Chapter 18 – June
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
JUNE
“Theo!” I cackle, leaning back in the cafe chair as he walks over with another six cupcakes. The pink tray looks comically small in his huge hands as he balances it, switching it for the empty one on our little table.
“You said these flavors looked good too.”
I beam up at him, my heart warming as he carries the empty tray away. I found the random bakery one night while scrolling through social media, curled up with Theo’s head in my lap. Then I might have proceeded to show him twenty separate posts while he was captive, just to talk about their flavors and the decorations.
He came out of Arin’s office determined and angry this morning, his normally soothing scent tinged with bitterness. The call from his father had clearly upset him — but whatever Arin said must have only made it worse. I’m not sure what’s going on with our prime, the last few weeks have felt like he’s pulling the rope taut between himself and the rest of us, from eating dinner separately to spending all hours in his office.
I miss him, but he’ll talk when he’s ready, just like Theo will. Communication doesn’t work when it’s forced.
I was worried, initially, when Bennett, Seth, and I bonded. Tension is the last thing I want to cause, but now it feels unnatural that I ever existed without their bonds in my heart, thrumming softly even with them hours away in New York City today. They’ve also been very understanding that what Theo and I have is different from what the three of us have.
Each relationship looks different.
Bennett and I really enjoy torturing Seth through the bond. Seth is so in tune with me sometimes I think he can read my mind. But Theo is the one that I can whisper my worst thoughts to in the middle of the night and let them melt away the next morning.
Theo sits back down next to me, snagging a bite of the double chocolate cupcake in front of me with a plastic fork, holding it up to my mouth.
I smile over at him. His blond hair is slightly waved from the pool this morning and the black henley he has on is stretched across his wide shoulders. His blue eyes cut into me as he dips his chin down.
“Try it.”
“Theo, I’m so full .”
“Come on.” His lips twitch, a devilish smirk lifting them as his eyes dart down to my lips. “Be a good girl for me.”
Heat races up my spine. Spoiling me seems to make his mood brighten considerably — especially when taking care of me means being in control. As much as he wanted to fight it, it’s never been clearer that he’s happier when he’s able to dote on me and be a giant sap.
The omega in me is extremely smug that no one else has ever gotten this treatment.
Flushing, I shake my head. “ Y ou should have gotten those to go. This is too much sugar, Theo.”
He pouts, but glances back at the register. “Do I need to go get another box? I was going to get us another dozen to take home, plus whatever flavors were your favorites so you’d have snacks.”
I stare at him. “I am not eating a dozen cupcakes.”
His eyes narrow. “You won’t even take one bite for me before we go to the nest store?”
The lines have blurred, this trip has turned into one for him , not me.
Leaning forward, I glare back at him. “I already said I don’t need to go —” I nearly choke as his other hand rises, collaring the back of my throat. My words die as I stare up at him, mouth dropping open.
Theo stares down at me, eyes hooded. “Tongue out. Taste it, June.”
My breath catches as I open my mouth wider for him. He slips the fork into my mouth and my lips close around it. An unrestrained moan bubbles up as the chocolate melts on my tongue, the food version of Seth’s scent and taste.
“ God .” I cover my mouth as I chew, glancing down at the cupcake.
He smirks. “Just Theo is fine.”
I roll my eyes at him and then steal the fork, stabbing the cupcake to get another bite.
“Did you just roll your eyes at me?” Theo leans in, his voice lowering so the other tables can’t overhear. “Don’t be a brat, June. Let me spoil you like you deserve.”
Pausing with the fork on my tongue, I stare up at him before smiling slowly. Licking the prongs, I watch his nostrils flare, savoring the taste of chocolate before I tilt my head at him and whisper, “No.”
Theo’s eyes twinkle with danger. “No?”
“No, I’m not going to let you spoil me.”
He nods, then stands up. I nearly drop the fork as he bends over me, one hand on the table, trapping me in the chair. My heart flutters as his lips graze my earlobe. “I’m getting a box and we’re leaving.” His eyes darken, flickering over my face as they dip to my lips, but he doesn’t move.
