Otley goes still, but Logan’s smirk just grows until I can see a whole bunch of his teeth gleaming in my direction. “Are you asking him for alove bite, LeeLee?”
I flush at his teasing, but what if I am? Otley said he wants to take care of me, and after the run-in with that asshole of a reporter, I could do with a nice distraction. “Sure. I like kisses.”
“Plural,” Logan smirks, leaning down to press his lips against mine. I moan softly as his tongue slides against my seam, but then he pulls back with a grunt. “Let’s get you cleaned up first, and then you can have all the kisses you want.”
“Cleaned up?” It takes my dazed senses a moment to realize he means the other alpha’s scent. A grim note has enteredLogan’s voice and Otley is staring at my arm like he wants to detach it from the rest of my body. “Hey, it’s not that bad, guys.”
Otley’s gaze is cold steel behind his glasses. “Restraining someone to the point of bruising is both careless and cruel.”
I agree, but as much as the reporter’s manhandling pissed me off, it doesn’t really hurt. I’m about to tell them that when Otley gently cradles my arm between his hands, and the words fade from my lips. I’m not sure what he’s planning to do about my perceived injury, but Logan passes him a damp washcloth and there’s not a sound in the room as he methodically dabs at the slightly bruised flesh. When he’s done, he turns my arm over and presses a soft kiss to my wrist. I know he can feel my pulse hammering under the skin, but he doesn’t say a word as he trails his lips up my forearm and presses a kiss to the bend of my elbow. When he’s done, he gently releases my arm and starts the process again on my other wrist.
I realize I’m still standing there fully clothed. My lips, at this point, are also untouched by Otley. Instead, he works around my shirt and jeans to press his mouth to every throbbing pulse point on my body. He even drops to his knees to remove my socks and sneakers. He’s a picture of intense focus as he kisses the ankle bones on the top of my feet, but when he tries to roll my jeans up, the tight fabric snags on my calves.
“Let me help you out,” Logan purrs, popping the button on my jeans and easing them down my thighs. Otley sits back on his heels and watches, the heat under my skin racing towards boiling point as he studies my exposed skin. He doesn’t touch me, even though I know they can both smell my arousal in the air. But I’m guessing Logan can also feel the tremble in my limbs, because he steps behind me, wrapping an arm around my waist and taking some of my weight off my liquid knees.
It should not be an erotic experience – Logan holding me up while Otley’s cool lips press a kiss to the back of my knees- but try telling that to my slick panties.
I try to remind myself that he’s already knotted me, but soft panting sounds keep leaving my parted lips. They grow shorter and louder as Otley rises on his knees, his mouth brushing my thigh before settling in the crease of my groin.Femoral artery, I think dazedly as he lingers there, his warm breath fanning over my sensitive skin. Just the slightest turn of his head, and his mouth would be right on my slick panties… My moan sounds more like a whimper when he drifts past it to place another careful kiss in the matching crease.
I’m pretty sure I’m pouting as he rises gracefully to his feet. He’s close enough for our chests to brush, but he maintains a sliver of distance. When he cups my face in both of his hands, I’mdefinitelypouting. But instead of focusing on my lips, he brushes his mouth over the flushed skin of my temples. My entire body is now one overheated, thrumming pulse, and I gape at him as he finally takes a step back.
“Just in case you were wondering, that was old school worship,” Logan says softly in my ear as he nuzzles my throat. “No one who scents you now will be confused as to how much you’re adored.”
Despite the frustration in my core, wings flutter under my skin, my bare toes curling on the bathroom mat. I have to admit, I thought this whole scent marking thing would be a little more physical, but the tenderness in Otley’s touch suddenly feels a thousand times more intimate than an orgasm.
“Am I marked now?”
“Not quite,” Otley replies, and I gasp as he tilts my chin and places a soft-mouthed kiss over the scent gland on my throat. I know he can feel Logan’s teeth marks on the raised skin, andthe fact that he’s so comfortable to trace it with his lips sends a double shudder through my body.
What would it be like to have both these alphas worshipping me at once?
When Otley finally draws back, Logan takes an exaggerated sniff. “Yep, now you definitely reek of us,” he confirms with a dark chuckle. “But we should probably mark you on the inside later, just to make sure.”
Oh. My. God.
Is spontaneous combustion really a thing?
Words fail me – for obvious reasons – but after my heartbeat returns to something close to normal, we head downstairs to check on Leo and Catherine. Ellis’ mom is asleep in one of the guest rooms, but everyone else is gathered in the living room, a disjointed picture of the Rocky Mountains scattered over the coffee table. I’m guessing the scent marking must have worked, because Rosie looks up from the puzzle pieces and waggles her brows at me.
“Ah, the sweet scent of possessive alpha!” she quips, earning a cough of amusement from Doc.
“I have no idea what you mean,” I tell her, my cheeks blazing as I bend to kiss Leo on the head. His cheek, I notice, is nearly completely healed, and he has brushed his hair to look a lot like Bobby’s haystack style. “How are things going, hun?”
“Great!” he chirps, green eyes sparkling. “Grammy and Doc are going to visit a hot spring tomorrow, and they said I could come.”
I look at Rosie in surprise. Is this her way of forcing his head out of the sand, even though I told her I wasn’t comfortable with that yet? “Well, we’ll have to see,” I say slowly, while Rosie gives me her most innocent look. “Your dad should be arrivingtonight, and he might have other plans with you,” I say, playing the trump card up my sleeve.
“He is?” Leo pops to his feet, excitement bright on his face. “When will he get here?”
“Dinner time,” I tell him, frowning at the puzzle. It’s a doozy, with at least three hundred identical blue pieces, and a whole lot of snow-capped rock. They haven’t got very far, and I snort as I drop onto the couch next to Tristan. “I take it Rosie hasn’t started cheating yet?”
Rosie scoffs, but Logan laughs as he and Otley place bowls of corn chips and salsa on the side table. “Oh, yeah! Remember that time we came home to find her snipping at the puzzle pieces with a pair of pruning shears?”
“It was a cheap puzzle!” Rosie protests, although I can tell she’s biting back a smile. “I was just smoothing out the rough edges.”
Leo giggles, and I watch every eye in the room settle on him as we all soak up the sound. I catch Logan’s gaze as he leans on the back of an armchair, the usually hard lines of his face softened into something that looks like contentment.
Is that how he really feels, or have I just caught him in a happy moment? The warm glow of our bond is still pulsing in my chest, but the Logan I know is restless, always looking ahead to the next challenge. Getting his gym off the ground has been his focus for the last couple of years, a goal to channel all his energy and ambition into. But now he’s so close to having it, I haven’t just disrupted his plans, I’ve dragged him right out of the state. Is he distracted by the novelty of ranch life, of having us close by and happy, or is resentment bubbling away somewhere that our bond can’t detect?
