15. Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Fifteen
Jax
L eah peeks out from the nest she built, her eyes wide and bright, lashes brushing the pillows, hair falling loose where she’s tunneled in. There’s a hesitant glow in her, like ember-light catching in the dark.
Pride thrummed through me as I witnessed her build her nest. I’m humbled that something intrinsic in her trusted us enough to give in to those ancient instincts, to claim space without begging forgiveness.
This is probably the only nest she’s ever built without some asshole Alpha punishing her for following her nature.
The fact that she managed this at all, after everything she’s endured.
It’s a privilege I don’t deserve, but I’ll take any part of her she chooses to share with me.
Ronan’s pride flashes through the bond, and I sense him hovering just out of sight in the kitchen while Gabe peeks around a wall, his whole focus riveted on our Omega.
None of us made a sound while she worked to build her nest and now— fuck .
She’s inviting me in. She’s so fucking brave it slays me.
Her lips part and the tiniest tremor of hope sparks in her eyes as a weary ache rolls off her.
I’m humbled down to my bones. Nothing in the world could keep me from her now, except a deep-rooted instinct that won’t back down.
She needs care before anything else. Her arousal perfumes the air, rich and heady, a magnet pulling every Alpha urge out of me.
But the ache of hunger outweighs her desire, I see it in her hollow eyes, the unsteady way she holds herself up in the nest.
I grab the still warm bowl of soup and buttered bread, hoping I can get some sustenance into her.
I kneel on the carpet in front of her and hold out the spoon loaded with rich broth.
"I know what you want, Omega. I want it too.
So bad I can taste it. But you need food more than you need me right this second. "
She whines, her blatant desperation blossoming in her perfume. My cock throbs and I swallow my groan. Her instincts are a symphony to my senses but she’s relying on me for her sustenance. "Orgasms after food, Omega."
She licks her lips as her gaze falls to the laden spoon. I draw it over her bottom lip, coaxing her hunger. If she just tastes the soup, she might forget about her arousal. Temporarily at least.
I’m worried she became cognizant, even when it was a small window. It’s not natural, and there’s still a tainted edge to her scent I don’t like, but her tongue laps up the smear of broth on her lips and her eyes flare with a different sort of hunger.
"Come on, Sunshine. Take a bite," I whisper, hoping she won’t retreat. That she’s lost enough to her Omega instincts she’ll trust her mates enough to feed her .
Leah weighs my every action. I broadcast my movements, knowing anything I do will make a difference. She finally parts her lips enough to eat and I want to high-five the blessed goddess herself.
I smile. "There’s my brave girl. Good Omega."
Her eyelids close and she shivers. She likes being told she’s good and I have a feeling that whatever worthless fuck of an Alpha who controlled her never told her that.
As if she could be bad. Scared. In pain.
Terrified. Yes, all of that. But bad? No chance in the seven layers of hells.
The behaviors she shows us are learned. Nothing but survival tactics.
Her base instincts recognize we will never hurt her.
I only hope she lets them guide her and listens to them when she’s not lost to heat.
She allows me to feed her half the bowl before I break off a chunk of fluffy bread and hold it to her mouth.
Her lips close around the bread, and she licks the butter off my fingers.
Gabriel stifles a groan. Of course he’s watching.
Nothing could keep me away either if I weren’t up close and personal like this.
I want to whip around and tell him to shut it, but I remain still, fighting my own battles not to bury myself in her fucking majestic nest.
I trace her jaw with my thumb before breaking off another piece of bread. "Good Omega."
Because she should hear it again. And again, and again, until all parts of her believe it.
She eases into her nest showing no interest in the next spoonful and her perfume thickens into something sweet and hungry.
Her whine makes my balls draw up so tight I think I’m going to cum right here and now.
I set the half-eaten bowl on the coffee table. She’s eaten nowhere near enough, but her stomach will be shrunken. She’s done as well as she can, and I make a mental note to feed her small and often. But now I’m more than ready to satisfy the next thing she wants.
"Do you want your Alpha? Do you want me to touch you and make you feel good?" She blinks at me with those dark, dark eyes. "Tell me you want me, Omega. Tell me it’s all right to give you what you want."
Her pink lips part and she reaches her hand toward me. "Alpha, please. "
I let my Alpha control my voice and my next words are nothing but a rumble from the basest part of me. I mean them with every molecule of my soul. "Brave Omega."
