Chapter 18
Kimmie
The velvet robe is suddenly too hot, but I resist the urge to shrug it off. The last thing I need is to be naked and vulnerable in front of this alpha.
My body is already screaming at me to close the distance between us, to press against him and breathe in his scent.
It hasn’t been an hour since my last orgasm, but it feels like forever.
I thought my heat was subsiding, but my newly awakened omega instincts are clamoring to complete the pack, to claim Gabriel as thoroughly as I claimed the others.
But I can’t. Not until I know where we stand.
The silence stretches between us, taut as a pulled rubber band. Finally, Gabriel speaks. “How are you feeling?”
Horny.
Heat prickles along the back of my neck, and I can’t quite meet his eyes. “Honestly? I’m not sure. I’ve been a beta my whole life, and now…” My voice trails off. Too much has changed for words.
“When I couldn’t reach you today—” His voice is rough with some emotion I can’t identify. “Do you have any idea what it did to me, knowing you needed help, and I wasn’t here?”
“I tried calling.”
“And I was too busy being a corporate alpha to answer. My pack brothers were here for you when I should have been.”
I shrug. “They were here because I needed them.”
“They were here because I failed you.” His hands clench at his sides. “But that doesn’t change the reality that they touched what I hoped would be mine, too.”
“I’m not a possession, Gabriel.” But god, the way he’s looking at me makes my omega hindbrain want to bare my throat. “Your pack brothers understand that.”
“You think I don’t?” He takes a step closer, his scent taunting me. “You think this is about owning you?”
“Isn’t it? You tried to steal my restaurant. Ambushed me with the whole pack at dinner.”
“Because I was being exactly what you think I am—a heartless corporate raider who only sees assets and acquisitions.” His voice drops lower, making my skin prickle. “My brothers made me see what I was about to destroy.”
My heart thunders in my chest. “What do you mean?”
“You. Everything you are.” He moves closer, and I can’t make myself step back.
“I didn’t get it at first. I was too focused on plans and profits.
But my pack…they saw you. The real you. They saw how your passion for your restaurant comes from love, not just business.
How you make everyone around you want to be better. ”
I swallow hard. “And now?”
“Now I see you, too, Kimmie. You stood up to four alphas without flinching. I know why this place is so important to you. It’s because you put your whole heart into everything you do. I want that kind of passion in my life. I want the woman who makes my pack better just by being herself.”
“Gabriel…” My voice shakes.
“I know I’ve handled everything wrong.” He’s close enough now I can feel the heat radiating off him.
“The restaurant is yours. Always will be, no matter what. I have new plans that preserve it completely, but right now I don’t give a damn about buildings or business.
I just want a chance to prove I can be worthy of you. ”
“And if I say no?”
“Then I’ll respect that, and the restaurant will still be yours. But I’ll spend the rest of my life knowing I lost something precious through my own blindness.” His hand comes up to cup my cheek. “Let me prove it, Kimmie. Let me show you I can be the alpha you deserve.”
He’s so close now, his scent making every cell in my body scream to close that last inch. To taste him, claim him, finish what I started with his pack.
“Please,” he whispers, and that one word—raw and honest from this powerful alpha—breaks my resolve.
I reach for him, and his control shatters.
He makes a low noise in his throat and wraps his arms around me, pulling me against his chest as he deepens the kiss.
His tongue sweeps into my mouth, claiming me with a single stroke.
I moan and press closer, my hands tangling in his hair.
Gabriel growls and lifts me, turning to pin me against the wall.
I wrap one leg around his waist, grinding against the hard length of his cock.
He groans and breaks the kiss, panting against my neck.
“You smell so fucking good,” he mutters. “I don’t know how I stopped when I kissed you before.”
“Don’t stop now,” I whisper. “Please, Gabriel. I need you.”
With a groan, he kisses me again, his mouth hot and demanding. I manage to get his shirt undone and slide my hands inside, running them over the sculpted muscles of his chest. He’s so warm, so strong, and I want him every bit as much as I wanted the rest of the pack before.
“Fuck,” Gabriel growls, breaking the kiss to nip at my neck.
“You’re driving me crazy.” His hand slides up my thigh, pushing the velvet aside until he finds my pussy.
He strokes me once, twice, then slides a finger inside me.
I gasp and arch against him, my nails digging into his back.
“You’re so wet,” he says. He adds another finger, thrusting deep.
His thumb finds my clit and rubs in slow circles, sending sparks of pleasure shooting through me. I can feel the pressure building, the tension coiling tight inside me.
“Come for me,” Gabriel murmurs, his teeth grazing my earlobe.
“I want to feel you come on my fingers, Kimmie. Come for me.” He crooks his fingers, finding the spot inside me that makes my vision spark white behind my eyelids.
I cry out, bucking against him as I come apart until I’m breathless and trembling in his arms.
When it finally subsides, Gabriel withdraws his hand and lifts me, carrying me to the bedroom.
He lays me down gently on the bed and strips off his clothes before joining me.
His cock is thick and heavy, jutting up towards his stomach.
