Chapter Fourteen
Rue
Naked, aroused to the point of pain, tied to the bedposts, and spread-eagle, Rue had very little ability to distance himself from the two men crowding over him. Did he want to move away?
Goddesses, no.
It was a hell made of pleasure. His past experiences were no comparison. Not even the night before could compare. Kendrick was a master of sensual torment. He took what Rue thought wasn’t conceivable and made it so.
He shuddered at the next open-mouth kiss to the side of his neck, teeth dragged over the pulse leaping against the skin.
A moan tore from him as another hot, wet mouth latched onto the hard bud of his nipple.
Monty bit hard enough for a shard of pain to lodge in the base of his spine, curl under his balls and up his throbbing cock.
His untouched cock leaked onto his rippling abdomen, pooling and having no time to cool with what both men were doing to torment him.
There was nothing but blissed-out pleasure circulating like the elixir of life through his body, replacing the need for blood.
For oxygen. Rue was long past needing them, unsure how long they had tormented him, never wanting them to stop.
His body was a mass of tingling flesh from every caress, stroke of fingers, tongues, cocks against him. They had touched him everywhere.
He cried out when a finger pressed on the base of the butt plug vibrating in his ass.
A butt plug Kendrick had directed Monty to slip into his ass after using lubed fingers to prepare him.
The low-level vibration was maddening, now it made him utter senseless, nonsensical words. “Urgh… wha… noooo… yessss… chri-ist…”
His muscles tensed and clenched at the maddening need to come, for someone to touch his cock, which bucked in time with his heartbeat.
The brush of warm air over the head made him shout before a tongue jabbed into the slit.
Nothing more than the tip delved in. Once, twice, three times and he howled, cum forcibly leaving his body to spurt like a geyser.
Pain gripped him by the balls. Neck arching, his muscles strained, all the while he couldn’t breathe, couldn’t figure how to when his world became white pleasure.
His brain shut off as it flooded through him faster than a dam being blown apart.
Rue groaned, rolling onto his back when his shoulder joint protested from his current position, only to find he couldn’t.
His eyes flew open, the sleepiness disappearing at registering where he was.
His arm was trapped under a warm body—Monty—and there was a solid wall of muscle pressed against his back—Kendrick.
He shut his eyes, breathing in their combined fragrance of sex, and attempted to recall exactly what had happened after he’d… blacked out after coming so hard he wasn’t sure his balls would ever forgive him. A pleasant ache remained as a reminder.
A wave of embarrassment heated his cheeks, making him glad of the surrounding darkness. He had no recollection of them untying him, in fact, he had no idea how he ended up cocooned in the middle of Monty and Kendrick.
For reasons he didn’t want to consider too hard, he was grateful there’d been no more talking.
Talking in general, actually. What Kendrick had purposely started got Rue angry enough to rip off the festering plaster that held onto his feelings.
Maybe not all of it, but enough to say why he hadn’t allowed Monty to get closer to him.
He ran a hand over his unshaven cheeks, rubbing and releasing a shuddery breath, unsure if they’d really fixed anything when, in two days, they would head back to Hazardville, leaving Kendrick behind.
Was it cowardice to use Kendrick as a shield?
He didn’t need to answer when he already felt the tug, low in his gut. He sighed quietly.
The mattress shifted and Rue felt the weight of a heavy arm on his chest before lips pressed to the pulse at the side of his throat.
“It’s gonna be alright,” Kendrick murmured sleepily, reading Rue better than most. “You’ll see, it’ll all work out.”
“How?” he whispered back, the fact nobody could see him allowed the fear to seep out.
“We can try long distance. Set up a group chat for the three of us. Video calls could work. Something that gives us the opportunity to see where this might lead.”
Monty, as if sensing his agitation, rolled to face him, tucking his head closer to his chest, a thigh slipping over Rue’s. His lungs tightened, and he kept still, unwilling to have this conversation with Monty when he felt vulnerable and exposed, despite the darkness.
“What happened to you?” Kendrick asked instead, sounding much more alert, even while he kept his voice low. “In your past, that makes it hard to trust your feelings?”
Rue shuddered at how Kendrick had surmised so easily that there was something he hid from.
Monty murmured in his sleep, his lips pressing against his hot skin, a hand clutching him tighter. Yet Rue didn’t think it was a conscious move, and that made an ache form at the back of his eyes.
“I…” Can’t or won’t talk about it? He couldn’t decide, when both fit. “It’s not the time. But the rest, the long distance stuff, maybe we could try?” he murmured.
“I’ll be here when it’s the right time.” Kendrick increased his hold until Rue became sandwiched so tightly between the two men, he didn’t know where he started, and they ended.
It wasn’t that which drew a sob unwillingly from Rue; it was the depth of sincerity, something he’d rarely experienced outside of his family.
Because really, how could Kendrick say that?
How?
