Chapter 23
Hollis
Iheard Jace call us in, and my heart started racing. This was it. My turn to care for Talia, to show her that I was an alpha worth bonding with. My first heat, first bonding, first time being part of something this profound.
Cassian and I had been waiting in the hallway, giving them privacy while coordinating quietly about timing and what might be needed next. Now we stepped into the bedroom together, though I knew instinctively that Cassian would hold back, let me have this moment first.
Talia lay in her nest, skin flushed and damp with a fine sheen of sweat that caught the dim light.
Jace’s fresh bite mark was visible on her shoulder, already beginning to heal but unmistakably present.
The scent of their bonding filled the room, rich and satisfied and deeply right.
But underneath I could already smell her heat building again, that sweet vanilla and honey taking on desperate edges.
Her body’s cycle demanding the next alpha.
My body responded immediately, alpha instincts surging at the scent of an omega in heat who needed me. But I breathed through it, stayed centered, remembered everything I’d learned about being present rather than reactive.
“Hey,” I said softly, moving to crouch beside the bed while Jace pulled on his jeans. “How are you feeling?”
“Better.” She reached for my hand, and the moment our skin touched I felt something click into place. Not a bond yet, but recognition. Rightness. “Will you stay? Both of you?”
“We haven’t left,” I assured her, squeezing her fingers gently. “We’ve been here the whole time, just giving you and Jace space.”
Her eyes met mine, hazel irises still dilated with heat but clearer than they’d been when we first arrived. There was trust there, and want, and something that looked like relief. “I want you next, Hollis. If you want that too.”
Want didn’t begin to cover what I felt. The desire that had been building since the day she walked into Pine & Pages, seeking sanctuary in books and quiet.
The longing that had grown through every afternoon spent in reading chairs, every conversation about healing and hope.
The need that had crystallized when she let me show her my grandmother’s garden and trusted me with her own grief.
“I’ve been waiting for you since the day you walked into my bookstore,” I said honestly. “Maybe even before that. Like some part of me knew you were coming.”
Jace clasped my shoulder briefly as he passed, and through the bond he shared with Talia I felt his encouragement, his satisfaction at her being cared for. “Take care of her. She’s amazing.”
“I know.” I watched him and Cassian leave, heard them settle in the living room with quiet murmurs. Then I turned back to Talia, drinking in the sight of her.
She was naked in her nest, surrounded by pillows and blankets and items that carried all our scents.
My scarf wrapped around one pillow. Jace’s flannel spread beneath her.
Cassian’s reading glasses on the nightstand.
She’d built this space with all of us in mind, even while her conscious mind had been trying to convince itself she could handle heat alone.
Vulnerable and trusting and so beautiful it made my chest ache with the weight of it.
“Can I kiss you?” I asked, settling on the edge of the nest but not yet climbing in. Giving her space to refuse, to change her mind, to set boundaries even though her scent told me she wanted this as much as I did.
“Please,” she breathed.
I leaned in slowly, telegraphing every movement, giving her time to track my approach. Our lips met softly at first, a gentle exploration. She tasted like heat and sweetness and home. Like everything I’d been searching for without knowing what I sought.
She made a small sound in the back of her throat and deepened the kiss, her hands coming up to tangle in my hair.
I let her lead, following her cues, paying attention to what made her sigh and what made her press closer.
When she sucked on my lower lip, I felt it all the way down my spine.
When her tongue swept into my mouth, I had to fight not to pull her against me and take over.
But this wasn’t about my needs. This was about hers.
“You can touch me,” she said when we broke apart for air. Her pupils were blown wide, her lips already swollen from kissing. “I want you to touch me, Hollis. I need to feel your hands on me.”
“Where?” I traced one finger along her collarbone, watching goosebumps rise in the wake of my touch. “Tell me where you want my hands. Show me what you need.”
“Everywhere.” She guided my hand to her breast, and I cupped the soft weight of it reverently, thumb brushing over her nipple. It peaked immediately under my touch, and she gasped. “I want to feel you everywhere.”
I took my time, learning the map of her body with touches that were part worship, part discovery.
The curve of her waist where it dipped inward.
