53. Rickon
Chapter fifty-three
Rickon
I stand frozen on the staircase, fingers pressed to my quivering lips. My best friend’s turned into a kneeling Adonis statue by the sawn-off library door, his cock in one hand. He draws his other hand back under the door, the clenched fist dripping with glistening cum.
Spellbound, I watch as he brings it to his lips and tastes my omega. Between the vision before me and the thick scent of Red’s haze flooding the house, I’m lost. I clench my jaw as my dick throbs in my pants.
Callisto groans and leans against the door, his freshly scented hand right by his nose. He shucks at his cock, driven by desperation, his hips bucking into his own touch.
I should look away. That would be the polite thing to do. Like I have for years in the bathrooms and changing rooms we’ve shared. But if I turn around and walk back up the stairs now, they’ll creak underfoot. So I stand, frozen, while my years-long crush finishes himself with a muted growl.
Fuck, he’s beautiful, those wide shoulders tensing with effort. They taper to his waist, his pale brown skin bare above his pajama trousers. That’s right; we were all sleeping before Red tried to burn the nest down.
My cock throbs. I wrap my hand around it but instead of stroking, I just hold it firmly. I couldn’t bear for Callisto to turn around and find me touching myself while looking at him. Rather, I savor the moment, allowing myself to look more than usual. This situation’s so messed up, but one emotion clearly rises above the others.
Relief.
Relief that Red let him help her in her moment of crisis.
Her supreme panic ate at me in a way I can’t even describe. As her alpha, I wanted to take away her pain, but she was so wild that I couldn’t do anything for her besides recite movie lines. But Callisto managed to keep calm and even suggested we cut the door off, something I never would’ve thought of doing. It’s like we’re a real team.
Callisto leans his forehead against the door for a long moment, catching his breath. In another second, I’ll be discovered.
I jog up and down on the landing a few times, simulating the noise of coming down from the top, and then run down the bottom steps. “Is she okay?” I call softly.
Callisto twitches and tucks his spent cock back inside his pajamas. “Ah, yeah, she just fell asleep, I think.” He lowers himself down on his belly to check; then his hand flicks up off the floor as he realizes just how wet it is. I peel the sticker seal off the new packet of wet wipes I brought with me and hand him several.
Callisto flushes. “Ricky, I’m sorry. She said she wanted help, and you weren’t here.”
I crouch down and pop my hand on his bare shoulder. Heat steams off his flushed skin. “Callisto, anything that helps Red through her heat is fine with me. It’s not like any of us are strangers, you know.”
He stares up at me, black eyes a little fogged. “Oh. Thanks. I was worried you’d feel . . . differently.”
“Let’s just get through this, yeah?” I say. The adrenaline’s leaching through my body, stealing my strength. I crawl over to the kitchen bench and slide to the floor, resting my back against the cupboard as I drop my head into my hands.
“Fuck. She tried to burn down the room,” I mutter. Thank God I woke up in time before she got that lighter flame onto the oil.
Callisto scoots closer and takes my hand. “You all right?”
I cough out a sharp laugh. “Who knows?” My arm aches under the square patch Callisto put over Red’s bite. A groan slips through my throat, which feels raw from shouting earlier. “They warned me, at the Omega Center, that she’s traumatized by her heats. I guess I didn’t take them seriously enough.” I shake my head, the fleur-de-lis pattern on my trousers blurring. “So much for being her alpha; I didn’t even know when she was due.”
Callisto scoots across the floor and sits beside me, wrapping one arm around my shoulder. I give in without a fight, resting my head on his chest.
“You did a wonderful job,” he reassures me. “You stopped her hurting herself and burning the apartment down, for starters, and you got her to drink water. We know she’s a complicated woman, so all we have to do is learn what she needs.”
I nod and swipe at my tears. He’s right. No need to feel defeated. Even if I don’t know everything about Red, all I need to do is learn, step by step. A faint memory pings in my brain. “I think she told the Mr Yun her heats last for three days.”
“Good, that gives us a goal. Keep her hydrated and fed for three days, through the doorway.” His tone darkens. “If we can’t manage that, we’ll have to call the Omega Center.”
I shudder. “She’d hate that.”
“Right.”
We sit in silence for a long time, both of us familiar with how much Red doesn’t like that place. I keep my gaze locked on the foot-high gap under the library door. We need to do everything possible so Red doesn’t end up back there.
“For some reason, this feels like I’m going into a physics exam,” I mutter.
Callisto snorts. “Yeah, it does a bit. The ticker is pumping hard; that’s for sure.” He splays his free hand over his belly. “I guess chemistry might be more accurate for today’s test.” His deep chuckle resonates through his chest into my ear. “At least you didn’t pass out today, like that one time in eighth grade.”
I click my tongue, but secretly I’m pleased he remembers. I fainted a couple of times during high school from low blood sugar, though thankfully never since graduating. Probably due to that one particular trauma I went through in my teens, coupled with the stress of doing tests in subjects I had no interest in.
The few times it happened, Callisto would cart me off to the nurse. A bit of candy or a sandwich usually set me right.
“Hydrolyte,” I mutter.
“What?”
“I need to go get some Hydrolyte for Red, and more bottled water.”
