Chapter 36 #2
“About time.” Johanna’s eyes are wide and dark as she licks her lips and glares at Dan and me. One hand wraps around Nathan’s cock, the other his heavy knot, as she turns back to Nathan. In husky tones, she asks, “What’s my name?”
“Mate. Joha …” Nathan’s mouth is open wide, tongue running restlessly over his teeth. He lurches upward toward her.
“Don’t bite Johanna!” I bark, even as Dan pushes past me.
“No bite Johanna.” Nathan’s voice is as husky as hers, but with a possessive note; as his gazes meets, his lips pull back in a snarl. “Mine.”
My alpha wants to growl the same right back at him. Mine first! I clench my hands, nails digging into my palms, as I resist. One alpha in rut is already too many. There’s not much need for ruts these days—except maybe for a packless alpha mated to an omega needing to keep up through a heat.
Dan sits on the edge of the bed, wrapping an arm around Nathan’s shoulders and holding him. Nathan doesn’t resist, though he doesn’t settle against Dan either, and his eyes remain fixed on me.
Again, I’m left to follow Dan’s lead, picking up pieces and figuring out what to do in support.
Dan murmurs softly to Nathan, the rumble of his purr making his words harder to hear at a distance.
His hands run over Nathan, gently checking his eyes, skin, muscle tone, or whatever else indicates how far along Nathan might be in rut.
Johanna takes advantage of Nathan’s focus on me to sit up. Her shoulder heave, though her hands still hold Nathan’s mostly erect cock. The head is a deep purple slowly lightening toward russet brown.
I head for the bathroom. When I return with a glass of water, the scene has only shifted slightly.
Nathan has moved to the center of the bed, leaning against pillows.
A damp outline on the counterpane beside him indicates his previous position.
Dan sits next to him, still holding Nathan—restraining him, in fact, for Nathan’s gaze has shifted back to Johanna.
He’s panting and licking his lips, and his cock has returned to full erection, with drops of pre-cum shining at the top.
Johanna’s standing at the foot of the bed. Hissing, she rubs the back of her calves and thighs. “I’m too old to present for very long anymore—so don’t get any bright ideas about an orgy with me like that anytime soon.”
Her lips are dry, voice still husky. When she sees the glass in my hand, she brightens, then grabs and drains it in one go.
I keep them coming; three refills for her, followed by two for Nathan.
By this point, Dan has rolled up his sleeves, bracing Nathan’s shoulders with his forearms. Dan’s midnight-forest perfume strengthens, despite the heavy layer of Nathan’s snuffed candle.
Dan’s knuckles turn white where he holds Nathan back.
More cum glistens on the tip of Nathan’s cock, a thin strand dripping down the side, and he’s mumbling “mate” and “mine” over and over.
Johanna strokes Nathan’s leg, but that only makes him shiver all over, eyes gleaming, and tongue running over his teeth.
“We’ve got a couple of options.” Dan catches my eye, then turns very deliberately to Johanna.
“We can tie him up and wait it out. Or keep him restrained and call the Alpha Center for help, though they may push the call over to the nearest hospital. Getting the Center or the hospital involved will put this on Nathan’s permanent medical record and likely trigger at least a cursory investigation, in addition to required medical clearances that could impact his legal standing.
” The tight set to Dan’s jaw suggests he’s had to deal with bureaucracy and clearances too often.
“Got it.”
No reaction from Nathan to these possibilities. He continues staring at Johanna and licking his teeth.
“Alternatively, some doctors make private house calls in cases like this”—Dan grimaces—“but they’re not cheap and might be hard to get hold of on a Friday afternoon.”
“How long will it take to wear off?” Johanna asks.
“Any of those will take hours, unless we get lucky with the first doctor we try, and the doctor can prescribe something your local pharmacy has in stock.” Dan shrugs.
“Most pharmacies carry some, other than the over-the-counter stuff, which is mostly junk. I keep supplemental pills with me at all times, but I’m not comfortable giving them to Nathan without knowing anything of his medical history. ”
“What else?” I ask, staring at him and willing him to continue, because the way he’s framing this suggests he’s got something in mind.
“I think he’s still in a shallow enough rut that we might be able to break him out with the right stimulus.” Dan rubs Nathan’s shoulder, and the prone man shivers.
Or his alpha does. I need to remember Nathan’s not in control. He’s at the mercy of his instinctive self—who’s currently focused on confirming connection with his perceived mate and protecting her against any and all threats.
Just as well Nathan’s alpha seems to consider me a danger, but not Dan.
The scent of Nathan’s arousal increases. He shifts his hips restlessly, hands fisting and opening as Dan holds him back. Johanna, still at the foot of the bed and as fidgety as Nathan, is the focus of his stare.
“Who is she?” Dan whispers to Nathan, not a bark, but carrying an edge of command.
Nathan manages barely half of Johanna’s name in response.
“All right. I’ll bite.” My gaze flickers back and forth between the three. “What’s the stimulus needed?”
“The smell of Johanna coming.”
Johanna jerks, elbows pinning tight against her sides as her mouth forms a round O. She’s still shirtless, so it’s clearly visible when she pales, then flushes from cheeks to breasts.
