When I can finally focus again, I realize I’m crying. But I’m not in pain. Not sad. It’s just sheer relief.
“Shhh,” Jalen soothes immediately, his fingers gentling. “Too much?”
“No,” I manage through tears. “No, it’s perfect. You’re perfect. I just…”
“We’ve got you,” Dax murmurs. His hand comes up to cup my face, thumb brushing away tears. “You’re doing so well, omega. Taking everything we give you. So perfect for us.”
The praise makes me whimper and fresh slick pools between my thighs. My body is still desperate, still needing more despite two orgasms in quick succession.
Heat is relentless like that.
“How are you feeling?” Malik asks, pulling back to look at me properly. His scent is so thick in the air I can taste it, dark with rut and want. “Any better?”
“Yes,” I admit. “But I still—I need?—”
“We know,” he assures me. “Heat won’t be satisfied untilyou’re knotted. But we’re building up to that. Making sure you’re ready. Making sure this is good for you.”
“It is,” I say fervently. “It’s so good. You’re all so good.”
Cole makes a pleased sound. “Hear that? We’re good. She thinks we’re good.”
“She’s delirious from heat and orgasms,” Jalen points out, but he’s smiling. “Not sure we should take it as a compliment.”
“I’m taking it as a compliment,” Cole declares. His fingers are still inside me, moving in lazy circles that keep me on edge without pushing me over. “Our omega thinks we’re good at this. That’s going in the win column.”
Despite everything, despite the heat and the overwhelm and the intensity, I laugh. It comes out breathless and shaky.
“Did you just make a win column joke during sex?” I ask incredulously.
“I did,” Cole confirms, completely unrepentant. “Also, I’m keeping score. I’m winning.”
“You’re not winning,” Dax says flatly. “This isn’t a competition.”
“Everything is a competition if you’re competitive enough.”
“Cole,” Malik sighs, but I can hear the affection in his voice.
“What? I’m just saying, I made her come first?—”
“You absolutely did not,” Jalen interrupts. “My fingers were involved too.”
“Team effort,” Cole amends. “But I’m taking partial credit.”
I’m laughing harder now, my body shaking with it, and the movement makes me acutely aware that Cole’s fingers are still inside me. The realization makes me flush and gasp, and suddenly the laughter is tangling with arousal again.
“Shut up, Cole,” Dax says, but there’s no real annoyance in it. “You’re ruining the mood.”
“Am I?” Cole asks, and his fingers curl deliberately, making me gasp. “Because based on how wet she just got, I don’t think I’m ruining anything.”
“He’s not,” I manage breathlessly. “I like—” I have to pauseas another wave of pleasure rolls through me. “I like that you’re comfortable enough to joke. Makes this feel less overwhelming. More... real.”
The teasing atmosphere shifts slightly, becoming something softer.
“It is real,” Malik says quietly. His hand is on my thigh again, thumb stroking soothing circles. “This, us, it’s all real, Sierra. Not just heat and rut. Though that’s part of it too.”
I nod, biting my lips as another wave of heat crashes through me, and I whimper, my body arching involuntarily. The brief respite from the worst of the symptoms is fading, and I can feel the desperate need building again.
“She needs more,” Jalen whispers softly. “Heat’s not going to be satisfied with just fingers.”
