Chapter 41
“ Y ou’re absolutely sure you’re ready?”
“Not at all,” replied Miles with a laugh.
He had been a hell of a lot more relaxed since returning home from his time away with Callie, but he still had a lot of new things coming. He had never been part of a heat before, had never coordinated working with other lovers, and thus far hadn’t been chilled out enough to get in actual practice with everyone involved.
“I still think we should do a trial run.”
I wasn’t really worried about him having performance anxiety because Callie’s heat pheromones would definitely take care of that part, but we couldn’t be tripping over one another on stage.
“You know I’ve watched you guys fuck dozens of omegas. I know how your system works.”
Callie popped her head into the courtyard, where Miles and I had been going over some of the plans for her upcoming heat. She had been showing subtle signs of preheat for the last week, but I still hadn’t been sure if it was that or if the entire house had simply settled to a point where she was extra comfortable now that the entirety of the pack was on board with building relationships with her.
Every time I tried to pick apart what I was feeling through the bond from her, I was never able to come to any definitive conclusions. Maybe she wasn’t certain herself. We had all come to understand that she had probably never actually felt safe before. Watching her blossom over the last few weeks since returning with Miles had been a special treat.
Callie came straight over to me and plunked herself down on my lap, nuzzling right up under my chin with a contented purr and a cloud of candied apple.
“Hello to you too.” I kissed at the top of her head and wrapped her securely in my arms even though it was still August in Vegas and plenty hot.
“I got lonely. Amir and Diego had the audacity to run errands.”
“Well, we can’t have a lonely omega in the house.”
She reached a grabby hand toward Miles and he dragged his lounge chair closer so she could stretch her feet across his lap and link fingers with him. “What’re you guys talking about?”
“You.”
She popped her head up with a pout.
“We’re just making sure we’re ready for your heat. Nothing bad,” I promised.
“Okay.” She snuggled back down.
My scent on her skin grew subtly stronger each day we got closer to her heat, tweaking her candied apple to be more like a fresh-baked apple pie. It eased any worries I might have had about the others going into a rut during her heat. At the very least I would be able to intervene as necessary since they were very unlikely to register me as a foreign scent with the way mine clung to Callie because of our bond.
“You smell good enough to eat, little dove.”
She tilted her head just enough to nip at my throat. “I’m not the only one.”
Miles watched the two of us with longing in his gaze.
“I think your other alpha might be feeling a bit lonely, too.”
Callie shifted over to his lap, and every ounce of tension bled out of him. I couldn’t remember a time before Callie when I had ever seen Miles relax like that. He had been so fucking high-strung since the moment I’d met him. If anything was going to help, it would be having an omega snuggled up to him.
The live show was scheduled for six days from now, and not a single one of us had any clue if Callie’s heat would trigger at a convenient time. The show had been pitched to previous attendees, and even with the jacked-up ticket price, they had sold out almost instantly.
It was a huge relief that Callie’s plan seemed to be working. If the clip purchases and tips were good enough, we would have a decent chunk of change to pay for our next venture. We had discussed investors, but the nature of what we did was delicate, and if we weren’t beholden to someone’s opinion who was just there for the money, we could tailor everything to make potential performers more comfortable. We had all been putting out subtle feelers to other performers and had a handful who were interested in switching over once we got things up and running.
It was impossible not to think about the future. As much as I tried to focus on the here and now, I was keenly aware that by this time next year we had a high chance of being parents and having our own company. I hadn’t been this ambitious since I applied for med school. I couldn’t drop out of this plan, though, not that I was worried about that. Now that Callie was comfortable with the entire pack, it was like her essence had spread out and filled up every hidden crack within all of us. I felt whole in a way I had never thought I would experience.
“If you’re not working, can we go nest snuggle?” Callie asked.
“We absolutely can, sweetheart.” Miles scooped her up and I followed the two of them inside.
Callie’s purr was closer to a roar when we settled into the nest on either side of her. It was adorable how happy she was.
“Are you nervous?” I asked her.
“Not really. I like that I’ll have all four of you this time. I know what to expect, too. Plus, this time any bonding will be on purpose, and I’m not fresh off a crisis so I’m pretty sure I won’t flee down the road this time.” She said it with humor, but the last time she’d done that, it had scared the shit out of all of us.
“Yeah, please don’t. I want to keep you right where you are now or at least the closest approximation we can get on stage.”
We had to be mindful for the next few days so we didn’t accidentally trigger her heat early. None of us were entirely certain how responsive her heat cycle might be this close to the start, with her surrounded by scent-matched alphas. It was damn fucking hard, considering how delicious she smelled and how often one of us found ourselves with her curled up on our laps.
Self-control was the worst.
Miles pressed a kiss to her throat and Callie’s moan had goosebumps rising all over my body, my cock springing to attention.
