“Better?” My voice comes out rough.
“Yes.” She lets out a shaky breath. “God, yes. The ache is... it’s not gone, but it’s manageable now.” She shifts, winces slightly. “I feel almost human again.”
Her hand drifts down between us, finds the hard line of my cock straining against my jeans. I hiss through my teeth.
“What about you?” She’s frowning now—that practical, problem-solving frown I’ve seen a hundred times in town meetings. “That can’t be comfortable.”
“I’m fine.”
“Ben.” She gives me a look. “You’re clearly not fine. Let me?—”
“Tessa.” I catch her hand, bring it up to my mouth, press a kiss to her palm. “This was about you. About making you feel better. I can handle a little discomfort.”
“A little?” She raises an eyebrow—and there she is. My bossy, no-nonsense omega. “That looks like more than a little.”
“I’ve survived worse.” I grin at her. “Remember that time I had to sit through your three-hour budget presentation with a hangover? This is nothing.”
She laughs—surprised and real—and swats at my chest. “That presentation was important.”
“It was thorough. Very, very thorough.” I pull her against me, tucking her head under my chin. “Now stop trying to negotiate and rest. You’re going to need your strength.”
She’s quiet for a moment. I can feel her fighting it—the urge to argue, to insist, to take care of me the way I just took care of her. That’s who she is. She doesn’t know how to just receive.
“I don’t like owing people,” she murmurs against my chest.
“You don’t owe me anything.” I press a kiss to her hair. “This isn’t a transaction, Tessa. I wanted to help you. That’s it.”
“But—”
“Sleep.” I tighten my arms around her. “That’s what you can do for me. Rest while you can, because when your heat really hits, you’re going to need all three of us. And I want to be ready for you.”
She sighs—half frustration, half exhaustion. “You’re annoyingly reasonable sometimes.”
“Only sometimes? I’m losing my touch.”
Another quiet laugh. Then she relaxes against me, her body going soft and heavy. The tension that’s been coiled in her for hours finally unwinding.
“Ben?”
“Yeah?”
“Thank you.” Her voice is already getting thick with sleep. “For the nest. For... all of it.”
“Anytime.” I mean it. “Now sleep.”
She does. Her breathing evens out within minutes, her hand curled loosely against my chest, her body warm and trusting in my arms.
I hold her and try to ignore the ache in my jeans. It’s uncomfortable as hell, but I wasn’t lying—I can handle it. This wasn’t about me. It was about giving her what she needed, about proving that I can take care of her without expecting anything in return.
Outside, the storm rages on. Inside, the candle burns low.
And Tessa sleeps in my arms, her scent still sweet and building, her body gathering strength for what’s coming.
When she wakes up, she’s going to need more than my fingers can give her. She’s going to need all of us.
We’ll be ready.
Chapter 14
