13. Wyatt
Lainey is shaking like a leaf. Lawson just hauled ass up the stairs like his feet were on fire and left our omega, his brand new bonded mate, in the dust. I have to believe he has a reason for it, but my instincts do not give a shit what that reason might be.
All I know now is our girl is shaking and dealing with this alone.
I place a hand on her back between her shoulder blades, and she gasps quietly. One hand grasps her chin, tilting her face up so I can see her eyes. The brown of her iris is barely visible with how wide her pupils are blown, and her face is bright red. A single breath in confirms my suspicions.
Bonding, even during pregnancy, can often trigger heat spikes if done outside of an actual heat.
Since pregnant women can’t have heats, heat spikes are the body’s way of naturally cycling through excess hormones.
Bonding Lawson sent Lainey into a heat spike, and the way her syrupy sweet berry pie scent is practically smothering me only confirms it.
“Lainey, do you want to go up to your bed?” I ask softly. We haven’t even started setting up her nest yet, and I’m kicking myself for that now. Lucky and Rhys both make angry sounds of protest behind me, but I glare at them and fan my face, grateful when they seem to understand.
Lainey nods, clutching at her lower abdomen with a sad little whimper. Not wanting to risk her becoming any more uncomfortable, I stand, scooping her up in my arms bridal style as I do. “Alright, up we go beautiful.”
I hear Rhys mutter something about electrolytes while Lucky sighs heavily, but I keep my attention focused solely on the stairs.
I know she probably would have had a hard time making it all the way up, but I also didn’t think about how scary carrying her would be.
I have my omega cradled in my arms and while that normally wouldn’t phase me, she’s pregnant.
If anything happens and I dropped her, I would never forgive myself.
Which is why walking up the single flight of stairs takes several minutes when it would normally only take about thirty seconds. “Wyatt?” Lainey pants.
I pause to I can meet her eyes, not willing to climb without watching my step. “Yeah, honey?”
“Why are you moving like a turtle through clay?”
A snort escapes, and I can’t even cover my mouth when embarrassment heats my face. “I’m holding precious cargo. Don’t want to risk anything happening to you.” My lips land on her forehead in a gentle press.
Her perfume explodes around us, and it’s so strong my head feels foggy.
I move up the stairs a little quicker than before, still careful to watch every single step.
By the time we reach her room at the top, my heart is beating like a drum in my chest and it sounds a hell of a lot like Lainey’s name.
Her bed is slightly rumpled from her nap earlier, but one of the guys must have brought her bags when we got home, because all of her new clothes and nesting supplies are piled up between the closet and nest doors. “Bed or nest, honey?”
Lainey’s eyes are wide and glassy as they dart around the room. I can tell her omega is at least partially in the driver’s seat, but since she’s not in full blown heat she’s still coherent. “Bed.” She whispers. “Not ready for the nest.”
I file that away to dissect later, because the way she phrased that gave me questions.
Striding to the bed, I set her on the edge and squat so we are eye level.
The last thing I want is for her to feel like I’m looming over her.
Or like I expect anything from her because she’s in a spike.
“Do you want some of the toys you got from Nestful?”
Her eyes fill with tears instantly, making me panic.
I cup her face, kissing every inch of skin I can reach.
I have no idea why I do it, but my instincts demand I fix whatever I did and this was the logical solution.
“Hey, hey. Did I upset you? Are you not in a spike? I shouldn’t have assumed, I just… ”
Lainey cuts me off by pressing her lips to mine, stunning me silent. It’s just a quick peck and when she pulls back, I gape. “Want you. Your scent, your skin, your weight.”
My head tilts. “My weight?”
She nods shyly. “Can you just, like, lay on me? Like one of those weighted blankets.”
A lightbulb goes off, one of the pages from our textbook coming back with startling clarity.
When omegas are particularly stressed or anxious, they may seek a confined space or choose to lie on/under their chosen alpha to soothe their nervous systems. It is very important these instincts not be ignored, as…
My mental gymnastics trying to remember the full passage are cut off when tiny, cold fingers skirt along the hem of my shirt and tug. I lift wide, startled eyes to my omega, who is still impatiently tugging at my sweater. “Want you naked.” She states plainly.
Not wanting to make her wait any longer, I stand up and grab at the back of my sweater with one hand, tugging it off over my head.
Somehow in the seconds my eyes were covered, Lainey has shucked the hospital sweatshirt and sweats and now sits before me buck naked.
I choked on my own spit and drag my eyes to the ceiling, but not before I catch a glimpse of dusky pink nipples and a small strip of trimmed blonde hair.
“Lainey, I am not expecting anything, but are you clear enough to consent? Even just to me seeing you naked.”
She scoffs, flopping back on the bed with a dramatic sigh that catches on a hint of a whine at the end. “I’m not in heat, Wyatt. My mind is perfectly clear, I just want you to get naked and squish me a little bit.”
I almost laugh because she’s so goddamn cute, but now all I can think of is how being naked will result in me being covered in her incredible scent.
