16. Chapter Sixteen
I carry her straight down the hallway to my bedroom, one arm locked under her thighs and the other banded across her back so she stays pressed tight against my chest.
Elodie clings to me like I am the only solid thing left in the world, face buried in my neck, little breaths brushing my skin with every step. Her scent is everywhere, bright peach and sweet strawberry and that sharp lemon zest that makes my alpha instincts roar.
I shoulder the door open without setting her down.
The room is dim already, but I keep her held close while I reach out with one hand and yank the blinds shut.
The late afternoon light disappears behind heavy fabric, leaving only the muted glow of the bedside lamp.
I turn the dial on the wall twice until the overhead lights drop to their lowest setting.
Shadows settle around us. The space feels smaller, safer, more like a nest. Exactly what her omega senses need right now.
A quiet knock sounds on the door.
I turn us both toward it without letting her go. Alex stands in the doorway with a stack of pillowcases in his hands. He holds them out, voice low and hesitant.
“These are from our beds,” he says. “Adrian’s, mine, Chase’s. Figured she might want them.”
Elodie makes an eager sound and reaches for them immediately.
I shift my grip so she can take the pile while staying in my arms. She buries her face in the first one, inhaling deeply, then moves to the next, and the next.
Each one pulls a contented sigh from her throat.
Her whole body relaxes against me, the tension bleeding out of her muscles as she scents them one by one like precious treasures.
Alex watches for only a second, then steps back. “I will leave you two.”
The moment the door clicks shut behind him, Elodie lets out a heartbroken little whine, head turning toward the closed door like she can’t understand why he left.
“Hey, sweet girl,” I murmur, pressing my lips to her temple. “He’s not rejecting you. You only consented to me, remember? He’s just listening to what you asked for. He’ll be right outside if you need him. All of them will.”
She turns those big blue eyes back to me, still hazy but coming through.
I carry her the last few steps to the bed and sit down with her in my lap, keeping her close while the pillowcases stay gripped tightly in her arms.
Her scent is already thicker in the air. My heart is hammering so hard I can feel it in my throat.
This is really happening.
And I am going to take care of her the way she deserves.
Elodie shifts in my lap, her thighs straddling my hips, her weight hot and perfect against me. The pillowcases from the other guys are scattered around us like a makeshift nest, and her little sighs as she keeps inhaling them make my chest feel too tight.
She lifts her head from my neck and looks at me. Those usually inquisitive blue eyes are hazy with need but also strangely trusting.
My heart stutters.
This is our first real moment alone, the first time she is choosing me with even a fraction of clarity. I don’t want to rush it. I want her to feel precious and cherished.
I slide one hand up to cup her cheek, thumb brushing gently over her freckled skin. “Hey,” I whisper, voice low. “I’ve got you, Elodie. Just us right now. Just this.”
Then I lean in and kiss her the way I have wanted to since the first time I bumped into her outside the dining hall.
Slow and sweet and deliberate.
Our lips meet like a question and an answer at the same time. She tastes like strawberries and sunlight and something uniquely her. I take my time, savoring the plush give of her mouth, the tiny hitch in her breath when I tilt my head just a little.
One of her hands curls into the front of my shirt, holding on like she’s afraid I might disappear. I smile against her lips, letting her feel it, letting her know how much I love that she’s here with me.
For a few perfect heartbeats it stays tender, almost reverent. I kiss the corner of her mouth, then the other, then back to center, pouring every ounce of wonder I feel into her. She is so small in my arms, so warm, so trusting. My omega. Mine to take care of right now.
Then something snaps in both of us at the exact same second.
The kiss turns feral.
A low growl rips from my throat as her fingers tighten in my hair and yank me closer. Her mouth opens under mine, tongue sliding against mine with sudden hunger, and I answer with every bit of pent-up need I’ve been holding back.
My hands slide down to grip her hips, pulling her tighter against me as I devour her. She moans into the kiss, the sound vibrating straight down my spine, and I swallow it, greedy for every little noise she makes.
We’re no longer teasing or testing. We’re desperate.
Teeth and tongues and hot breath. Her nails scrape my scalp and I groan so loud it echoes against the walls.