“Are we going home?” I hate how breathy I sound, but I’d shove him to the floor of this bakery right now and fuck him in front of the pink glitter cupcakes if he’d let me.
Not a bad idea, either. I should make sure everyone else knows he’s mine .
Just as I tamp down that unhinged omega thought, he walks away without giving me an answer. I stare at him as he returns to the counter, pointing at various cupcakes behind the glass and ordering a box. My eyes catch on his back, my tongue rolling over my teeth as he takes up so much space . He’s an alpha in every sense of the word.
I love our quiet moments together, but the tension makes me goddamn feral.
Theo returns a moment later with two boxes of cupcakes and one empty container. He packs up the half dozen on the table, his tone casual. “We have a nesting store to get to.” Theo glances over at me, and the dark look in his eyes makes me grin, tossing my hair over my shoulder.
He’s just as affected as I am. We’re barely going to make it home. I’m so excited to fucking ruin him for anyone else.
There’s only one nesting store in Rochester and it’s significantly different from the two luxury ones that I’ve been in. I do like this one a lot, though my focus is totally shot.
“Add a spank every time you put something back.”
Theo walks behind me, his voice hot against my neck. My brain is fucking fried as I touch a candle, having to wait a second for it reset itself. Then I pick up the candle, hum, and put it back, repeating the motion four more times with the same exact scent, before I walk away.
I don’t know where the sudden confidence comes from — but I’ve been waiting for this since our little New York shopping trip. I have his attention all to myself and I’m damn well going to savor it.
His hand comes down on the side of my hip, one quick crack that makes me jump as I whirl on him, wide-eyed and blushing. Theo just tilts his head down at me, backing me up against one of the displays.
“You can either wait in the car while I check out, or you can behave. Which one?”
I choose neither.
Something in me flares. Maybe it’s my own desire to show him how bratty I can be — or it’s the omega in the back of my mind that craves every bit of attention I can get, but I dart under his arm and walk away.
At the back of the store are all the aisles and displays for heat items, ranging from crotchless underwear to anatomical toys in a range of sizes, lengths, and knot swells. I feel his eyes on me as I browse, humming until I stop short at a little box.
With a slow smile, I grab the clit suction toy. The information on the back is straightforward — all the hands-free orgasms I could ever want in one tiny little package.
Turning on a dime, I flounce back over to him at the counter and drop the box next to the other items I collected. “This too, please.” I give the beta behind the register a pleasant smile, then make the mistake of beaming up at Theo.
The look on his face nearly knocks me on my ass .
I’m so screwed .
Giddiness floods my veins as he stares down at me, eyes dark and lips parted as he looks from me to the toy. Fuck, I should have grabbed a paddle or flogger too.
The poor cashier clears her throat. “The card reader is ready whenever you — oh okay.” She squeaks the word as Theo taps his card, eyes on me.
He takes the bags and turns toward the door without a word. I slide my hand onto his elbow, holding onto him with a gleeful wiggle as we walk outside. Theo throws everything into the back of our SUV before he whirls us, pinning me with a hand on my hip to the side of the car before he kisses me roughly.
I moan as I push up against him, the grind of his body against mine making my hands drop to the hem of my sweater. I’m not totally bare under it — a bralette isn’t public indecency.
“You are so fucking bad ,” he hisses as he nips at my mouth. “What’d you get that for? Trying to replace me?” I groan when his hands push mine down, stopping me from rucking my sweater up. “Stop trying to undress yourself and get in the fucking car.”
Squeaking, I dissolve into giggles as he manhandles me into the passenger seat. Theo tugs the seatbelt down and buckles me in, raising an eyebrow as I squirm.
“You shouldn’t be getting princess treatment when you’re being such a brat, but I’m a sucker.”
Biting my lip, I grin up at him as my perfume blooms between us. With one hand on the top of the car, Theo leans in. His nose brushes mine as I murmur, “But you love me, and you know you get me all to yourself the rest of the day. Think about how good I’m going to look in your lap, riding your big, fat alpha c —”
He pulls away, giving me a scathing look. “ Behave , June.”
