Grayson’s expression shifts, the disgust giving way to something that looks uncomfortably like pity. “So this is your first true heat. And your parents had you on suppressants since you were practically a baby?—“
“I don’t want to talk about that,” I interrupt, surging forward to press my body against his. “Please, just—help me. However you’re willing to. I can’t stand this anymore.”
For a moment, I think he’ll refuse again, but then something in his eyes changes—softens, maybe, or resolves. With a fluid movement that takes me by surprise, Grayson flips our positions, laying me back on the bed and covering my body with his.
“I won’t knot you,” he says, his voice firm despite the desire evident in his dilated pupils. “Not like this. But I will help.”
Before I can respond, his mouth is on mine again, the kiss deeper and more demanding than before. His weight pins me to the mattress in a way that should feel threatening but instead feels like an anchor in the storm of my heat. One of his hands slides beneath my shirt, callused fingertips tracing patterns along the curve of my breast that make me arch into his touch.
“Please,” I whisper against his lips, no longer caring how desperate I sound. “Please, please, please.”
Grayson shifts his weight, supporting himself on one forearm while his other hand moves lower, deftly slipping between my thighs. When his fingers find me, already slick and swollen with need, I cry out, the sound muffled against his shoulder.
“I’ve got you,” he murmurs, his voice a low rumble that resonates through me. “Let go, little omega.”
His fingers work with confident precision, circling my clit before dipping lower to tease my entrance. Each touch sendswaves of pleasure crashing through me, intense but still not enough to satisfy the craving deep inside.
“More,” I gasp, my hips lifting to meet his hand. “I need—inside?—“
Grayson complies, sliding one thick finger into me, then another, the stretch sending a fresh surge of slick to drench the sheet. His thumb continues to work my clit as his fingers curl inside me, finding a spot that makes stars burst behind my eyelids.
“Yes,” I moan, my hands fisting in the sheets. “Like that, just like that.”
He establishes a rhythm that has me climbing rapidly toward release, but just as I approach the edge, the emptiness inside me intensifies, a craving for fullness that his fingers alone can’t satisfy.
“I need your knot,” I plead, knowing he’s already refused but unable to stop myself from asking again. “Please, alpha.”
“You’ve got to stop asking. I swear, you’re killing me here.” Grayson’s rhythm falters for a moment, his eyes darkening with desire and something that might be regret. “I’ve got you, baby. Just hold on…”
He withdraws his fingers, and I whimper at the loss, but before I can protest further, they’ve returned. His fingers slide back inside me, but this time, there’s four of them, working in and out in a way that almost feels like as much of a stretch as his cock.
Before I can snap at him that it still isn’t enough, he curls his fingers into a fist and slowly thrusts further inside my seeping cunt, until my opening clenches around the hard bones of his wrist.
The sensation is overwhelming in the best way, even if it’s not quite what my body is screaming for, but close enough that pleasure crashes over me in waves. I arch off the bed, a crytearing from my throat as my inner muscles clamp down around his fist, the closest I’ve come so far to what my body wants from a real knot.
“That’s it,” Grayson murmurs, his voice rough with restraint. “Take what you need.”
The orgasm builds and crests, more intense than anything I’ve ever experienced, my body convulsing around the simulated knot as waves of pleasure wash through me. I’m vaguely aware of calling out Grayson’s name, of my nails digging into his shoulders hard enough to leave marks, of the wetness on my cheeks that might be sweat or tears or both.
Just as the most intense spasms subside, leaving me limp and gasping beneath him, the door slams open with enough force to rattle the hinges.
“What the hell is going on here?”
Noah stands in the doorway, his expression thunderous, his scent sharp with anger and something else I’m too wrung out to identify.
Grayson doesn’t startle or rush to withdraw his hand. Instead, he turns his head slowly to meet Noah’s gaze, his body still protectively curved over mine.
“I’m helping,” Grayson says simply, the single word carrying a weight of meaning I’m not equipped to decipher in my current state.
Noah’s nostrils flare as he takes in the scene before him. His eyes lock with mine for a moment, and the intensity in them makes me shiver despite the lingering heat in my veins. “Grayson, we need to talk. Right the fuck now.”
Sensing how my body sinks boneless into the mattress, Grayson slowly pulls away with squelching sound and gush of fluid that would be humiliating if I had any capacity left for shame.
As my eyes drift closed, I’m distantly aware of raised voices and stomping feet followed by the door slamming shut. I don’t have the energy for embarrassment. All I want to do is curl up in the blankets and sleep until one of them comes back to do that all over again in about an hour.
SEVENTEEN
KAI