Callist nods and slides out from under me, making sure I’m braced against the paneling before getting to his feet. “I’ll go. And I’ll get protein bars.”
“You don’t have court?” I rock to my feet.
He shakes his head. “No, but I’ll check in with Hale about some stuff while I’m out.”
A throb toys with my heart. Sometimes I really envy the paralegal who gets to see Callisto every day. But at least Callisto will come home straightaway this time.
I run my hands through my sweaty hair, trying to think of everything we need. “Let’s try some flavored milk and drinkable yogurt. You know those ones in squeezy sachets?”
Callisto nods and types a list into his phone.
“Thanks,” I murmur, watching the lines in his hands ripple.
He comes over and pulls me in for a hug. Red’s honey-macadamia scent mingles with his cherry wood, making my mouth water. “She’ll be okay, Ricky,” he promises me.
I grip him tightly, holding on to that promise.
While Callisto goes out, I get to work cleaning up the damaged nest. The fairy lights have been destroyed, so I wrap them up and put them in a box by the door to go to the dumpsters in the underground garage.
The spilled oil doesn’t want to wipe clean, but after soaking up what I can with towels, I use dishwashing detergent with the mop to take care of the rest. The mop sparks another chain of ideas, and I get out my sex toys and sanitize everything twice. Red needs help getting through her heat, but she won’t tolerate us being in the same room, so we need to improvise.
I can’t bring myself to ask Callisto to visit an adult shop for me, so I purchase an alpha cock with a knot attachment online and pay extra for quick delivery. Not sure if it will arrive in time, but at least I’ll have one ready for the next heat.
Halfway through dragging a mattress down the upstairs hallway, I hear Red mewl softly, so I race back to the library. “Hey, Biscuit,” I croon, sitting by the door.
“Rickon?” she calls, voice thick with sleep.
“I’m here, beautiful.”
“It’s so hot,” she whines. The blanket and cushions rustle with her movements.
“I’ll adjust the thermostat,” I offer.
“Don’t! Don’t leave.” The panic in her tone eats at me like acid.
“I’m not going anywhere,” I promise. It can wait until Callisto gets home. “I’ll stay, but you need to drink some more water.” I grab one from the stack I put by the door and open it for her. This time, she takes my hand, holding my fingers tight while she drinks. I massage the back of her hand.
“Rickon. Alpha.” The deep huskiness in her pained voice makes her sound like someone else entirely. She whines, and I flinch as a loud thump rattles the door. She swears and squeezes my fingers to the breaking point.
“Lie down, my love,” I whisper, aching with the need to help her. “I have something that will make you feel good.”
It’s really hard to reach under the door. I might ask Callisto to take another three inches off when she’s passes out next, but for once being slender is an advantage since I can get part of my shoulder through the gap to reach her.
Red’s pants turn to guttural whines and her body spasms while I get my dildo into place. She moans as the tip brushes across her pussy, which is covered in drying slick.
“More, alpha,” she begs.
I slip the length into her pussy and it slides easily as fresh slick coats her thighs. I intend to go slowly, but Red grabs my wrist with her free hand and takes over, driving the fake cock inside her at a frantic pace. Fuck, she’s so beautiful, figuring out how to survive this thing that’s overtaken her.
Over and over the silicone dick thrusts in. Her strength gives out eventually, leaving me to finish her. She screams and her legs thrash against my elbow as she finally comes. I drop my head onto the smooth floor, panting with effort.
Almost immediately, Red whines and rolls over, rubbing her soaked pussy on my arm. My breath catches. This is why omegas need alpha knots during a heat. She needs our pheromones and big knots to break the fever. The orgasms themselves are like scratching an itch.
I start all over again, dragging the toy through her pussy over and over. When I come from the overwhelming scents and sounds, I smother my release on the dildo in the hope it soothes her.
But the effort of fucking her with my hands costs a lot. My arms shake and my wrists ache from the clenched position. I don’t even know how long I’ve been lying on my belly with my arm through the opening while sweat pours into my eyes. A whimper escapes me.
“Want me to take over?”
I sob with relief and roll away from the door. I didn’t even hear Callisto return. I fold my soaked, numb hands across my chest. “Yeah, I just need to—” My words are slurring. I must have been here longer than I realized.
“I brought the mattress down. Have a Hydrolyte and a nap.” He slips one end of an icy block between my lips. My eyelids droop even as I suck on it. “Just for a minute, then,” I murmur.
Red swears at us for taking too long and Callisto rushes over to the kitchen sink to wash his hands. He drops a towel down on the floor to soak up the puddle of her slick under the door, then reaches through.
The needy omega immediately demands his fist and the muscles in his arm bunch as he obeys. My eyelids droop low, obscuring the view of my best friend laying on his belly to pleasure my omega under a locked door.
Pain flares up my arms as the overworked muscles let me know we’ve done quite an intense workout. And it hasn’t even been twenty-four hours yet. This will be an uphill battle, but I’m not alone. Callisto’s here with me, just like he always is when it matters most. I want to thank him, but I can’t seem to form any words, and my eyes won’t stay open.
I’ll catch just a little rest, and then trade places with my best friend. Together we’ll see Red through this.
A smile catches on my dry lips. This omega is quite the handful.