I huff as he shuts the door, getting into the driver’s side and pulling away from the store. With a whine, I fling myself back into the seat, staring out of the front window. “You could have fucked me in the backseat. No one would have known.”
“No,” he snaps, merging onto the highway. “You’ve never been quiet a day in your life, they would have heard you screaming across town. Keep popping off with that shit and you won’t be able to sit for a week.”
“I dare you.” I turn to give him a mocking glare, crossing my arms.
Theo’s eyes cut to me for the barest of moments, heating my blood as he mutters, “You’re being a brat , princess. Do you know what brats get?”
“Not fucked, apparently,” I scoff, staring back out the window. What’s the point of having an alpha wrapped around my finger if I can’t goad him into giving me what I want?
I’ve spent my entire damn life doing everything I’m supposed to — from the clothes I wore when I was a teenager, to the excelling grades and scholarships I won. I have tried and tried and tried to appease everyone else, to not stand out for the wrong reasons, not to be on anyone’s bad side — and I’m sick of it. I want to be bad. I’ve earned it.
His smile is dangerous as he takes a turn, and the car bumps as it eases up the driveway to the pack house. Warning bells echo in my mind as I glance at him, but then I smile as I reach for my seatbelt.
He glances at me as I touch the release, the car stopping in front of the house.
“We wouldn’t want the cupcakes to melt, so I’ll leave you to take care of those for me, alpha . Good thing I got that toy, since you’ll be too busy to help me!” Diving into the backseat, I find the right bag and wrap my fingers around the box before flinging myself out of the car. “See you later!”
“June!”
His snarl follows me as I take off with a cackle, scrambling through the front doors and into the foyer. Theo curses behind me as I make a beeline for the stairs, glancing to the side and stopping short when I see Arin in the hall to the kitchen.
Hesitating on the steps, I flash him a hesitant smile. “Don’t tell him you saw me?” Theo will know — regardless — but if Arin can delay him for even a few seconds, it would be nice.
Arin’s lips twitch just so before he nods.
Grinning, I turn and bolt . The sounds of Theo bursting into the foyer behind me makes me scramble up the stairs even faster, passing the floor with Bennett and Seth’s rooms and stopping on the one with mine and Theo’s. I go straight to his room, kicking off my boots, stumbling and tripping on his plush carpet as I run into his bathroom.
Everything is decorated simply in a dusty blue color palette, calming and peaceful. The entire space is coated in his rain perfume, and it feels like I’m wrapping myself in a warm blanket most days, but right now I just want to drive him as off the rails as I feel.
I rip into the box, pulling out the toy and plunging it into the sink to wash it, giggling as I try to tug my sweater off while I multi-task. Footsteps stomp up the stairs and I move faster, leaving my sweater on the bathroom floor as I race back into his room, throwing the toy onto the bed and reaching to get my jeans off.
The door behind me slams open before I can even touch the button.
“ Stop .”
My hands drop as I whirl. Theo fills the doorway, shoulders broad and heaving as he takes me in, eyes catching on my gray lace bralette. It’s comfortable, but so thin it does nothing to hide my nipples pebbling through it or support my heaving chest.
“Turn back around, omega. Bend the fuck over.”
Biting my tongue, I grin despite myself and do exactly what he says. With a wiggle, I stick my ass out, chest to his bed as his hands drop to grasp my hips.
“Is this what you wanted?” He bends, whispering as he massages my hips through fabric. “To drive me insane today? Every day? I see you and I can’t think straight. I want you, in so many different ways, it’s like my brain isn’t even my own. I could spend every waking hour with you and still crave you when I’m asleep.”
I suck in a little breath as one of his hands leaves me, only to crack across my hip with a slap. Moaning, my heart flutters as I reach back, grabbing his wrist as I whine and press against him. “ Theo, please .”
The new omega gynecologist I saw warned me that keeping the IUD in might lead to more and more heat spikes as my body tries to fight it and adjust to the supplemental hormones. I really should have believed her — I want him. I need him.
“Please what?” He nips at my ear, twisting his hand to free his wrist as he reaches around to unbutton my jeans. “ Theo please fuck me? Theo please spank me? Theo please make me come?” he taunts me as he drags my jeans down, leaving me in the gray underwear that match my bra.
