Chapter 18
Juniper
After our little break, Munro and I find ourselves seated in a lavish library, filled with twisty stairs and rolling ladders that we’re all warned not to stand on and reenact that beast and rose movie. Spoil sports, if you ask me, but I digress.
“How many books do you think are in here?” I wonder, a little too loud for a quiet library, but Munro shrugs like he’s actually contemplating my question.
Before he can answer, however, a sweet voice to my right answers. “Close to twenty million, and that would be a mixture of paperbacks, hardbacks, and other reading materials you’ll find here.”
Turning, I see a small woman, in height and stature, standing behind a heavy-looking desk with paperbacks littered over every surface. An ornate lamp highlights a keyboard that belongs to an expensive laptop, and a coffee cup sits nearby, along with a book I recognize. So, the librarian reads smut. I like her already.
“Sorry,” the woman blushes, her pale, freckled cheeks turning red. “I overheard and couldn’t help but answer.”
“All good. I wouldn’t have guessed that much anyway,” Munro shrugs, completely unbothered, right before the ass walks away and leaves me standing awkwardly in the middle of the library, staring at the woman with dark-copper hair pulled into a cute bun and dressed in black slacks, black courtroom heels, and a burnt- orange chiffon shirt that flows around her shoulders and is French tucked into her waistband.
Looking over at where Munro decides to sit, I make a note of it and head toward the woman as she stands on the wrong side of the desk, bending to pick up a pile of fallen books. I reach for a few of them before handing them over with a polite smile, and she offers one of relief and gratitude before she quietly says, “Thank you. Today is not my day. This isn’t the first stack I’ve knocked over, and it’s only my second day here.”
“We all have days like that,” I huff a chuckle, having had more than my fair share of bad days in my time. “You’re new?”
The fair-skinned and petite woman nods, smiling sheepishly. “The librarian before me retired at the end of the last school year. I’m his replacement, and he left the place looking like a bomb of paper had hit it. I’m just frazzled, but there’s nothing like a challenge to get the blood flowing and the brain working, right?”
“If you say so,” I snicker, handing her another book before standing. I haul my bags higher on my shoulder before offering her a gentler smile now that I know she’s having a shitty time, and say, “I hope your day improves…?”
“Oh. Zira. Well, no, it would be Miss Favero to a student, right?” she stumbles over her words, grimacing.
Poor woman.
“Yeah,” I snort, and I kind of feel bad when her cheeks redden that little bit more. So, to make her feel better, I say, “Thank you for answering my earlier question, Miss Favero. Is there any chance you could tell me where to find the section on anything photography related?”
“Yes! I can do that. That’s my job. I’m a librarian,” she excitedly rushes to say, and it reminds me of a movie about a book smart woman who travels into the Egyptian desert and awakens a mummy with a handsome guy with suspenders and her asshat brother .
Sure enough, minutes later, Miss Favero is handing me a scribbled note, with loopy writing, of all the sections I might want to look for, how many books are in each section, and where to find them all.
Leaving her happily smiling at her computer screen, I tuck the note in my pocket and sit opposite Munro at his chosen table. Placing my camera bag on the table between us, I quietly confirm, “You were right. The library is a dream.”
“Told you,” he snickers almost silently, before pulling out one of the stack of textbooks we’ve been given for the year, and places his notebook on the desk. When he goes to grab a pen, I watch with a smirk as he realizes he still doesn’t have one.
Before he can utter a word, I’m handing him the same pen as before, rolling my eyes at his little lip twitch. Gathering my things and placing them on the desk, I blow out a breath and tug off my jacket. It’s warm in here, despite the size of the room, and I can feel a hot flush working its way under the collar of my shirt.
The rest of my first day at North Five University flies by, Munro and I sticking together throughout the entire day. I receive a few texts from the guys, each of them somehow already with my number, all of them checking in, telling me they miss me, generally making me feel all girly and cute. If I didn’t secretly love it so much, I’d curse them all out and declare I hate it.
