“Please,” I begged, past coherent thought. “Please, Lucian, I need you inside me—”
He moved between my legs, positioning himself, and one hand came up to cup my face. His thumb stroked across my cheekbone, grounding me for just a moment. “I've got you,” he said. “Just breathe.”
Then he was pushing inside, slow and careful despite my desperate need, and the relief was immediate and overwhelming. My body accepted him eagerly, the emptiness finally filled, and I cried out at the sensation. He paused when he was fully seated, giving me time to adjust, his forehead pressing against mine.
“More,” I gasped. “Please, I need more—”
Lucian's mouth found my neck, lips pressing against the sensitive skin just below my ear. His hips moved, slowly at first, then faster as my body responded. Each thrust sent waves of pleasure through me, pushing back the pain, replacing the desperate ache with something that felt like salvation.
My hands found his shoulders, nails digging into his skin as I held on. He was murmuring words of praise and encouragement against my neck, but I couldn't focus on the words. Just the sensation of him moving inside me, his body against mine, the pain finally, finally subsiding.
“That's it,” he said, his voice rough. “Let go, Jasmine. I've got you.”
My body obeyed without conscious decision, the wave cresting and breaking as he thrust deeper and deeper. Pleasure crashed through me, intense enough to make my toes curl, letting go of the screams of ecstasy inside, and I felt him follow me over the edge, groaning as his own release was triggered by mine.
For a moment, everything went quiet. The pain receded to a manageable throb, the desperate need satisfied enough that I could breathe without gasping. Lucian stayed inside me, his knot keeping me joined to him, his weight comfortable and grounding, and I let myself sink into the temporary relief.
Chapter Twenty-eight
Jasmine
The relief lasted maybe ten minutes. I lay beneath Lucian, his weight still pinning me to the mattress, and felt my body already melting again. The respite had been real but temporary, my biology demanding more than one Alpha could provide. Another wave was building, slower this time but just as inevitable, and I whimpered against Lucian's shoulder as the cramping started again. Lucian pulled back, kissing me on my forehead and wrapping me in his strong, muscular arms.
My abdomen cramped, the sensation twisting through me, and I doubled over as Lucian carefully withdrew. The emptiness felt wrong immediately, so wrong that I gasped at the loss.
The door opened, and Theo's leather scent hit me before I saw him. Fierce and protective, exactly what my body needed. I looked up and saw him frozen in the doorway, taking in the scene—me naked and desperate on the bed, Lucian beside me, Kade heading into the bathroom to shower.
“Theo,” I gasped, and the word came out as a plea.
Another wave crashed through me, stronger than before, and I couldn't stay on the bed. My body demanded movement, demanded I go to him. I slid off the mattress, my legs barelysupporting me, and dropped to my hands and knees on the floor. The hardwood was cool against my overheated skin as I crawled toward him, desperation overriding any sense of dignity.
“Please,” I begged, reaching for him when I got close enough. My hands found his pants, fingers fumbling with the button. “Please, Theo, I need your knot. I need you inside me now!”
Theo's face flushed dark, and I watched his throat work as he swallowed hard. His dark eyes were blown wide with arousal, his body responding even as concern creased his features. “Jasmine—”
“Now!” The word came out as a demand, desperate and commanding, and I saw the moment his control snapped.
“Are you sure?” he asked, even as his hands moved to help me with his pants.
“Now,” I repeated, pulling at the fabric with frantic hands. “I need you now, Theo, please—”
He stripped with quick, efficient movements, his clothes hitting the floor. Then he was kneeling with me, his large hands gentle as they lifted me. “Bed,” he said, his voice rough. “Not the floor, honey.”
He carried me the short distance, laying me down with a care that made my chest tight even through the desperate need. Then he was covering me, his considerable weight pressing me into the mattress, and I moaned at the contact.
He leaned in, close enough for his breath to brush my cheek, and everything between us stilled. For a heartbeat, there was only that closeness—the promise, the calm, the pull that had always been there.
When he whispered my name, I let go of the last of my restraint.
“Please,” I whispered, wrapping my legs around his waist. “Fill me, Theo, I need—”
He pushed inside with one steady thrust, and the relief was immediate and overwhelming. He was bigger than Lucian, stretching me more, and the sensation made me cry out. My body accepted him eagerly, craving the fullness.
“That's it,” he murmured against my neck, his breath hot on my skin. “I've got you, honey. I've got you.”
His hips moved, powerful thrusts that drove deep. Each movement sent pleasure radiating through me, pushing back the pain, satisfying the desperate biological need. My nails raked down his back, leaving marks I'd feel guilty about later, but at the moment, I just needed to hold on to something real.
Theo's mouth found the sensitive spot below my ear, and I gasped at the contact. His teeth scraped lightly across my skin, and my body responded with a surge of heat that had nothing to do with pain. Yes, my biology screamed. Mark me. Claim me. Make me yours.