As he drops to his knees behind me, I shiver, feeling his lips graze my calf. I’m going to die. This is what’s going to kill me . I want him so much I can’t think as he pulls my pants off and throws them to the side.
“You make me want to drive you insane.” He whispers the words as his hands slide over my bare skin, kissing up until his lips land on my lower back. “You make me want to edge you until you’re crying just so you can feel the fraction of frustration I do.”
“I love it.” I gasp as his hand slides into my hair. Our eyes connect when he pulls my head back, my lips popping open as I moan, “I know you’d never actually hurt me.”
His eyes soften, burning with unspoken desire as his fingers tighten in my hair. “We still need a safe word if I’m actually going to spank you, baby.”
“Cupcake.” My lips twitch as I wiggle my hips, pressing back against his jeans just to feel the length of him. “There, now you can fuck — me! ” My voice goes up a pitch when he spins me around, making me gasp as he deadlifts me with one hand, guiding my legs around his torso. With one hand on my ass and the other in my hair, he drags me into a soul-searing kiss, making my veins thrum as the scent of him sends my head spinning.
Theo drops us to the bed, crawling on top of me as my hands land on his chest, running down to grab the hem of his shirt. He stops me, pinning my hands to my sides as he kisses my jaw, groaning, “No, I’m in control here.”
“Are you?”
He smacks my bare hip and I shriek, it turning into a strangled moan as he grinds his jeans against my core, the friction making me shiver.
His low, dark laugh crawls over my skin as he kisses me again, fingers rubbing the raw skin he just slapped. There’s love in the motion as Theo lifts up and looks down at me, breathing harder. “Look at you.”
“I know.” I bite my lip as I smile up at him, spreading my thighs wider for him. My underwear is soaked. “And I’m all yours, alpha.”
He leans down, voice a near growl as he takes my lips again. “I don’t own you any other time, June.” Biting my lips, he just barely pulls back before breaking the skin, running his hands all over me as he grinds into me. “But when you’re in my bed, your body belongs to me, omega.”
As his teeth drag over my throat, he grabs me by the hips and flips me, pushing my head into the bedspread to make my back arch.
“When you get on your knees and present for me, you’re mine .” Theo’s hand cups me over my underwear, his breath catching. “And I’m going to fuck you and bite you to prove it.”
Sparks alight on my skin as I push back against him. Yes, God yes .
“But first —”
He pulls his hand away and grabs the toy near my head. With one flick, the motor hums, silicone nub suckling the air. Theo rips my panties to the side. “You need to be punished.”
He suctions the toy to my clit and I scream . Burying my face into his bed, my back bows as the sudden tugging pressure zaps every thought from my body. Everything was already heightened — on a hairpin trigger since my heat — but now I know it’s not me, or the biology, it’s them .
It’s Bennett. It’s Seth. It’s Arin. It’s Theo . I just want them. I want to be surrounded by them, touched by them, absolutely drowning in our love for each other until there’s nothing left of me.
I sob out a gasp as the toy does exactly what the box promised — sucking and never letting go. He can have his way with me because there’s something completely freeing to have my brain off and my body reduced to just feeling .
Theo spreads my legs wider, rubbing my ass cheeks. “Tell me, June. How many spanks did you earn today?”
I arch my back a little more, my head spinning. “I don’t know.”
Clicking his tongue, his hand smoothes over my skin before pulling back. He hits me across the hip and ass and I clench down on nothing as the toy thrums and thrums, suctioning until I feel my thighs shake.
“One.” He counts, rubbing the skin before alternating to the other side. “Two…” A moan leaves him as he stands behind me. “God you should see yourself. You’re fucking soaked . Let’s make it to five. Count with me, can you do that before you come?”
Three more . I nod, fisting the bedspread as he rubs my hip.
“Good girl.” His hand comes down again and I squeal.
Slick drips down my thighs as he rubs my heated skin. “Three!” I whine out the number as he rears back and repeats it on the other side, but between the teasing this morning and the toy, I can’t function. My knees wobble as I try to hold myself up, his hand sliding between my thighs and gliding through the mess there.