By the time school lets out, the day weirdly heating up despite how late it is in the year, I’m exhausted and ready to head home. Only, I remember my promise to Lowie just as I step into my dorm room. So, feeling sluggish and too warm, I go about packing a bag with essentials, along with several of the blankets and pillows littered on the bed that still smell like Lowie.
Packing it all in my truck, I climb behind the wheel and text Lowie.
JUNO: Heading to your place. Are you finished for the day ?
My reply comes quickly, and I smile tiredly.
LOWIE: Wish I was, Angel. Got a few more things to do for class, but Geo is home already. Creek and Leylan will be back before Ev and me, but we’ll try to come home ASAP.
Home. I don’t know why, but that simple word has the warmth beneath my skin notching higher. The idea of home, where all five of them are, makes me wish so desperately for it to be true. They were all my home long before I even realized mine was a shithole of epic proportions. I wonder what it would be like to actually live with them, to share spaces with them, to wake up to their scents every single day knowing I don’t have to be apart from them ever again.
Hell, now that’s the dream.
So, with a soft smile and a switch of air con on, I type out a reply.
JUNO: Hurry home x
Instead of waiting for another reply, feeling a little woozy from the heat and exhausted from a strange but exciting day, I place my cell into my bag and pull away from the school lot and head straight to the guys’ house.
The drive doesn’t last long, but the more I drive, the less the aircon seems to be working. And worse, is that my skin feels far too sensitive, and my clothes too tight. By the time I’m pulling into the drive of the lavish home the guys all share, I’m breathing hard, sweat slicked, and a little uncomfortable between the legs. Almost like…
“Oh, fuck me. Not again,” I breathe, tugging my shirt away from my chest in an attempt to cool my body down from what I’m now realizing is another heat spike that is only growing by the minute. Already used to my scent, it takes a moment for me to notice the way my scent fills the cabin of my truck, thick and filled with a need I’m only now feeling. “Shit. Fucking goddamn shit. ”
Swallowing hard, I wonder what I should do. Lowie said Geo was home, yes, but I don’t want to go in there smelling like a needy omega with a neon sign floating above her head that screams ‘fuck me until it doesn’t ache anymore.’ Although, I’m not entirely sure Geo would mind, but still. It’s not like we’ve all had the discussion about my heat spikes, about Lowie and I spending the night together, and everything that comes with being the only woman in a pack of five men.
A thought I shouldn’t have had, because the heat in my veins grows and the ache between my legs expands until my entire body is begging for touch and pleasure and anything that will get rid of the ache.
Digging my cell out of my bag with a trembling hand, I hurry out a quick message, the intended recipient answering… along with four other messages. It dawns on me much too late that I managed to send the message in a group chat I didn’t even know I was a part of.
JUNO: Quick question. Do I knock or walk straight into the house and shout for Geo? Follow up question. Is me being hit with a heat spike going to bother him?
The replies come in so quick that I can only see a bunch of words before they all finally make sense.
LOWIE: Wrong chat, Angel, but hell, he’s a lucky fucker. None of us would mind a bit if you were in a heat spike and needed us.
LEYLAN: I can get him to run you a cold bath if you’re uncomfortable, Juju.
EVRON: Ask me, on a scale of I-wish-I-wasn’t-here to I-hate-that-beta-bastard, how much I resent being stuck in this hell hole.
CREEK: Head on in, pretty girl. Our home is yours .
And then there’s Geo, his reply blunt and demanding and doing nothing to control the riot my body is going through.
GEO: Get that sweet ass in here before I come out there and drag you inside.
Well, I suppose that answers that, then.
A choked snicker slips free as I tuck my phone away and gather my things before sliding out of the truck, locking the door before trudging toward the front door of the fancy house. Lethargy is weighing me down, and yet my body is positively thrumming, need pooling between my legs with every passing second.
