41. Chapter Forty-One #2
Up front, Alex’s knuckles are white on the steering wheel.
His dark cedarwood and black pepper scent has thickened until it feels like smoke in the car, controlled fire barely leashed.
I catch his reflection in the rearview mirror for one brief second and see the strain there, the apex instincts roaring to pull over and claim, to fix, to protect.
Yet he keeps the car stable on the dark road, voice calm and composed when he speaks.
“Almost home. You’re doing so well, Elodie. Stay with them.”
Chase twists in the passenger seat, his pine forest and clean musk scent wrapping around me like a shield. He reaches back and rests one big hand on my knee, thumb stroking reassuringly. “We’re almost there. Just hold on a little longer.”
The drive stretches on forever. Every red light feels like an eternity. Every curve in the road sends fresh heat licking through my veins.
I alternate between Jamie and Adrian, kissing one then the other, hands roaming restlessly over chests and shoulders and thighs, desperate sounds falling from me that I can’t stop.
My scent is everywhere now, bright and demanding, and the car is filled with the low, strained growls of four alphas fighting every instinct they possess just to get me home safely.
Jamie’s fingers thread through my hair, grounding me.
Adrian’s lips brush my temple between kisses, whispering how perfect I am, how loved.
Chase keeps his steady hand on my knee, a silent promise.
And Alex drives like the fate of the world depends on it, jaw tight, eyes fixed on the road even as his own scent pulses with barely contained need.
Finally the car slows. Gravel crunches under the tires as we turn into the long driveway of the pack house. The familiar lights of home glow through the trees with welcome, and the relief that washes through the car is almost tangible.
We’re here.
The car barely stops before the pack is moving again. Jamie and Adrian lift me gently from the backseat, their arms secure around me as we cross the threshold into the house. My legs feel like jelly, the heat now a constant thrum beneath my skin, but they keep me upright and close.
Alex tries to guide us toward my nest first, voice low and soothing. “Let’s get you settled in there, sweetheart. It’ll be more comfortable.”
I shake my head, the motion sharp even through the haze. In one of the brief lucid moments still left to me I manage to speak. “Not the nest. One of your beds. Please. I need… one of you. Closer.”
Alex doesn’t hesitate. He changes direction without question, leading us straight to his bedroom at the end of the hall. Jamie and Chase linger just outside the door, their scents thick with worry and restraint, but they stay back for now. Only Adrian and Alex follow me inside.
The room smells like Alex, dark cedarwood and warm skin and that apex command that always makes me feel safe.
He closes the door softly behind us, then turns and lifts me onto the wide bed with effortless strength.
The black dress rides up my thighs as I sink into his dark sheets, the diamond butterfly necklace a solid hardness against my collarbone.
Adrian climbs up beside me, his hands gentle as he cups my face. “We have you,” he whispers, and then his mouth is on mine, deep and focused, tasting like rain and ink and devotion.
Alex settles between my legs, pushing the dress higher with reverent hands. He peels my panties down slowly, his breath hot against my inner thigh. “Let me take care of you, Elodie.” The words vibrate against my skin a second before his mouth is on me.
The first drag of his tongue pulls a broken moan from my throat that Adrian swallows with another kiss.
Alex doesn’t rush. He licks and sucks with devastating patience, learning exactly how I need it, his stubble scraping deliciously against sensitive skin while his big hands hold my hips still.
Every stroke sends sparks racing up my spine.
I arch into his mouth, fingers twisting in Adrian’s hair as our kiss turns messy and desperate, tongues sliding, breaths mingling.
The heat spikes higher, sharper. I am whimpering between them, lost to Alex’s mouth devouring me with perfect, relentless focus and Adrian’s lips claiming mine like he never wants to stop. Their scents wrap around me completely, until there is nothing else in the world.
Alex slides two thick fingers inside me and curls them just right. The pleasure crashes through me so suddenly and so hard that my entire body seizes. I cry out against Adrian’s mouth as the orgasm rips through the heat spike, shattering it completely.
Wave after wave rolls over me, bright and overwhelming, until the desperate fire finally eases into a warm, sated glow.
I come back to myself slowly, breathing hard, skin damp and trembling. Alex presses one last tender kiss to my thigh before rising up to kiss my lips, tasting like me and satisfaction. Adrian strokes my hair, murmuring praise against my temple.
The door opens. Jamie and Chase step inside, their relief visible in every line of their bodies.
Jamie crawls onto the bed immediately, curling around my side and pressing gentle kisses to my shoulder.
Chase takes the other side, his massive arm draping carefully over me like a protective shield, his pine scent grounding and safe.
I am surrounded now, held and cherished by all four of them. The heat is gone and my mind is clear again. For a long moment we simply breathe together, soft touches and intimate words filling the space between us.
But even in the afterglow I feel the question hovering unspoken in the room. I avoid it for now though, and let myself sink deeper into their arms, safe and loved.