Ronan curses in the kitchen at her whine.
Both of my bond brothers are holding on by a thread.
Their arousal cracks through our pack bond, but they won’t come closer until she asks.
There’s barely enough space as I lower at her side, her cocoon of blankets and cushions crowding every corner, but that’s fucking perfect because every inch of her ends up pressed along every inch of me.
Her thigh brushes my leg, hip snug to mine, shoulder and arm tucked warm against my side. Our bodies align, heat sinking into heat, our essences weaving tighter with every exhale. I settle back, one arm draped along the top of the nest, hand close but waiting for her invitation to touch.
I belong here. With her. Right in the heart of what she’s built, all pride and hunger and tenderness, every part of me singing yes.
Her nest is warm, soft, perfect just like her.
My heart hammers hard enough that I’m sure she can feel it, but my hands stay where she can see them. Waiting.
Always waiting for her.
Her gaze rises as she slides her palm over my wrist. Her fingers tremble, so damn slight compared to mine, but her grip is firm as she drags my hand lower, placing it just above her knee where her leg is bent over mine.
Gods. The trust in that small movement nearly shatters me.
"Alpha," she murmurs, barely more than a breath.
I flex my fingers, testing the pressure she wants. "Is this all right, Omega? You want me to touch you like this?"
Her lashes flutter and a soft sigh falls from her lips. I stroke upward, slow as sunrise, my thumb tracing the inside of her thigh. Her skin is fever-hot, her perfume weaving around me in a heady cloud.
The nest swallows me whole. Her scent tangles with the musk of her heat, and saturates every blanket, every cushion pressed between us.
She’s everywhere. The air is thick syrup clinging to my tongue.
Warmth radiates off her body where she molds against me, her thigh pressing tight to mine like she’s afraid I’ll disappear if she doesn’t hold on.
Her breath fans over my collarbone, quick and uneven, her heartbeat a hummingbird flutter beneath her ribs.
"You're perfect, Omega," I rasp, voice shredded with want.
The flush that blooms across her cheeks paints her skin a fevered pink as it spills down her throat, disappearing beneath the robe loosely draped over her.
I want to chase it with my tongue, taste the heat of her there first before anywhere else, but I don’t.
This is all about her. What she needs and wants.
About her being able to demand whatever the fuck she wants from her Alphas.
Each muscle in my body is drawn wire-tight with restraint, my dick pulsing painfully against the seam of my clothing.
But all that matters is her, the way her gaze flickers with something between desire and hesitation, pupils swallowing the silver, the bitten-red swell of her bottom lip caught between her teeth.
She hesitates. Godsdammit, did I move too fast? Was that too much? Then she drags my palm higher and presses it firmly between her legs.
Fuck .
She’s drenched, heat welcoming me as my fingers sink inside, slick coating my hand. Something between a growl and a prayer rips loose from my throat. Her hips arch slightly, chasing the pressure her arousal demands, but her gaze stays locked onto mine, a part of her still wary.
I freeze, muscles locking down, even as my cock aches like I’ve been gutted.
She could freeze me out any second and all the inroads I’ve made will be set back. If it happens, it happens, but I don’t want her to feel that sort of fear again. I only want her to feel the pleasure I’m burning to give to her.
My fingers flex, feather-light, teasing her. "Show me what you ache for, Omega."
She shudders, breathless, her eyelashes fluttering for a second before she finds her voice. A whimper catches in her throat as my thumb brushes over her clit.
"Ahh. Like that?"
A moan rises from her throat when I circle where she needs me, slow and purposeful. I fist the nest fabric beside her head, searching for an anchor, while my other hand stays trapped between her thighs, worshipping every frantic roll of her hips against my palm.
"Gods, you feel so good," I grit out, watching her unravel. "All that slick just for me."
My hand is coated in thick, glistening stripes, fresh rose and anise sharpening between us. She whimpers when I whisper how good she is, hips jerking against my palm. Each husked praise makes her bolder.
But it's clearly not enough.
Her teeth dig into her bottom lip, and her thighs clamp around my wrist. Her heat is clawing at her, demanding more than just teasing fingers and whispered worship.
I grip her hips, my voice smoke rough. "I know exactly what you need, Omega."