Thankfully, before I even reach the door, it’s swinging open with a sweat-slicked Geo standing there in nothing but low-hanging gym shorts that tease the waistband of his boxers, a pair of sneakers with socks that reach his calf, and absolutely nothing more.
“Fucking hell,” I groan, gasping when the first cramp rocks my body and arousal slickens my panties so suddenly that I’m sure even Geo’s less-sensitive beta nose will pick up on it.
“That’s no way to greet your beta, Firecracker,” he teases, hazel eyes darkening as he runs his eyes over me. I see the moment my scent hits him, too, and I really wish I hadn’t, because I’ll be fucked six ways to Sunday if it doesn’t have a crazy effect on my newly awakened sexual appetite. Hell, if my body wasn’t feeling so sluggish despite the awareness rolling through me, I’m sure I’d be climbing the beast of a man before me like a tree.
Another cramp steals my breath, and I’m gasping as I drop my bags and keel over slightly, clutching my stomach while I fight the urge to strip my clothes right here and now and point my ass in the sky for the man still eyeing me like I’m a dessert served up for his consuming. Goddamn, do I wish he’d fucking consume me right now.
I have no idea how long I stand there, fighting my way through the effects of another heat spike, but it can’t have been that long. All I know is that my bags are missing, and Geo is back with a look of pure determination that causes a shiver to wrack my body.
I’m hauled into strong, beautifully muscular arms and carried into the house before I even know it, my legs finding purchase around Geo’s waist like they were always meant to be there. My fingers are linked behind his head, the short strands of his hair brushing along my sensitive skin, the dark hair only long enough to fall into his eyes before he shakes it away.
“You’re burning up real fast, Firecracker,” he informs, a slight rasp to his words that reveal he’s just as affected by my heat spike as Lowie and Leylan had been. “Leylan told me what you need. It’s up to you, though. I can give you what you need, gladly, willingly, and fucking enthusiastically, or I can run an ice bath that would put the Antarctic to shame. I’ll even sit in there with you, so long as you warm me up after.”
A shocked laugh escapes me, and my thighs tighten around his waist. I’d rather take a spiked dildo to the ass than suffer an ice bath right now, especially with the way Geo is looking at me. Moreso with the way his hands rub against my back before cupping my ass gently, those hazel eyes watching my every reaction.
“No ice baths,” I pant, moaning when Geo’s hands clench in reaction.
“You want me to take care of you, sweet girl?” he questions, voice notably hungrier.
I’m nodding before he even finishes his question, and a wanton little whine slips free of my lips when Geo groans deep in his throat.
“Then let’s get you upstairs and comfortable,” he answers, flashing a broad grin that drives me absolutely wild. “I’m not planning on leaving you alone for one second tonight, Firecracker. By the time you fall asleep, it’ll be from pure exhaustion from feeling every ounce of pleasure I’m going to wring out of you.”
“Promises, promises,” I rasp through a pitiful moan as I cling to him like I need him to breathe. At this rate, I might. My body warms impossibly while the ache intensifies to an almost painful degree. My perfume is thick around us, a clear indication that I’m already wet, ready, and willing, and all I can think of is Geo.
I don’t even realize I’ve started mindlessly grinding against the man until he curses, cupping the back of my neck and dragging me into an earth-shattering kiss that only fuels the flames of my arousal.
It’s over much too soon, Geo’s gaze ablaze with need, and he rasps, “I need you naked and underneath me right now.”
“I really need that, too,” I agree, whining once more when a thick, hardened part of Geo’s body finds the apex of my thighs. “Right now, Geo. Really badly. Fuck, I need you.”
“Shit, Firecracker,” he grunts, right before he’s tucking my face into the crook of his neck before suddenly rushing up the stairs and along the hallway I only peeped the last time I was here. All the while, I help myself to the bare skin beneath my nose and mouth. I’m inhaling his beach-like scent, all fresh air and sea salt, like a drug addict snorting coke, my lips brushing along his smooth skin before I start trailing kisses all over whatever flesh I can reach. Those kisses quickly turn into needy little nips while Geo stumbles along the hallway before reaching a closed door tucked away near the back of the house, bordered by two other doors I can’t see past.