“You’re making it so difficult to be careful, little dove.” My lament was halfhearted at best. Her leg tossed over my hip to pull me closer and she tipped up her face to accept my kiss. I moved as slowly as possible, both to try keeping myself under control and also to avoid spooking Miles.
Going away with Callie had broken some seal, and now that the dam had burst, there was no containing it. Our sweet omega had found herself bent over just about every piece of furniture in the house the past few weeks. Miles tended to follow her around like an enamored pup who had received his first treat. I didn’t typically think of my packmates as cute, but it was hard to use anything else to describe the wide-eyed wonder on his face every single time Callie came to him, or for him, as was often the case.
We passed the next few hours in the nest, trading Callie back and forth between us, and when Amir and Diego got home, they joined us. At least two of us were with Callie at all times over the next few days, her scent growing sweeter and stronger by the hour until just being in the same room with her had me hard.
The morning the show was due to start, we moved into the penthouse. Callie’s heat still hadn’t triggered, but she was so fucking close. If someone wasn’t wrapped around her at all times, she started to whine, and the last thing I wanted was for that sweet scent of hers to go sour with distress.
Miles started to pace and I headed that off immediately by transferring Callie into his arms.
“Deep breaths,” I ordered.
One of the other performers we trusted was our monitor this time since Miles would be with us. Luke poked his head through the penthouse doors. “People are starting to arrive.”
I sent Miles with Callie, Diego, and Amir to the bed so I could talk with Luke. “She’s not in heat yet.”
“Damn close, though, by the smell of it,” he replied. “I wouldn’t be surprised if it broke during the strip. Latest during the first knot. Do you guys need anything?”
“I think we’re okay.” We had been carb loading all morning and making sure all of us were well hydrated.
“Super weird being on this side of the door,” Luke said with a laugh.
“We really appreciate it.”
“You’d do the same for me.”
I nodded. He and the other alpha he usually performed with were on our shortlist of interested parties to switch over when the time came.
Hair and makeup came in after Luke, and they made sure everyone was tidy and camera-ready. They put Callie in pink this time—a white-and-rose-checkered dress—with a high ponytail and a matching flower at the base.
“I don’t look silly?” she asked.
“You look delicious,” I assured her.
“We should head backstage,” Diego said.
Amir carried Callie, and in a couple of minutes we were hovering behind the door to the stage. The audience was packed for our sold-out performance. Management had worked quickly to set up the system Callie had suggested to capture timestamps for recorded snippets. Since we weren’t livestreaming this time, that would be their only memento of what they were about to witness. Miles had snooped on the audience demographics and found that about half of them were usual livestream consumers who simply refused to miss the show. Almost all of them would be attending for the first time and maybe that would mean a lot more live shows for them. Nothing on a screen would ever compare to the real experience again.
Luke waved us on. Callie would only be alone for a few seconds as the four of us moved under the spotlights. I reached out my hand to her and she took a tentative step toward me, fresh nerves probably hitting her now that we were on the stage, but that nervousness would be battling with her heat hormones and compulsion to come to me. Once she was within reach, I pulled her for an indulgent kiss, the sound of her moan against my lips echoing over the speakers and charging the air with electricity.
Callie was passed among the four of us, each claiming a kiss before we turned our dazed omega toward the audience. She was panting by then, and the scent of her slick hung in the air. I took advantage of her ponytail and curled my hand around it, pulling her head back to expose her throat. Miles and I took immediate advantage, Callie’s perfect sounds echoing while we did as we pleased to the sensitive skin of her throat and Diego and Amir worked to strip her down. We moved slowly, leisurely, until Callie was pawing desperately at anyone she could reach, standing on her tiptoes and rolling her hips forward to beg for attention where she needed it.
“So needy, little dove.” Just like the first time we’d gotten her on stage, I slid my fingers down her stomach and into the little pink panties they had put on her. She was drenched and nearly feral between my stroking her clit, Amir and Diego tending to each of her breasts, and Miles at her throat. The tension in the air was almost as heavy as her candied apple scent filling my lungs.
She melted when we scooped her straight off the ground and carried her to the bed like a sacrificial offering. The others parted like the Red Sea for me and I slid straight home into Callie’s eager cunt. The warmth of her was like coming home and the way she begged, pawing incoherently between me and the sheets, her ankles locked behind me to try to force me deeper, all combined to work me into a frenzy. She took every thrust, the sounds of her pleasure infusing the air around me.
I fucked hard, knowing it was up to me to push her over the edge. Diego and Amir pinned her arms overhead and she writhed beautifully against their grip while Miles put his focus onto her clit. When she came, the squeeze was like nothing else and dragged me straight over the edge with her, my knot swelling. With her scream of completion came a fresh cloud of her perfect, syrupy sweet scent, so thick I could barely think. That meant only one thing.
Callie’s heat had started.