“I’ve got you,” I murmur, pulling her closer. “What do you need, sweetheart?”
“You.” The word is simple, but it hits like a freight train. “I need you, Jalen.”
“Are you sure?” I have to ask, even though my body is already responding. “This isn’t just the jitters talking?”
“I’m sure.” She shifts again, straddling my lap now, and oh God, I can smell her. That sweet honeycomb scent spiking with arousal, with need. “I… need your scent on me.”
Scenting. She’s asking for scenting. My alpha roars to life at the request.
“Okay,” I breathe. “Okay, omega. I’ll take care of you.”
I stand, lifting her with me, and she wraps her legs around my waist with a small sound of approval. Her face buries in my neck, breathing me in, and I can feel her trembling start to ease just from that simple contact.
I carry her back to the nest, her nest that smells like all of us now, and lay her down gently in the center. She looks up at me with those eyes that are clearer than they’ve been in days but still holding that edge of need.
“Let me see you,” I say softly, and she nods.
I help her out of the sleep shirt, revealing skin that’s still faintly marked from the heat. Bruises on her hips. Small love bites on her throat, her collarbone. Evidence of what we shared.
What I want to share again.
My own clothes come off quickly, and then I’m settling over her, skin to skin. The moment we make full contact, she sighs. This deep, satisfied sound that makes my chest tight.
“Better?” I ask.
“Getting there.” Her hands slide up my back, pulling me closer. “Need more.”
“I’ll give you everything,” I promise. “Everything you need.”
I start at her throat, pressing open-mouthed kisses to herpulse point. She tilts her head automatically, giving me access, and my alpha purrs at the submission. At the trust.
I work my way down slowly. Her collarbone. The hollow of her throat. The soft skin between her breasts. Every kiss leaves a trace of my scent, marking her, claiming her in the way her omega is demanding.
“Jalen,” she whimpers, her hands fisting in the nest material.
“I know what you need.” I kiss my way back up, settling my weight more fully over her. “Gonna scent you properly, sweetheart.”Gonna make sure everyone knows you’re mine.
The possessive word should probably concern me, but it doesn’t. It just feels right.
Ours, my alpha corrects. She’s ours.
But right now, in this moment, she’s mine.
I press my face to her neck and breathe out, letting my toasted marshmallow and spiced cider scent pour over her. She makes this desperate sound, her body arching into mine, and I can smell her slick starting to build.
“No more thinking,” I murmur against her skin. “Just let your body answer me.”
I work my way across her throat, her shoulders, down to her breasts. Every inch of skin gets attention, gets marked with my scent until she’s practically drowning in it. Her trembling has stopped completely now, replaced by a different kind of tension. The good kind. The kind that builds and tightens and demands release.
When I finally settle between her thighs, she’s already wet. Already ready. Her body knows what it needs.
“Please,” she whimpers again. “Jalen?—”
“I know.” I line myself up, the head of my cock sliding through her slick. “I’ve got you, Sierra. Always.”
I push in slowly, watching her face the whole time. Her eyes flutter closed, her mouth falling open on a gasp, and she’s so tight, so perfect around me that I have to pause. Have to breathe through the overwhelming sensation of being inside her again.
“Okay?” I manage.