When my nips and scrapes of my teeth turn into sucks and licks, tasting his salty skin, Geo groans deliciously before he grits, “You’re gonna have to stop doing that or else this will be over a lot sooner than I plan, Juno.”
I answer with a hard suck of his skin between his neck and shoulder, knowing damned well it’s going to leave a mark, but finding the inability to give a shit. Instead, an intense thrum of satisfaction burns through me, knowing that I’ve marked him. That he’ll have a mouth-shaped hickey that screams to all who look at him that he’s mine, and only mine .
“Fuck, Firecracker. That feels good,” Geo grunts, his hold tightening impossibly as he opens that door and kicks it shut the moment we’re inside.
I have no idea where my things are, nor do I much care to know, because as soon as the door shuts, Geo and I are shrouded in darkness, and I’m suddenly cocooned by so many mouthwatering scents that I cry out as desire floods my system so fast that I feel dizzy. A combination of each of the guys’ scents surround me, ginger and spice, oak and hazelnut, sandalwood and cedarwood with trickles of coconut. And then there’s the subtle scent of the beach that underlines it all. It’s maddening, my breaths coming faster while I grind faster against Geo’s hard body.
“I need you out of these clothes, Firecracker,” Geo demands, voice dark with arousal. It’s addictive, and I whine before delving back to his neck, sucking harder than before. Geo stumbles over his own feet, jostling me in his hold, but not enough to dislodge me from sucking more marks into his skin. “Juniper, shit.”
Releasing him with a pop of my mouth, I scrape my teeth over the newest mark, unable to see it clearly through the darkness. In fact, I can only just about see Geo’s outline when I pull back from him, and my heartbeat picks up its rapid pace until it feels like it’s mere seconds away from bursting straight out of my chest.
Before I can utter a word, sure they’d end up leaving my mouth as a string of gibberish anyway, Geo is lowering me to the softest surface I’ve ever had the pleasure of sinking into. My favorite scents surround me more thoroughly as soon as my back touches the cloud of cushioning, and the mindless desire that barrels through every inch of my body sends me into a gasping state of need beneath Geo’s unyielding body.
“Geo, please,” I beg, the desperation for something, anything , slackening my mouth enough to leave my dignity behind. The fever is still riding me hard enough that sweat drips down my temple and slickens my back as I sink deeper into the clouds beneath me, and I’m damn near delirious with want for the man above me .
Sure enough, in my delirium, I’ve already taken it upon myself to start shoving Geo’s shorts down, the offending material obstructing the part of his body that needs to be inside me stat. Thankfully, my beta seems to be in just as much of a hurry, suddenly gripping whatever clothes his hands latch on and tearing them away from my body like they’ve personally insulted him. My jacket and shirt are gone in a blink, my jeans thrown someplace behind Geo, while my shoes and socks are flung in whatever direction they find themselves soaring. It’s only until I’m in nothing but a tiny scrap for panties and a lace bra that leaves very little to the imagination that he pauses.
“Goddamn, but you’re beautiful, Juniper. You’ve always been beautiful, but now?” Geo blows out a harsh breath, trembling hands reaching for the exposed skin he’s revealed. Once more, my scars are on display, the pads of his fingers brushing across the raised flesh despite the darkness. I’m glad it’s so dark, so that he doesn’t see them, not that I need to worry. Geo simply mutters two words that set me at ease, my skin prickling with goosebumps and trembling with want for him. “Absolutely stunning.”
Just as I open my mouth, likely to beg for more, Geo leans in and crushes his mouth to mine in a sweltering kiss I feel down to the very marrow of my bones. That kiss alone sends me spiraling pussy first into the heat spike and, while I grip Geo’s head and kiss him back with frantic movements with mewls and moans trapped between our mouths, I decide to lose myself to the need that’s boiling me alive from the inside out.