“Are you sure you haven’t already come? Do you like it when I punish you, princess? Are you just my little toy to tease and do whatever I want?”
Is this coming? My body feels electric as I push back into him on instinct. He flicks the button, turning the suction up to the next setting. Stars burst behind my eyes as I flutter around nothing. One hand cups me as his other raises.
“Last one. I think you are coming already. I think you can’t fucking stop yourself. You look so pretty too, your ass all red, your body begging for what you need — release. Take it from me.”
His thumb flicks the button one more time, cycling to the third and highest setting as his other hand comes down across my ass. My mouth opens, but no sound comes out as my back arches, my legs giving out as all my muscles clench, release dripping down the insides of my thighs.
But Theo is right there. His arms band around me, jerking the toy away and throwing it somewhere as he picks me up and readjusts us so I’m laying on top of him on the bed. My heart pounds in my ears as his hands soothe over my skin, pushing the bra and underwear away along with his clothes.
When my cheek finally touches his bare chest, I sink into him, body trembling.
“You did so well for me.” Sweet nothings pepper my consciousness between kisses as I splay out on top of him. It takes my brain a second to reboot as I unconsciously grind down against him.
Theo grunts as I cup his face, kissing him heatedly as I whine, “I love you. I love you so much. Bite me. I want you. I want this . I need you —”
He shushes me, pulling me closer as he kisses me, his voice just as raw. “I love you too.” One hand pulls my hair back, exposing the bite on my neck as his eyes find mine. “You’re sure? You want me like that?”
“Bond me, Theo.” I stare at him, my heart in my hands, ready to give it to him if he’ll accept it.
Theo flips up, putting me on my back with a gruff noise. His head drops to my throat, kissing over the existing mark with reverence before he moves lower, his voice growing strangled. “I’ve had so much time to think about where I’d do it.” Theo’s lips wrap around a nipple and as he sucks, I hook a leg around him, dragging his hips to mine.
“I don’t care where you do it, just bond me .”
One of his hands slides up, bracing the back of my neck, holding me still as he suckles on my chest. Then his fingers shift and tangle in my hair, fisting it and jerking my head in the same motion, making my back arch and baring my chest to him. He strikes without warning. His teeth bury into the side of my left breast the same moment he slams into me, knot and all.
It’s instantaneous.
One moment it’s just the faint awareness of Bennett and Seth at the edge of my consciousness, and in the next he’s there. Love, lust, uncertainty, yearning, acceptance, admiration, adoration, sheer want — every emotion hits me as I clench down on him, coming unexpectedly with a cry.
Tears streak down my cheeks as he pulls back, his tongue lavishing the mark on my breast, breathing hard as his voice wobbles.
“Let it out.” He sucks on my skin again, emotions wracking through me as his voice breaks. “Be a brat with me. Fight with me. Play with me. Because at the end of the night, when your ass is red from my palms, and your thighs are sticky with my release, you’re still mine. I will still love you, even at your worst, even at your nastiest, angriest, unyieldingly stubborn — I will love you.”
The bond snaps into place, like it was always meant to be a rope around my heart, ensnaring it, enrobing me with the feeling of love emanating from the man on top of me.
Bending down, I pull him by the hair away from the mark and kiss him hard enough that he groans. Theo’s hips pump, shallow thrusts as he twitches, and I don’t give him a second before I snag his lower lip in mine and bite it harshly, breaking the skin and making the bond sing between us.
He comes with a shout, bracing himself overtop of me as I breathe hard under him. I’m a total fucking wreck — but it doesn’t matter as we claw at each other, him locked inside me. I giggle, almost drunk on the feeling of his amusement rocketing through me. The connection is so strong I catch his lip again and run my tongue over it, getting a hit of his endless arousal.
Theo tangles a hand in my hair, his voice thick. “God, I love you.”
I lean up as much as I can, kissing him slower, softer as I roll against him, the knot tugging as we both moan. “And now you know just how much I love you.”
He grabs me by my reddened hips and grinds us together, pinning me down as we lose ourselves in each other.