I reach for him, wrapping my fingers around his shaft. Gabriel hisses and bucks into my touch.
“Fuck,” he mutters. “That feels so good.” He leans down to kiss me, his tongue sliding into my mouth to tangle with mine. I stroke him slowly, enjoying the feel of his smooth skin beneath my fingers.
He kisses me again, his hands roaming over my body. He cups my breasts, teasing my nipples until they’re hard and aching. Then he slides down my body, his mouth following the path his hands have taken. He licks and sucks at my nipples, scraping his teeth over the sensitive buds.
“Need…please…” I gasp, arching into his mouth.
He lifts his head to look at me, his eyes hot with hunger. “Tell me what you want,” he says, voice rough. “Tell me what you need.”
“You,” I pant. “I need you inside me. Please, Gabriel. Fuck me.”
With a growl, he pushes my thighs apart and settles between them. He guides the head of his cock to my entrance, rubbing it against my slick flesh. I moan and try to push up, to take him deeper, but he holds back, teasing me until I’m begging for it.
“Please,” I sob, “please, please, please…”
With a low groan, he thrusts forward, burying himself to the hilt in one long stroke.
My breath leaves me in a rush as he fills me. He gives me a moment to adjust, then moves, his hips rolling in a steady rhythm. I wrap my legs around his waist, pulling him deeper with every thrust.
He feels incredible, his cock hitting all the right spots inside me.
I can feel another orgasm building, the pleasure coiling tighter and tighter with each stroke.
Gabriel’s pace quickens, his thrusts becoming more urgent.
He’s close too. I can tell by the way his muscles are tense and his breath is coming in harsh pants.
“Fill me up, Gabriel,” I whisper, digging my nails into his back. He growls and buries his face in my neck. His teeth graze my skin. I tilt my head to the side, baring my throat to him.
“Bite me,” I gasp. “Please, Gabriel. I took a pill. It’s safe.”
Even knowing it’s blocked, my body still braces. The second his teeth sink in, everything explodes—heat, pain, release. It’s like being cracked open from the inside out.
Gabriel growls and snaps his hips forward, driving into me hard and fast. His knot throbs, locking us together as his hot come jets into me. I can feel the pulse of his seed filling me, marking me as his. It’s too much, too intense…I hit another peak, my body shaking with the force of it.
When it’s over, we lie there, tangled together, our bodies still joined. Gabriel kisses me softly, his tongue tracing the bite mark on my neck.
“What the hell did you do?” a voice demands, and I look up to see Leo standing in the doorway, his eyes flashing with anger.
Gabriel looks at him over his shoulder, his expression calm now that he’s sated. “I claimed her,” he says simply.
Leo’s eyes narrow. I’ve known them for less than a week, but I know Leo and Elliot are the sensible ones.
Even so, I can see Leo’s fists clenched at his sides, his whole body rigid with fury.
“You had no right to bite her,” he says, his voice low and dangerous.
“She’s not ready for that. She’s barely through her first heat. ”
Gabriel sighs and rolls to his back, taking me with him so I’m on his chest.
I can feel him soften as his knot subsides and slips from my body . My pussy aches in protest, but I’m also relieved. I’m sore and exhausted, and I need a moment to catch my breath.
“She took a bite guard. It’s safe.” Gabriel strokes a hand down my back, his touch soothing. “She wanted this. It wasn’t a mating bite,” Gabriel says, his voice low and soothing. “It’s not real claim yet. Just a promise. We won’t claim her without her consent.”
Leo’s eyes meet mine, and I see the anger fade, replaced by something else. Something that makes my heart skip a beat. “Are you okay?” he asks, his voice gentling. “Did he hurt you?”
I shake my head. “No, of course not,” I say. “He would never hurt me. None of you would.”
Tanner and Elliot appear behind Leo in the doorway.
They’re all shirtless, wearing nothing but underwear, except Tanner, who’s still sporting one of my towels.
My mouth goes dry at the sight of them. Damn, they’re all so beautiful.
And they’re all mine. Tanner grins at the sight of Gabriel and I wrapped up together, but Elliot’s expression is more thoughtful.
“Is this what you want, Kimmie?” he asks, crossing his arms over his chest. “Do you want to be ours? To be part of this pack?”
I take a deep breath, trying to ignore the way my body is already responding to their presence.
But I have to take advantage of this moment of post-coital common sense in the middle of my heat.
“I think so,” I say slowly. “This is crazy, and it’s happening really fast. I don’t want to jump into anything, and I don’t want to get hurt. But yeah, I think I want this.”
Four faces relax in unison. Four pairs of eyes look at me with varying degrees of hope, hunger, and relief. “Okay,” Elliot says. “We can work with that.”
Tanner grins. “Good enough for me.”
Leo nods. “I’m in.”
Gabriel squeezes my hip. “Whatever you need, Kimmie. We’ll make it work.”
I smile. The warmth I’m feeling now has nothing to do with sex or pheromones. These four men are willing to do whatever it takes to make me happy. To make me theirs.
And that’s worth everything.