In one swift motion, I close the distance between us. She flinches, her breath hitching, and I reach out to touch her arm, to steady her. The burning of her skin, the scent of her Omega, floods me. It’s too much.
I pull her gently toward me, and I don’t think. I just act.
I crush my lips to hers.
It’s a kiss of desperation. A kiss of need. My body is burning, my control slipping like sand between my fingers, and I have to kiss her, have to claim her, even if it’s reckless, and even if it’s wrong.
My pack’s words echo in my head.We have to give her time. Let her come to us.
Fuck that.
I can feel her body freeze under my touch, but she doesn’t pull away. Not immediately. Her lips are soft, trembling against mine, and I feel the way she’s fighting herself, holding herself together. She’s afraid that if she gives in, everything will fall apart.
But I don’t stop. I can’t stop.
The taste of her is intoxicating, sweet and wild, and everything inside me, every instinct I have, screams that this is what I’ve been waiting for, what I’ve needed, what we both need. I pull her closer, my hands sliding into her hair, my fingers curling around the nape of her neck, holding her in place.
My tongue laves along the slit of her lips, and then she’s not fighting me anymore. Her lips part, and I claim what’s mine, licking into her mouth until she melts against me. She feels it, too. I can tell by the way her body presses against mine, by the soft, breathy moan that escapes her lips. Shit, I’ve wanted this for so long.
But even then, part of me knows this is dangerous.
Ford and Hayes are still here. They’re watching.
I’m sure they smell it. Smell us.
All too soon, and much to my inner Alpha’s dismay, I break the kiss. My breath pulses against her lips, breathing the air she affords me, but I don’t move away. My forehead presses against hers, my hands still tangled in her hair, my chest rising and falling with the strain of holding myself back. She belongs on my knot. She belongs in her nest.
She belongs with us.
Lo’s eyes are wide, her lips parted in a breathless gasp. She looks at me,seeingme for the first time. Maybe she’s finally realizing how much I’ve been holding back, how much we’ve all been holding back for her sake.
I shouldn’t have kissed her in front of them. Hell, I shouldn’t have kissed her at all. Not with the agreement I have with my pack.
But now that I’ve done it, I’m not sure I care anymore.
Ford and Hayes are still here, in the house. They’re standing in the background, but it feels like they’re right here, in the space between Lo and me. Their presence looms over us, their eyes heavy with their own needs and instincts.
The air is thick with it. She’s in our shared space. In our pack home. I want to add her scent to the walls of this place. Our combined scents are rich and raw, laced with a desire that leaves me breathless against her. It’s intoxicating. And I can feel it, can’t ignore it, the unspoken bond we share, that weallshare with Lo. Their scents are growing more potent with each passing moment, thick with the same lust, the same drive to claim, to scent, to mark.
They want her just as much as I do.
But I can’t let my instincts control this. Not like this. Not with them here.
I capture her lips in one last soft kiss, my nose sliding against hers. I could have sworn I felt a whimper of hers hit my tongue, but it’s gone in the blink of an eye. I don’t want to overwhelmher. I don’t want to trigger her Omega instincts that make her run. I want her to run toward me, not away from me.
My forehead pressed against hers as I gaze into that terrified stare of hers. But there’s something else in her eyes now, beneath the terror she seems to always walk around with. It’s deeper than the fire burning between us.
Has she ever felt safe?
The Alpha inside of me roars with a desire to keep her safe.
“Lo,” I whisper, trying to steady my breath, my heart. “We need to talk. We need to know whatyouwant.”
Her chest rises and falls quickly, her fingers still trembling. She glances over at Ford and Hayes, their presence as palpable as the tension between us, and I can see the flicker of uncertainty in her eyes. It’s not just me anymore. This is bigger than me.
“Lo,” Ford speaks up from the side. “We need to know that you’re making this choice for you. It’s your decision, and we’ll respect it.”
“We’re here for you, Lo,” Hayes agrees. “All of us. But we’re not going to push you into something you’re not ready for. You need to decide what you want. What you need. And whatever that is, we’ll provide it.”
