36. Luna
Luna
I wake up to the heavy feeling of something across my stomach, pressing uncomfortably against my bladder.
My eyes flutter open and it takes me a second to realize where I am.
I’m in the Ward Pack’s nest. The nest they put together for me.
Kane’s arms are around me, pressing me up against his chest.
His very strong, very delicious, very naked chest.
A stupid blush heats my face. I’m glad he’s still passed out. Even though he’s had his knot inside me, the thought of him catching me ogling him still makes me feel embarrassed.
I wiggle out of his hold, being careful not to wake him. He seemed like a pretty light sleeper, the last time I woke up in his arms, so taking care of me during my heat spike must have taken it out of him, too. I know sleep is hard for him, so I want to make sure he gets as much of it as possible.
I grab the blazer of the suit jacket he tossed into the corner of the room and slip it on. Kane’s deep pine scent wraps itself around me along with the soft fabric, and I take a second to sink into it.
It’s huge on me, but I feel better wearing something rather than nothing. I’m a bit shy this morning, even though I was completely naked around everyone last night.
My feet are silent across the floor as I make my way to the bathroom across the hall. I do my business before finding a washcloth and cleaning myself up. There are still the remnants of last night between my thighs.
I’d take a full shower, but my stomach is already starting to protest the thought of me pushing off finding food any longer. I make my way downstairs, the familiar scent and feel of the pack house soothing my inner omega.
If this heat spike was any indication, my heat is coming soon. It makes sense that both my normal brain and my omega brain want nothing else other than to stay right here with all of my guys.
I stop in my tracks, seeing Archer nursing some whiskey from a tumbler. He’s slumped in one of the barstools at the kitchen counter, still in his suit from last night.
He freezes when he sees me, his eyes roving up and down my body. He doesn’t miss the fact I’m only wearing Kane’s blazer or the patch of red rug burn on my neck from where Kane buried his bearded face as he thrust up into me last night.
I don’t miss the fact that he looks like he hasn’t slept a wink.
“It’s a little early for whiskey, isn’t it?” I ask, moving to close the distance between us.
He chuckles and puts down the glass.
“Some would say late,” he shrugs.
“Why didn’t you get any sleep last night?” I rest my hand over his.
He stares down at my touch for a really long time before looking up to meet my eyes. “How did you know I didn’t get any sleep?”
“I can just tell,” I shrug.
He nods slowly before staring out into the distance. “I was worried about you. ”
“Worried about me?” I take a seat next to him. “Why were you worried? Kane wouldn’t have done anything I didn’t want.”
He clenches his jaw. “Given your history, it’s only natural to wonder whether any of last night was what you wanted.”
“It was,” I insist. “I promise.”
His words have me pausing, though. They make me stop long enough to realize that throughout all of last night, Archer didn’t touch me. Not once.
“Do—do you not want me?” I whisper, a wave of insecurity hitting me like a truck and twisting my minty perfume into something sour. My chin drops to my chest and I pull my hand away from his.
“What?” He reaches out and laces our fingers together. “Of course I do.”
“Then why didn’t you touch me last night? Everyone else did.” My throat still feels tight, despite his attempt to comfort me with his touch.
“The ethics of consent around omega and alpha relationships are shaky enough as is. Things only get murkier when high-hormone situations like heats and heat spikes get thrown into the mix.” His jaw clenches, and he scrubs a hand down his face. It only accentuates how tired he looks.
“It’s in part why the Omega Center has so much paperwork involved, confirming the consent of all parties before anything happens,” he continues.
“I know you say you were fine with everything that happened now, but since we didn’t have an opportunity to talk things through beforehand, there was a risk you wouldn’t have felt that way. ”
“That still doesn’t answer my question about why you didn’t touch me. I wanted—I wanted—” My voice breaks. “I wanted all of you. I want all of you.”
Archer meets my gaze and holds it. His dark gaze is unwavering.
“You’ve never chosen to touch me. Not like you have with the others. We haven’t even kissed yet. I wasn’t going to have the first time we did be under the influence of heat hormones.”
“So—so that’s why you were just telling everyone else what to do last night?”
He chuckles darkly.
“I had enough integrity to not touch you directly last night, but not enough to volunteer to drive that car.”
“Did—did you want to touch me?” I swallow hard, forcing myself to meet his gaze.
“More than I’ve wanted anything.” His voice is a strained whisper. “You looked so good falling apart in Madden and Chase’s arms. And god, your scent.” He lets out a soft groan that shoots straight to my core.
“Do you still want to touch me?”
The sound of his barstool scraping against the marble floor as he stands suddenly makes me jump in my seat. His presence is all-consuming, with his spicy cinnamon scent growing so thick it’s all I can smell.
“Be careful, little omega,” he growls, his chest heaving. “That sounds an awful lot like an invitation.”
“And if it is?”
His lips crash down onto mine and steal my breath away. His hand twists into my messy hair as he bends down, turning my head to find the perfect angle.
He kisses me like he’s waited his entire life to do so. I grip onto his shirt, trying to steady myself, trying to keep myself from being swept away.