My hips rock up against her on instinct, pressing the hard line of my cock against the heat between her thighs, and she whimpers, grinding down to meet me.
The romantic first kiss is gone.
What’s left is raw, wild, and so fucking perfect I can barely think straight.
I am never letting her go.
I flip us in one smooth motion, rolling her beneath me on the bed so her back meets the mattress and I’m braced above her.
The pillowcases from the guys scatter around us, but all I can focus on is the way her strawberry blonde hair fans across my dark sheets and the desperate little sound she makes when my weight settles between her thighs.
We’re not just kissing anymore. We’re devouring each other.
My mouth crashes back down on hers, hungry and wild, and she meets me with equal fire. Her hands are everywhere, sliding under my shirt, nails scraping up my back, tugging at the fabric like she can’t get close enough fast enough.
I groan into her mouth, the sound raw and broken, and let my own hands roam. I map the curve of her waist, the flare of her hips, the soft give of her thighs as they part wider for me.
I hook my fingers under the thin strap of her tank top and tug it down along with the cup of her bra. One perfect breast spills free, pale and freckled and tipped with a tight pink nipple already begging for attention. I break the kiss just long enough to look at her, chest heaving.
“Fuck, Elodie,” I breathe. “Look at you.”
I cup her breast in my palm and roll the stiff peak between my thumb and finger.
She hisses in pleasure, back arching clean off the bed, pushing harder into my touch.
The sound goes straight to my cock. I lean down and drag my tongue over the sensitive bud before pulling it into my mouth, sucking gently, then harder when her fingers twist in my hair and she moans my name like a prayer.
She grapples at my shirt again, yanking at the hem, trying to get it off me. I catch her wrists gently and pin them above her head with one hand, not tight, just enough to still her.
“Shh, sweetheart,” I murmur against her breast, voice rough. “Today is only about you. Let me take care of you. Just relax and feel good. That’s all I want.”
Her eyes flutter open, hazy and dark with need, and she nods once, lips parted on a shaky breath.
I release her wrists and kiss my way down her body, tasting every inch of skin I can reach.
When I reach the hem of her skirt I push it up to her waist, baring the soaked scrap of her panties.
The sight of the dark wet patch makes my mouth water.
I press my face between her thighs and breathe her in through the fabric, deep and greedy.
“God, you smell amazing,” I groan, the words muffled against her. “Even through these blockers. So fucking sweet.”
I hook my fingers in the waistband and drag the panties down her legs, tossing them aside.
The full, unhindered scent of her slick hits me like a wave.
I growl low in my throat, the sound vibrating against her core, and then I am on her, tongue sliding through slick heat, circling her clit, devouring her like she is the only thing I have ever wanted.
Her hips buck against my mouth and her hands fly back into my hair, holding me right where she needs me. I slide two fingers inside her, curling them just right, and feel her start to tremble.
I am so close to the edge myself I can barely think. But I shouldn’t knot her. Just this, just her pleasure.
I suck her clit between my lips at the same moment I crook my fingers again, and she comes with a broken cry, thighs clamping around my head, flooding my mouth and chin as she squirts hard all over me.
At the exact same second the overwhelming rush of her release and the sound of her moaning my name sends me over the edge too. I come in my jeans like a teenager, hips jerking against the mattress, a hot rush soaking the fabric while I keep licking her through every pulsing wave.
When she finally slumps back, boneless and panting, the heat spike breaks. I feel it in the air, the frantic edge of her scent dimming, her body relaxing completely beneath me.
I lift my head, lips and chin shiny with her, and look up at her flushed face. Her eyes are clearer now, the wild haze fading as lucidity starts to return. She blinks down at me, cheeks turning a deeper shade of pink as reality sinks in.
And just like that, my sweet, shy Elodie is back.
The most beautiful thing I have ever seen.
Reality crashes back into her all at once.
Her cheeks flood with color so fast it reaches her ears. She makes a tiny, mortified sound and tries to close her legs, but I’m still nestled between them. She stares at me like she can’t believe what just happened. Like she can’t believe she just did that.
“Oh my god,” she whispers, voice small and shaky. “Jamie, I—I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to— I mean, I—”