Chapter 59
Chapter fifty-nine
ASH
“Goooooaaaaaal!”
We all have our arms in the air, screaming as the arena explodes around us. The roar is so deafening it vibrates through the glass of the VIP box and straight into my bones.
“We won! We won! We won!” I’m bouncing in tight circles.
“Did you see that?” Pierce growls, grabbing Liam by the shoulders and shaking him. “Motherfucking beautiful! That was textbook!”
“Hansen with the assist!”
Pierce pulls Liam to him. They kiss hard. They’ve worked so hard for so long for this. Yes, it’s Beckett on the ice, but this is a pack win. My pack win.
My head is spinning, the entire world is wobbly, and it is so damn hot.
My tank top clings to me, suddenly suffocating.
I dig my finger into the hem, and I hear ripping sounds as I pull it over my head.
The cool air hits my exposed stomach, giving me a hint of relief, but it’s not enough.
My hands are already at my jeans, fumbling with the button and the zipper.
Some distant part of my brain recognizes I should care about stripping in Alexei’s luxury box, but that voice is drowned out by the screaming of my skin.
“Ash?” Liam’s voice cuts through the fog.
“I’m hot,” I snap, kicking my jeans away. “Everything feels weird, and we just won the fucking game.” My skin prickles like I’m being stabbed with thousands of tiny needles, and beneath that, needy hunger.
“Let’s just check the door,” Liam says with an odd tone in his voice.
“Not like this is the first time I’ve been locked in a room for heat,” I snort.
Pierce and Liam freeze and stare at me with that look like they think I’m going to burst apart into a million pieces.
“What?” Neither of them move. “Oh, for fuck’s sake. In ‘Healing Your Inner Child: A Guide to Emotional Recovery’ there’s an entire chapter on dark humor as a way of ‘processing’ your trauma.” I say with air quotes.
“And in that chapter, it also says there’s a time and a place for gallows humor. I know,” Pierce says, pointing a finger at his chest, “because Liam made me read it twice.”
A spike of heat burns through me, distracting me from the argument. “Where’s Beckett? How long does it take to win a stupid game?” I whine before catching myself. “Sorry, that was bitchy.”
“I like it when you’re bitchy. It’s hot.” I can’t even look at Pierce. I’m already soaked with slick, he might send me over the deep end.
“Security is bringing him,” Liam says, already on his phone. “They’re cutting through the service corridors. Ten minutes, maybe less.”
“Ten minutes? That’s too long.” I drag my fingers through my hair, pulling it off my neck. “I wanted you all here. I need my alphas. All of you.”
We hadn’t talked about it. Not really. But they know. They know I haven’t had a good heat. They know I want them all here.
“Okay,” Pierce claps his hands, grabs the few floppy pillows and couch cushions on the floor. “I know you want to wait for Beckett, but you don’t need to suffer. And we are your alphas too. Liam, sit here”, he points to the stack of pillows.
“What are you doing?” I cross my arms and pout.
“We can do one of three things right now. You keep bitching. I like it, makes my dick hard. We can also fuck you right now. Or I can help you relax while we wait for Beckett. It’s your heat, we are at your service.”
Liam just shrugs and makes himself comfy on the pillows.
“Okay, fine.” I roll my eyes.
“Come here.”
I take a step closer, and he scoops me up and puts me in Liam’s lap, facing him.
“Well, this is familiar,” Liam says softly, as he pushes my bangs back.
I start to protest. Sitting still feels insane right now. But then Pierce’s hands are on my shoulders, thumbs pressing into the base of my neck. I make a noise that’s so obscene I should be embarrassed.
“Just breathe,” Liam murmurs against my ear.
Pierce’s fingers work down my spine, finding points of tension I didn’t even know existed.
Each press of his thumbs sends ripples of relief through my overheated skin.
His touch is firm enough to reach deep tissue but gentle enough not to hurt.
And I’m not turned on, not exactly, it’s like he’s pulling the awful needing feeling back.
“Did you know,” Pierce says conversationally, as if I’m not half-naked and trembling, “that I’m actually a trained massage therapist?”
“Really?” I sigh, and melt into Liam’s shoulder.
“When we moved to Nashville, Beckett’s rotator cuff was giving him issues from over-training. The team has excellent trainers, but I knew I could give him more. Never got full licensed though.”
“It took him two years,” Liam adds. “He practiced on me all the time. It was fucking great.”
“They have a mini-certification course on massage during heat. I guess I’ll have to take that now.”
“Ouch,” I yelp when his thumb presses on a sore spot in my shoulder. He doesn’t let up, he keeps the pressure constant.