The flare of her hips, perfect for gripping.
The sensitive spot behind her ear that made her shiver and press into me.
The underside of her breast where skin was impossibly soft.
Every touch was a revelation, every response a gift I didn’t take for granted.
“You’re so patient,” she breathed as my hand slid down her stomach, feeling her muscles flutter under my palm. “So careful with me. Like I’m something precious.”
“Because you are precious.” I kissed along her jaw, down her neck, avoiding the bite mark Jace had left. That was sacred space now, bonded flesh. “Because this matters. Because you matter more than anything.”
My fingers found her center, and I had to close my eyes for a moment against the rush of alpha instinct. She was slick with heat and arousal, evidence of Jace’s claiming still present. Swollen and sensitive and so ready for me that I could feel the need radiating off her in waves.
“Inside,” she gasped, hips rolling against my hand in search of more contact. “I need you inside me, Hollis.”
“Soon.” I circled her clit with my thumb while two fingers pressed into her slowly, carefully. Her inner walls clenched around them immediately, trying to pull me deeper. “Let me take care of you first. Let me learn what you need.”
I worked her patiently, watching her face for every micro-reaction.
When her breathing hitched, I maintained that angle.
When she moaned, I kept that rhythm. When her thighs trembled, I knew I’d found the spot that would make her fall apart.
It wasn’t about rushing to completion but about savoring every moment, every sensation, every sound she made.
“So good,” she whimpered, one hand fisting in the sheets while the other reached for me. “Your fingers feel so good, but I need more. Please, Hollis, I need more than this.”
“Then you’ll have me.” I withdrew my hand slowly, ignoring her sound of protest, and stood to undress.
She watched with heat-glazed eyes as I unbuttoned my shirt with deliberate slowness.
I wasn’t built like Jace with his ranger’s broad shoulders, or Cassian with his aristocratic leanness.
I was somewhere in between, comfortable in my body but not particularly remarkable.
But the way Talia looked at me made me feel like the most attractive alpha she’d ever seen.
“You’re beautiful,” she said as I removed my jeans, and I felt the truth of it through her scent. No flattery or politeness. She meant it. She saw me, truly saw me, and wanted what she found. “Come here. I need you close.”
I climbed into the nest beside her, and the moment our skin made full contact I felt like I’d been electrocuted. The heat of her body seeping into mine, her scent overwhelming my senses, every nerve ending suddenly hyperaware of where we touched.
My cock was already hard, had been since I first caught her scent in the hallway. Now, pressed against her hip, it felt almost painfully insistent. But I breathed through the urge to just take, to claim, to satisfy the alpha instinct screaming at me.
“How do you want me?” I asked, kissing her shoulder, her neck, the spot just below her ear that made her shiver. “Tell me what feels right for you. There’s no wrong answer.”
“Like this.” She pushed at my shoulder until I rolled onto my back, then straddled my hips with fluid grace despite the heat clouding her mind.
Her slick core pressed against my cock, and we both groaned at the contact.
“I want to control it. Want to take what I need. To see your face while I do it.”
“Whatever you want.” I gripped her hips, steadying her but not directing her movements. “Take everything you need from me. I’m yours to use however helps.”
She positioned herself above me, one hand reaching back to grip my cock and line it up with her entrance.
Then she sank down slowly, taking me inch by inch.
I groaned at the sensation of her heat enveloping me, tight and impossibly hot and absolutely perfect.
She took me fully, her body accommodating my length until I was seated completely inside her, and we both paused to adjust to the overwhelming sensation.
“Okay?” I asked through gritted teeth, fighting every instinct that screamed at me to thrust, to move, to take control. My hands flexed on her hips, wanting to guide her pace but forcing myself to stay still.
“Perfect.” She rolled her hips experimentally, and I felt the movement through my entire body, pleasure radiating out from where we were joined. “You feel perfect inside me. Like you were made to fit there.”
She started moving then, finding her own rhythm. Slow at first, rising up until just the tip of my cock remained inside her, then sinking back down with deliberate precision. I kept my hands on her hips, offering support and stability but letting her control the pace, the depth, the angle.