Chapter 56 Orion
ORION
The last twelve hours have been a marathon of sex, slick, knots, and cum. My muscles are sore in places I didn’t even know I had muscles, and between Raven and Tanner my dick is wrung out. It’s been the best night of my life.
Raven finally fell asleep on Foster’s knot a few hours ago, but now it’s time to go to the final game of the Olympics. The one that will determine if we come home with silver or gold. None of us want to leave her, but we’ve worked so hard to get here. We have an entire country we can’t let down.
I slink from the nest, careful not to wake anyone, and head to the shower.
Turning it on as hot as it’ll go, I step under and rinse the remnants of sex from my skin.
It does nothing for my anxiety, though. It’s not just the normal nervousness before a game.
Now that I’m out of the nest, the reality of all that’s happened comes crashing back in on me.
I wouldn’t change last night for anything, but everyone seeing Raven in heat and knowing someone bonded her wasn’t ideal.
I almost laugh at what an understatement that is, even if they don’t know the bite was from us yet.
We’re gonna have a lot to figure out after all of this is said and done, a lot of damage control to do, too. I’m happy to do it, and anything else, for our omega, but that doesn’t make it any easier.
Winning this game is the first step. We need to do this for her. But leaving her like this makes my skin crawl.
I sense him even before I feel him. Tanner’s strong arms wrap around me from behind, and I hold them to my chest, savoring the closeness. I need this.
“I don’t want to leave her.” I murmur without turning around. My bondmate sighs and holds me tighter.
“I know. I don’t either,” he agrees. “But we have to.”
“You know we’re going to have to drag Vann out of here kicking and screaming, right?”
Tanner huffs a laugh and turns me to face him. “He’s a brat, but he knows how important this is. Plus, Foster is staying with her, and we can feel her through the bond. We’ll know if anything goes wrong.”
“Yeah.” I agree, though not very enthusiastically. My alpha instincts demand we stay with our omega, but I need the human logic to win out this time.
We finish up our shower together with soft touches and gentle words, none of the frantic sex from before. I love this man so much.
When we walk back into the bedroom, Raven is curled up on Foster’s chest, and he’s purring for her.
“Hey, man. So, uh…” I rub the back of my neck awkwardly. “We kinda came here in our tuxes… and we need to go back to change for the game today…”
Foster chuckles and waves toward the door.
“My stuff’s in the other bedroom. Take what you need.
” I go in search of clothing and grab sweats for me, Tanner, Vann, and Rhodes.
When I make it back to the nest, Raven is riding Vann gently, her hips rocking over him, her head thrown back in pleasure.
Tanner leans down and licks Raven’s clit, pushing her over the edge quickly.
Thankfully Vann didn’t knot her this time.
“We’ve gotta go.” My voice is unsure as I address my teammates. The reminder brings the mood down. Raven meets my gaze, her eyes clearer than they’ve been in hours.
“Are you here with us, snowflake?”
My omega nods and climbs off Vann, walking on her knees over to where I stand at the foot of the bed.
She falls into my arms. I rest my palm on her cheek and give her a slow kiss.
She nuzzles her bite on my hand. I love that she bit me right there, where it’s obvious anytime I touch anything, anytime I touch her.
“I’ll miss you.” Raven’s voice is soft but clear. Some omegas don’t experience lucid moments during a heat. I’m grateful that’s not the case for Raven. I need this, however short lived. I need to know she’s really okay with this.
Vann sits up and crawls over to Raven. “Fuck the game. Maybe we don’t have to—”
“No.” Raven cuts him off. “I won’t ruin everything you’ve worked so hard for.”
“But, birdie—”
“No, Vann.” She blinks a few times, still fighting the heat.
There’s sweat on her brow, but she’s lucid as she cups Vann’s face.
“I know you think you won’t blame me, but you might.
I refuse to be the reason you forfeit your dreams. This was never supposed to be an either/or thing.
” She glances at Tanner, almost nervous.
“She’s right, Vann,” Tanner speaks up. “One more game. One more game where we give it our all, and we bring gold back to our girl.”
Vann pouts but moves to get out of bed anyway. Rhodes gets up from the chair in the corner to follow him into the bathroom.
I look down at Raven. “Are you sure you’ll be okay?”
She brings my hand to my bite mark on her neck, pressing my fingertips into it. “You can feel me, Orion. You know I’m okay with this. I need you to do this. Please.”
I nod, kissing her to show her how much I care for her without words, then pass her off to the massive bodyguard who’s still in the bed. He wraps his arms around her and locks eyes with me. “I’ve got her.”
She whimpers a little, tears in her eyes. I know she doesn’t want us to leave any more than we want to, but she’s selflessly giving us this as a gift. The sweetest, most heartbreaking gift she can give.
The steely determination in Foster’s eyes placates me a little.
When Rhodes and Vann are showered and dressed, the four of us reluctantly leave the hotel room and head to our apartment to get ready for the game.
The bond pulls harder the further I get from my omega, but I remind myself that one day soon, I won’t have to leave her again.