I only nod; it makes a twisted—yet right—kind of sense.
“People’s scents change at the moment of orgasm.
” I move closer to her, despite Nathan’s gaze tracking me, the flash of his teeth and low snarl.
“Not every alpha can smell it, but enough of us can. There’s a note—a particular inexpressible sweetness in that brief second—that’s unmistakable. Addictive.”
I stop there, for fear it’ll sound like I’m trying to convince her if I go on, even though I’m not sure which is the best way option. Instead, I say, “It’s your choice, whichever option we take. I’ll support you.”
“All right, I’ll do it.” She straightens and lifts her chin as she nods at Dan. “You’ll need to knot me—that’ll be the fastest way to get me over. Shouldn’t be too tricky. I’m no omega, but after all that’s happened, I should be slick enough.”
Even as she talks, she shimmies out of her pants and panties, then kicks them to the side.
Her scent was muted before in contrast to Nathan’s.
Now, sweet cranberry mixes with snuffed candle atop layers of forest and my own apples and cedar, all interwoven with alpha musk and arousal.
The combination makes for an impossibly sweet, tangy confection—if blood hadn’t already been filling my cock, it would’ve grown hard in that second.
“Ah—it would be better if we can make him come again, close to when you are, too,” Dan says.
“Right.” Johanna draws a deep breath. Moving back to the foot of the bed, she leans forward, toward Nathan’s groin, then shakes her head. “Push him down this way so I can reach his cock without getting on the bed. My knees aren’t what they used to be.”
Shifting Nathan forward while keeping him from lurching at Johanna isn’t easy.
He’s gone pretty much non-verbal apart from occasional mumbled words that could be mine or mate.
Dan restrains his arms and shoulders while I ease Johanna out of the way and pull on his legs.
Not having indulged in orgies since my youth, I’d forgotten how having more bodies in a room seems to require exponentially more coordination.
“I couldn’t take a knot when I knew you before,” Johanna remarks with a teasing glance at Dan as she returns to the foot of the bed and runs her hands over Nathan’s dripping cock. “Let’s see what you’ve got now.”
“I’ve never—this would be my first.” Dan turns bright red, competing notes of spice and decay fleetingly manifesting in his scent. His arousal tents his pants, but his smell makes his uncertainty clear. “I don’t want it like this. Corin?” His voice rises several notes on my name.
“Then we’ll save that for later, so it can be special.” Johanna blushes almost as much as him when their gazes meet.
They’re beautiful as their bodies yearn toward each other. Nathan evidently agrees with me on that. He doesn’t growl or scowl as he does with me.
“Corin?” Johanna’s soft invocation breaks the momentary spell.
I swallow, pushing away flickers of guilt at gaining the opportunity to knot Johanna a second time before either of the others gets a first. Nathan’s alpha growls, but it turns to a moan as she strokes his cock and bends over to lick the tip.
I move behind her, undoing my pants, and my cock springs out.
No purpose racing to fill her when knotting isn’t the end goal: her pleasure—and the smell of her pleasure—is.
Indulging in the feel of her soft, silky skin, I run my hands along her neck, dip around the sides to cup her breasts, and fondle her nipples into tight points.
She squirms and, despite having a mouth full of cock, makes the most delightful squeals and moans.
Aligning our bodies, I press my cock in slowly. Her tight, wet heat envelops me, making me hiss and grit my teeth against the urge to thrust and claim and bite. We’re doing this to break Nathan’s rut; I cannot slip into rut myself. I stop with the tip of my just-swelling knot against her entrance.
She’s bent over Nathan’s cock, her sucking and licking interrupted by panting and high whines. She pushes her bottom back against me, begging wordlessly for me to fuck her or for my knot.
I remember enough of our previous time making love to keep from hard thrusting.
Instead, I sneak a hand between her mound and the bed.
Slip a finger between her soaking folds to fondle her clit the way she showed me the other night: soft but firm circular clockwise strokes.
Counterclockwise makes her wrinkle her nose and wiggle restlessly.
The measure of my success? She starts having trouble focusing on Nathan’s cock.
Nathan’s moaning, back arching. Dan holds him, though his gaze is fixed on Johanna.
“Please, please al—” Johanna stops sucking long enough to manage a muffled plea, cutting off before she says alpha.
Even that little bit pushes Nathan over the edge. He shouts and cum fills Johanna’s mouth as she licks and sucks, excess dribbling down the sides.
Hands tight on her hips, I press my swelling knot inside. A long, birdlike cry escapes her as she leaves Nathan’s still twitching cock, arching back.
Her muscles clench about me. Her perfume changes for a moment, carrying that sweet whiff of her orgasm. I grit my teeth and hold back my peak so Nathan can scent her fully before I break and fill her with my cum.
Nathan’s eyes go almost all pupil for a long moment. Breaking from Dan’s hold, he jackknifes up, mouth open and teeth bright as he instinctively aims for Johanna’s shoulder.
But Dan’s also in motion.
Nathan’s teeth bite deep—not into Johanna, but Dan’s arm.