“That’s it,” Liam murmurs, his lips brushing against my temple. His hands slide from my waist to my thighs. “Just let go.”
I do. Something inside me surrenders, not to the heat but to them, to my alphas. Pierce keeps pressure in that one spot, as his other hand moves in slow circles, and I find myself melting into Liam. The thin cotton of his shirt is rough against my over sensitized skin, but I don’t mind.
“Better?” Pierce asks, his voice is rougher than before.
I nod, unable to form words. My body answers for me, hips shifting against Liam. I feel him harden beneath me, sending a fresh wave of slick between my legs.
Liam brushes my hair back to kiss my neck. I tilt my head to give him more space. I feel Pierce’s lips join Liam’s further down my shoulder.
“That’s nice.”
Liam’s grip on my thighs tightens just a little, guiding my movements as I begin to grind more deliberately against him.
Pierce slides his hand into my hair and pulls my head back. His kiss is soft and tentative. Even though he’s the one who has me by the hair, I feel like I’m the one in control. So, I test that. I demand more with my mouth and he matches me perfectly.
That needy feeling starts clawing its way back. Heat flashes through my body again but it doesn’t feel yuckie like before.
“Not so bitchy now,” Pierce growls into my ear. “Let us take care of you.”
I lean back into Pierce and let Liam trail kisses down my chest.
“You smell like peaches left in the sun,” Pierce whispers. “I don’t think you fully understand how gorgeous you are.”
I close my eyes and, maybe for the first time, just let myself feel. Each touch, each kiss, makes the next one hotter. I reach for Pierce’s hand and move it between my legs.
The door flings open and Beckett is here, breathing hard.
“Ash! Are you…” He gets an eyeful of me on Liam’s lap with Pierce’s hand on my pussy. “Oh.” He blinks like this is not what he was expecting.
I struggle to untangle myself, making frustrated noises until Pierce picks me up and puts me on my feet. I launch myself at Beckett.
“You won!” My legs are unsteady, but momentum carries me forward until I collide with his chest, hands already scrabbling at the protective gear covering him.
“They said you were in…”
“Off,” I demand, tugging at his damp jersey. “Get this off. Now.”
His hands catch mine, stilling them. “Hey, slow down. I just came off the ice. I’m gross. Let me shower—“
“No,” I cut him off, shaking free of his grip to resume my attack on his gear. “I don’t care. I want you like this. I need you now.”
Heat is back in full force, all that dreamy relaxation gone. The jersey comes off, but my fingers tremble as I struggle with unfamiliar straps and buckles, growing more frustrated with each failed attempt.
“What the fuck is all this shit?” Nothing budges.
There’s layers and layers. “Why are there so many fucking pieces?” I growl, yanking at a strap that refuses to release.
The heat under my skin pulses in time with my heartbeat, each second of delay stoking the fire higher. “Who designed this? Satan?”
“Pretty much,” Liam says, working methodically on the lower body pads. “Hold still, Beckett.”
“Is she really in heat?” He asks our packmates over my head. Pierce snorts.
“Off!” I sob. Tears come from utter frustration.
“Why are you in your socks?” Liam asks, flinging shoulder pads across the room.
“You can’t run in skates.”
“Shit,” Pierce mutters as a strap snaps back, narrowly missing his eye. “Ash, love, you’re making this harder.”
Pierce holds me by the neck and pulls me back a few feet, which does not help with the frustration at all. He holds me to his chest and slides his free hand into my panties. The second his finger slides against my clit, all tension drains from me.
“It’s going to take a second to get the gear off.” Pierce whispers in my ear as we watch Liam help Beckett get naked.
“Breathe,” Pierce whispers to me. “Just for a minute. Let them work.”
I moan so loud, it must shock both Beckett and Liam. They pause to look at me, mouths open. Pierce slips the tip of his finger in me, and I whimper.
Beckett looks at Liam. They both nod and say “faster”.
With each item Beckett strips off, Pierce rubs my clit harder. By the time he gets to his leggings, Pierce is pinching one of my nipples too.
Pierce tips my head back and kisses me deeply. There’s desire and lust in his kiss with none of my desperation. I hear the continued rustle of fabric, the murmur of voices as Liam helps Beckett with the remaining gear.
Pierce doesn’t rush the kiss. His tongue slides against mine, his finger slides along my clit. He holds me steadily as another wave of heat crashes through me. When he finally pulls back, I’m dazed.
“Better?” he asks.
“No.”
“Liar.” He smiles, and it’s the most beautiful thing.
There’s a final thud of fabric hitting the floor. I might have to take that back. Beckett, naked, sweaty, hard, that might be the most beautiful thing.