“The traffic light system,” I hurry to interject, since stopping is the last thing on my mind right now. It’s important, and I appreciate the safety net, but I really don’t plan on using it.
Otley must be able to read my mind, because he cocks a brow in my direction. “You'll use it, and so will we, if any of us think it’s needed. We don’t mess around with consent, especially during a heat.”
“Ooh,” Tristan hums, his lips tickling the shell of my ear as he crawls up next to me. “Bossy alpha mode is now fully engaged.”
I glance at Logan, but he only looks faintly amused by Otley's domineering stance. I guess that's one of the reasons I love him so much - my mate knows when to fight and when to follow orders that work in our favor.
But even though it makes sense that Otley spells out the rules, this ismyheat, and my body doesn’t want anyone to forget it. When he starts running through the logistics of the next few days - break structure, meal times, security requirements,blah, blah, blah- I cut him off with a frustrated moan. “I trust you, Otley. And while your attention to detail is pretty damn hot, right now I need those rut instincts to kick in.”
I’m pretty sure I’ve never seen him struck dumb until this very moment. To emphasize my point, I crawl off the bed and wrap my arms around him. “I need you, Alpha. So can we please get this show on the road?”
Despite the teasing note in my voice, Otley’s nostrils flare, and I watch him take a steadying breath. “Where do you want me, Omega?”
So many delicious possibilities flit through my mind, but I settle for the buttons on his shirt. The soft fabric slips through my fingers as I peel it off, his gaze never leaving mine as I bare his chest. He’s not as built as Logan or Ellis, but there’s something about the tension in his lean muscles that goes straight to my head.
“Can I keep this?” I ask when I’ve stripped him out of his shirt. At his nod, I turn to the bed, my nesting instincts kicking in. The bedding is beautiful – all eggshell blue and pale bronze fabrics, with a mix of silk, linen, and velvet cushions – but it’s freshly laundered and doesn’t smell like us yet. I place Otley’s shirt in one corner of the nest, warming up the fabric with my hands until the pheromones have soaked into the bedding. But my smile wobbles a bit when I turn around and take in the other three naked chests.
“Here you go, sweetheart,” Ellis says, and I sigh with relief to find that he grabbed the rest of their clothes from the trailer. I hold his sweat-streaked shirt against my nose, making no effort to hide how much I need his scent.
It smells so good, I’m tempted to wear it myself, but Otley walks to the closet and brings me over a basket of rumpled clothes. A mixture of scents, colognes, and the fresh sweat of exercise make my nose twitch in anticipation. “I’ve been switching this out every couple of days,” he tells me, “just in case you went into heat a little early.”
“You really like to cover all the bases,” Logan muses, his eyebrows raised as he fishes one of his training tanks out of the basket. I get a whiff of the earthy, masculine scent that has beguiled me since I was a teenager, and snatch it from his hand, burying it under a hefty cushion. He grins at the look on my face, grabbing another wrinkled shirt from the pile and tossing it to me with a smirk.
“Say anything about feeding time at the zoo and I’ll put you at the end of the line,” I warn him, but he just steps forward and runs a soothing hand along my spine.
“Watching you nest is about the hottest thing I’ve ever seen,” he murmurs as I place another couple of shirts exactly where I want them. “When I knew you were alone in your trailer, I was always tempted to dump a pile of my clothes on your doorstep.”
My hands keep kneading and tucking the shirts, but I look at him curiously. “Why didn’t you?”
He shrugs, rubbing his jaw. “I guess I was worried I’d come back and find them floating in the lake.”
I laugh, but a big part of me mourns the lost opportunity. I’d probably have washed and folded them instead of weaving them into my nest, but at least I would’ve had Logan’s scent with me through my heat.
When I’m done with the last shirt, I sit back on my heels and study the finished effect. Pheromones surround me, more potent than a field of summer roses. To my omega’s eye, the guys’ clothes blend perfectly with the neat linens and expensive fabrics of the nest.
“Good girl,” Otley says when I catch his eye, and a shiver works its way from my core to the tips of my breasts. “Are you ready to invite us in?”
I nod, because now the nest smells like pack, I need them to mark me on the inside, like Logan promised. I can still feel hisrelease on my thighs, but I ache for the pressure of his knot, and I reach for him as he slides into the nest.
“I still can’t believe I’m here,” he mutters as he pulls me into his lap, my back to his thick chest. One hand goes to my breasts, while the other tickles over my belly. “Are you feeling good, LeeLee? Is this everything you want it to be?”
Everything and more, but the words slip away as he dips a finger between my thighs, gently probing my channel. The pleasure is enough to make me gasp, but it’s the way the other guys watch us that makes my thighs fall open, my shameless need on display.
Logan chuckles, and I expect him to roll me onto my back, to fill me with that dark pleasure he takes from being watched. I think he’s a bit of an exhibitionist in bed; or at the very least, he likes to show the other guys how desperately I crave him. But instead of thrusting inside me, he cups my thigh, running teasing strokes over the trembling skin. “I think it’s about time you gave Ellis more than a taste, don’t you, mate?”
He almost purrs the last word, and I feel the glow of our bond burn brighter in my chest. It’s still new enough that the novelty of our connection fascinates both of us, and I wind an arm around his neck as I look at Ellis. I feel like an offering, from one alpha to another, and something about that makes my limbs weak with need.
“Do you want me, Alpha?”
I’ve never been much of a seductress, but I feel almost irresistible as Ellis crawls towards me over the nest. His gaze doesn’t seem to be able to settle on any part of me, and I can see the pulse hammering in his throat. He licks his lips, a flush high on his cheeks as he reaches my feet. He doesn’t pull me towards him, just resting his hand on the arch of my ankle. “I looked for you for so long, Lily. I can’t believe we’re finally here, in your nest.”
A throb of heat burns through me, and I reach for him with shaking hands. “Claim me, Ellis, and you’ll never have to look again.”
He nods, his gaze resting on my scent gland before flicking to Logan. I’m still sprawled in his arms, and I expect Ellis to pull me away, but he crawls up between our legs, his hands resting lightly on my knees. “Thanks for taking care of her,” he tells Logan. “For being there when we weren’t.”
Logan nods, but I can feel the hitch in his chest as he says, “Lily mostly looked after herself. I wasn’t there as much as I should’ve been.”
A look passes between them – shared regrets, maybe – but I squirm impatiently. “We’re here now,” I remind them. “Are we going to make up for lost time, or not?”