They didn’t know what Rue had done—not done—to save his family. It would change everything if they discovered his secret, of that he was sure. Blood tainted his soul, and nothing and no one could change that.
A loud pinging gave him the excuse to move, to escape.
Alphaholes
Jupiter: Why am I only hearing about the shit that’s gone down at Drinkwater since we’ve been on the ranch secondhand? You gotta stop fucking sugar coating it for me, Silas!
Silas: What are you talking about? The only people who know are Dad, Popi and Oakland and those in Drinkwater.
Booker: What happened in Drinkwater?
Silas: The shit hit the fan epically. I wasn’t going to say anything until we got back to Hazardville.
Four of the omegas went into heat, and it was a catastrophe.
One is okay. The other three are those who have chosen not to go back to the factory and didn’t want to talk about their heats.
Y’all know we decided not to pressure them or force them to do anything against their will.
It backfired. Oakland warned it would, and he was right to worry.
One poor bastard trapped himself in the heating vent in the ceiling, terrified someone would touch him.
The other two fared little better when they couldn’t put the hotel in lockdown to prevent alphas from registering as guests on the floors below.
Taylin: Dear gods!
Silas: Yeah, that and a whole fucking heap of fucks. I spoke to Dad. We are going to bring the omegas up to the ranch. It’s going to take a bit of sorting, and Oakland needs to agree, but it is the safest place I could think of for them while they figure out what they want.
Booker: Makes sense. But won’t one of us need to be here too? It’s gonna take a lot of negotiations, isn’t it?
Silas: I haven’t gotten that far yet. As I said, I hadn’t mentioned it to anyone as we don’t know the full extent of the fallout. If Jupiter has heard, that means it’s leaked out, unless Popi or Dad told you? Which if not, then that is another fucking minefield to work through.
Jupiter: It doesn’t matter who told me.
Silas: Yes, it bloody does when we might have someone speaking out of turn to fuck knows who besides you.
Jupiter: Oakland told me.
Laken: What? Why would you have contact with Oakland? You barely know him.
Dad: Leave it, Laken. We will talk about this when y’all are home.
Rue rubbed at his bleary eyes, reading as Kendrick moved quietly around the coffee-scented kitchen, having gotten up with him. Rue had been surprised at such a move, but he kept it to himself.
Kendrick placed bowls and boxes of cereal on the counter, looking all kinds of charming. “I can fry up some bacon, eggs and mushrooms, if you’ve time?”
Rue shook his head, offering a smile that he couldn’t do justice to when ice had formed in his gut at what he’d read.
“Coffee is fine, I’ll grab something in the bunkhouse later,” he muttered distractedly, his thoughts on how much of a mess everything was.
He had no idea how bad things were in Drinkwater with the abused omegas, but he suspected it was far worse than even he could fathom.
The smells and the images of the factory basement had taken them all by surprise when they’d discovered the fuckers had taken advantage of the omegas. Taken advantage. If it were only that.
Those bastards held them hostage, raped and abused them until they were terrified of their own shadows. He wasn’t at all surprised that during their heat, they wanted no one near them.
Unable to shake off the effect it had on him, it was in that moment he’d given in to the attraction for Monty. Until then, he’d had no intention of acting upon it.
He shut off his train of thought, not ready to have more recriminations, when he felt Kendrick’s presence at his back.
The big man ran his nose along the line of his neck, placing a kiss next to his ear.
Although brief, it was no less impactful because of the intimacy that came with it.
A silent offer of support, even when Rue hadn’t asked or explained what was wrong, that made him struggle to catch his breath.
Of all the things they’d done, this he didn’t know how to react.
Before he was forced to make that decision, Kendrick stepped away, picked up his mug of coffee and took a sip, unaware of how off-kilter Rue was.
Monty’s appearance broke the tension building inside him.
“Coffee, I could kiss you.” Monty came in smelling like sunshine and looking equally refreshing. Rue had no idea how, at the ungodly hour, when they’d all had very little sleep.
Monty took the offered mug and inhaled the smell before sipping and groaning in approval. “How folks survive without caffeine, I’ll never know.”
Rue didn’t answer, mulling over how to explain the news about the omegas when it would wipe away the sunny smile. Fuck, it would affect all the PAs, not just Monty.
“What?” Monty rubbed at his nose, going slightly cross-eyed, looking utterly adorable. “Have I got something on my nose?”
“No… we’re gonna have to head out.”
Monty gave the expected grumble of complaint.
But Rue was looking at Kendrick, assessing, before going with his gut and the desire.
“Last night, you mentioned setting up a group chat… trying something long distance.” Rue glanced at Monty and could see surprise but, more than that, excitement. “How would you feel about that, Monty?
“If I get to keep you both, then I’ll try anything.”
Kendrick slung an arm around Monty’s shoulders, looking so damn pleased Rue released a shuddery breath. Fuck, they were doing this. All he could think about was taking advantage of the remaining time they had in Bayfield.
“So, what time do you get off work later?”