He lets out a little growl, his other hand drifting into Kane’s blazer and cupping my breast with his large hand. My skin feels too tight, too hot for my body. I know my heat spike is over, but this feels an awful lot like it.
“Fuck,” he pants when he finally pulls away.
“Oh my god,” I whisper against his lips.
His gaze darts between my eyes as if he’s trying to read my mind. When his finger brushes over my nipple and I let out a soft whine from the back of my throat, I can see the way his eyes darken.
“I’ve wanted to be the reason you make those little noises so badly.” He unbuttons the blazer and lifts me out of my barstool, setting me, naked, onto the cool kitchen counter.
His forearms flex with the motion, drawing my attention to the way the sleeves of his shirt are rolled up to his elbows.
All of the guys are gorgeous in their own ways, but Archer is striking in his handsome beauty. It caught my eye when I first saw him, and it’s making me catch my breath now. Or maybe that was his mind-blowing kiss.
Either way, I see nothing other than his broad shoulders, his chiseled jawline, and the hunger in his gaze as he looks at my naked body.
There’s something different about being naked in front of Archer this morning, even though I was naked in front of all of them last night.
There aren’t any heat hormones overwhelming my brain and body.
I get to soak in the experience, the feeling of being bare in front of an alpha I so desperately want to please.
“It looks like you’re thinking an awful lot,” he says, stepping forward and spreading my legs to make space for himself.
Neither of us misses the way my slick gushes between my legs at his movement. Oh god, I think I’m dripping onto the counter.
“What’s going through that head of yours?” He murmurs, leaning in and drawing his nose up the column of my neck.
“I want—I want to make you feel good,” I whisper. “I don’t want you to feel left out.”
His hand comes up and grips my hip, his thumb tracing slow patterns on my skin. Lazy touches that don’t match the tension I can see lining his entire body.
“I hope you know what you’ve gotten yourself into. Because now that I’ve had a taste, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to let you go. ”
I cup his cheeks, lifting his gaze to meet mine. “I don’t think I ever want to go anywhere else. I want this. I want you, Archer. All of you.”
He surges forward once again, capturing my lips with his own. His kiss only grows even hungrier when his touch drifts between my thighs, and he feels how slick I am for him.
There’s the clink of his belt unbuckling before he’s breaking the kiss and pulling me to the edge of the counter. My legs fall open for him, baring myself to his gaze.
He meets my eyes once more, maybe to make sure I’m still on board with everything—maybe because he wants to see first hand what he’s doing to me—but he doesn’t find any sort of hesitation there.
My cheeks are flushed, my eyes are glazed, and I’m practically panting with my need for him to fuck me on this countertop.
He takes his cock out his boxers and lines the head against my entrance. It’s a stark contrast, my nakedness and the fact that he’s still in all of his clothes from last night. It only turns me on more.
“Please, Archer,” I whisper, leaning back on my elbows.
He grips my hips and thrusts forward, burying himself in my pussy in one thrust.
I throw my head back, a strangled cry leaving my throat. He’s not as long as Kane, but he’s thicker. His girth, in combination with his fast entrance, has me feeling him in my lungs.
“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck,” he chants, as he thrusts into me. “God, you feel like heaven. Like you were made to take me.”
All I can do is reach up, grip his shoulders, and—well, like he said—take it. This is different than last night. Last night, there was a frantic sense of urgency because of my heat spike. Now, the sense of urgency comes solely from Archer’s desire for me.
When his thumb finds his way to my clit, my brain starts short circuiting.
“Oh my god.”
“That’s it, baby girl. Milk my cock for me. I want to feel your pussy fluttering around my knot.”
His knot starts to swell at the base of his cock as my orgasm builds. I can feel it against me with each thrust. It sends a delicious thrill throughout my entire body.
“Please, Archer. Give me your knot. Please?—”
He doesn’t need to be told twice. He thrusts forward, locking his knot inside me and for the second time in twelve hours, I come around an alpha’s knot.
“Fuck,” he hisses as his own release hits him.
If it weren’t for the way he’s holding me pressed up against him, I would’ve collapsed onto the counter.
“That—that was—” I don’t think I can find the words to describe how amazing that was.
“Yeah,” he grunts, pulling me closer to him. The movement makes his knot pull inside me, and I let out a soft moan. “Shit, sorry.”
“No—no, it’s okay, it’s just a feeling I’m not used to yet.”
“This wasn’t the best place to knot you.” He winces apologetically. “Hold onto me.”
I wrap my arms and legs around him and he grips my ass, lifting me up and carrying me to the couch. He takes the fuzzy throw blanket and wraps it around my shoulders.
“Better?” He asks, his hands coming to rest at my hips as I straddle him.
I nod, reveling in our closeness. I passed out pretty quickly last night. I didn’t get to soak in the feeling of being stuck on an alpha’s knot.
It’s perfect.
There’s something about it that just feels so right, like we were made for this.
He shifts when his phone buzzes in his back pocket, and he lets out a curse as he looks down at it.
“What is it?” I ask, lifting my head from his chest.
“My father is at the fucking gate.”