us in one quick move, putting her under me and framing her face in my hands. “Bridget. Look at me .”
Pained, embarrassed eyes fly to mine. Tears spill over her lashes, slicing at my heart. I drop my forehead to hers.
God, she’s beautiful.
I tell her so. “Pretty blue,” I purr, “tell me what’s wrong.”
She squirms, remolding the soft curves padding my torso. My cock kicks inside her, and she stops. Surprise flits over her features.
I try for a smile, curving the side of my mouth despite the tightness in my chest. “Nothing I can do about that if you’re going to keep rubbing this sexy body all over me, little blue. We might be locked together until breakfast as it is. My knot isn’t going down anytime soon.”
I expected her to be distressed by that notion, but instead, Bridget relaxes a bit. She sniffles, shaking her head. “I’m sorry. I’m being so stupid.”
I feel my face crease as a low rumble cuts her off. She glances down at my growling chest in confusion. “No one calls my omega stupid,” I explain, “Not even you .”
She inhales sharply, more moisture gathering in her crystalline eyes. “B-but seriously, I know this is dumb.”
I watch her mouth form the word, realizing we haven’t truly even kissed yet. Christ . She has nothing to apologize for, but I sure as hell do.
My lips graze hers slowly at first, testing her reaction. When her scent brightens, I hum and take her mouth. She gives in so sweetly, opening for me the way flowers unfurl for sunshine. I taste her, licking deep and swallowing her soft moans. Memorizing each one.
When we break away, my knot is harder than it was before, but I don’t care. I’m not going anywhere. At the moment, I’m not sure I could stand having her on the next pillow, let alone in another room.
I tuck her face against my throat, massaging the nape of her neck. She melts into my purr, gusting a sigh.
“I didn’t mean to get upset,” she whispers. “I just—this is my first time being knotted by someone I know.”
I feel the words crash into my mind and crumble. I stare down at the broken pieces, unable to understand.
Did she just say she’s never been knotted by someone she knows?
I’m not sure what part of that statement is the most horrifying—that she’s gone without , or that, whenever she’s had what she needed, it came from a stranger .
My arms gather her closer. I do everything I can to keep my voice level. “Tell me why.”
She shrugs, hiding her face against my chest. “I… It just felt too intimate for casual hook-ups. My boyfriends in college were both betas. And when I went to clinics for my heats last year, I didn’t know the alphas or meet them beforehand.
That’s how it works in most places. To keep things, uh, clinical . ”
I volunteered in those sorts of facilities for years, so I understand. Hell, at the time, that policy made perfect sense.
But now? Thinking about my omega being alone and in pain? Needing a knot and having to take one from a stranger ?
Did anyone hold her or purr for her after?
Jesus . It feels like I’m having a heart attack, but cardiac arrest would probably hurt less.
“That will never happen again,” I vow. To her. To myself. To the goddamned universe. My omega will never need anything from any other alphas again.
Bridget doesn’t soften or open her eyes, but she tucks herself closer and shudders through a quiet sigh. “We’ll see.”