"Touch her," he orders without stopping his rhythm. "Make her come."
Hands—I don't know whose—slide across my skin. Someone's thumb finds my clit while another set of fingers pinches my nipples. The dual stimulation is too much and not enough, pleasure building to unbearable heights.
"Can't—" I'm gasping, shaking. "Too much, I can't—"
"You can." Dorian's voice is firm, commanding. "Come for me, Vespera. Now."
The orgasm hits like a freight train. I convulse around him, screaming, pleasure so intense it whites out everything else. Distantly I hear him curse, feel his rhythm stutter.
"Fuck, I'm—" He tries to pull out but I lock my legs around him.
"No. Inside. Want your knot."
"You sure?" He's barely holding on. "Once I knot you—"
"I'm sure." I pull him down for a bruising kiss. "Fill me up. Claim me. Make me yours."
He comes with a roar, buried deep, and the moment his knot starts to swell is overwhelming. The stretch is intense, locking us together as heat floods my core.
The relief is immediate and all-consuming. The awful emptiness finally satisfied. The bonds singing with rightness.My body relaxes into the nest, tension draining as my heat temporarily eases.
"Better?" Dorian's forehead rests against mine, both of us panting.
"So much better." The clarity is temporary but welcome. My mind feels like mine again instead of a collection of desperate needs. "God, I missed being able to think."
"I like you both ways." He shifts carefully, adjusting so the knot isn't pulling. "But I especially like when you can talk back."
I look past him to where Oakley and Corvus are watching. Both are rock hard, barely restrained. Waiting their turn like we've done this dance before.
Because we have.
"You two okay?"
"Watching you come is the hottest thing I've ever seen," Oakley says bluntly. "So yeah. I'm fantastic. Also dying. But fantastic."
Despite everything, I laugh. "We've got forty minutes. Use it wisely."
"Not nearly enough time." But he's smiling, warm and genuine, and that secondary bond pulses with affection.
Corvus hasn't moved, still watching with that intense focus. "You're handling this better than the lake house."
"Better nest." I stretch slightly, testing the knot. Still locked tight. "And you're not all walking on eggshells pretending everything's fine."
"Fair point." His lips quirk. "Though I'd argue our eggshell-walking had merit given the circumstances."
"You kidnapped me."
"Also fair."
The absurdity of having this conversation while knotted to Dorian makes me laugh again. This is what I needed—normalcywoven into the intensity. Proof that we can be us even in the middle of heat.
Dorian's hands are gentle in my hair. "What are you thinking?"
"That this is weird but good." I meet his eyes. "That I'm still angry but I love you anyway. That my body is a traitor but my brain is catching up."
"I'll take it." He kisses me softly. "As long as your brain keeps catching up in the right direction."
"Don't push your luck."