Blowing out a breath, I drop my jeans and boxers with one push.
I expect Lainey to be adjusting the bed to her liking but when I finally work up the nerve to glance up I find her watching me intently, her gorgeous brown eyes blazing with desire.
My own warm chocolatey scent swells, mixing with hers in a way that shouldn’t work but makes my mouth water.
But then she does the thing I least expect. She throws herself backwards until she’s flat on her back, pats her boob, and says “Come on then, get over here and get to squishing.”
I chuckle under my breath, but do as she asks.
You would think it would be awkward, getting fully naked with an omega I barely know and just laying on her, but it’s not.
I have known Lainey for a total of about 48 hours and she has already embedded herself into my very soul.
I already knew she was my scent match from the hospital, but it’s everything else that has really sealed it for me.
Lainey Ryan is funny, smart, kind, and sassy as fuck.
My best friend loves the hell out of her already despite barely knowing her, she submits to Rhys’s dominance like it’s second nature, and now she’s bonded to my pack lead.
She feels like the piece I didn’t even know was missing, but now that I have it, I feel whole.
Too soon? Maybe. Do I care? Absolutely not. That’s just how things go between scent matches. One day you’re living your life like usual, and the next your soul has rearranged itself to align perfectly with someone else’s.
I try to be gentle as I lay down on top of my omega, but she is not having it.
Her hands grip either side of my waist and yank me down so every inch of my body is flush with hers.
I can feel the scrape of her peaked nipples against my abs, and my erection, which I’ve been desperately trying to ignore, nestles between her supple thighs.
I can feel how slick she is, and it’s damn near impossible to keep down the growl fighting its way up my throat.
I manage to turn it into a strangled purr, and Lainey absolutely melts beneath me.
If I didn’t know any better I might think she became one with the mattress.
A muffled groan and gust of hot breath caresses the skin of my collarbones, making me shiver. Her scent is all around me, seeping into every pore and mingling with mine in a way that tells me I won’t be the same Wyatt when I leave this room.
Lainey’s hands tighten on my waist, trying to drag me closer even though I’m already as close as physically possible. She grunts, her nails digging into my skin as she rocks her hips up. “Need you closer.”
I huff a laugh. “I can’t get any closer without being inside of you, honey.” It doesn’t register what just came out of my mouth until Lainey begins nodding frantically beneath me, her hair tickling my chin. “Yes, let’s do that.”
Every muscle in my body locks up tight. I pull back, meeting her hooded eyes.
I expect them to be glossy with the heat spike or at the very least for her pupils to be massive, but neither signs are there.
My omega is lucid and she’s asking me to…
well I’m actually not sure. “I need you to be explicitly clear with me, Lainey. What do you want me to do?”
Her cheeks pink slightly. “Did you mean it when you said you would do anything?”
I nod slowly, relishing in her answering sigh while also ignoring the chanting of my alpha in my chest. He is demanding we rut, claim, and cover her in our scent .
The dichotomy of his feelings versus mine are confusing sometimes.
I can’t believe this incredible omega is actually considering using me for anything.
She could have anyone, especially in our pack.
But she’s choosing me ? The thought alone has my alpha soaring with pride.
“Absolutely anything. If it helps to just think of me as an inanimate, emotionless sex toy, then go right ahead.”
I don’t even get all the words out before she interrupts me with a hand over my mouth.
My first instinct is to do to her what I would do to Lucky in this situation and lick her palm, but then I remember I am almost twenty-two years old and her alpha and stop myself.
“I don’t want to view you as a sex toy Wy.
I want you . Inside of me, preferably. As long as you’re comfortable being there.
It can be sex if you want it to be, but it doesn’t need to be. ”
The emphasis she places confuses me for a moment until it finally clicks what she’s asking for.
My cock kicks against her abdomen, the idea so hot it’s a chore not to come before I even get inside her.
My nose trails down her neck, tongue darting out to lick at her pulse point.
“Does my sweet girl want to keep her alpha’s cock warm?
” I coo. “It’s not enough to have me surrounding you, you also want me filling you up so there’s no part of you left untouched?
So it becomes impossible to tell where you end and I begin? ”
“Yes,” she pants. “That’s what I need.”
My lips meet her neck in a lingering kiss. “What my honey wants, she gets.” The words are whispered against her skin, lingering between us for a moment. “I’m clean. And I haven’t been with anyone in over a year.”
Lainey’s eyes are wide but there’s an undercurrent of gratefulness to the surprise. Maybe because even while naked and about to slip inside of her I’m still thinking about her safety? I can’t be sure.
“Omegas aren’t susceptible to sexually transmitted diseases or infections,” she starts. And I nod, because I knew that from my reading. “But either way, Lucky is the only person I’ve been with in the last year.”
That pleases me more than it has any right to, but I try not to show it. I must not do a very good job, because she huffs quietly. “Men,” she mutters. There’s so much exasperation in the single word, and it amuses me to no end.
She wiggles her hips, eyebrow raising. “Well? I’m not getting any drier here, Alpha.”