"You're not." I roll her onto her back so I can see her face. "You're exactly where you're supposed to be. Doing exactly what your body needs to do."
Her eyes are already darkening, pupils dilating. "Need—" She breaks off, frustrated. "Why can't I think straight?"
"Heat brain." I cup her face, making her focus on me. "Your omega hindbrain has taken over. It's going to make you single-minded about getting what you need. That's okay. That's why we're here—to think clearly when you can't."
"What do I need?" she asks, and there's trust in her voice. Trust that I'll know even when she doesn't.
"Right now?" I slide my hand between her legs, feeling how slick and swollen she is. "You need to be filled again. Need another knot to take the edge off."
She nods frantically, already trying to spread her legs wider.
"But first—" I catch her hands before she can reach for me. "—you're going to eat something. And drink more water."
"River, no—" she starts to protest, but I'm already sitting up, pulling her with me.
"Not negotiable." I reach for the supplies Seth organized. Protein bars, fruit, electrolyte drinks. "You haven't eaten in hours, and you're sweating out all your fluids. You want to feel good? You need fuel."
She looks mutinous for about three seconds. Then Grayson sits up behind her, and his hand on her lower back seems to settle something.
"Listen to River," he says quietly. "He knows what he's doing."
The praise makes me feel warm. Good to know my pack trusts me to lead through this.
I unwrap a protein bar and hold it to her lips. "Eat."
She takes a bite, chewing mechanically. Her eyes never leave my face, and I can see the struggle there—heat-brain screaming at her to reject everything that isn't a knot, but rational-brain recognizing I'm right.
"Good girl," I murmur, and she melts slightly at the praise. "Keep going."
Three-quarters of the bar and half a bottle of water later, some of the desperate edge has softened in her scent. Not gone—won't be gone until she's knotted again—but manageable.
"Better?" I ask.
"A little." She's still trembling though. Still fighting the need. "But River, please?—"
"I know." I set the supplies aside and guide her to lie back in the nest. "But I'm going to take care of you my way first."
"What—" she starts, but I'm already kissing down her body. Slow. Deliberate. Taking my time even though she's whimpering with need.
"River—"
"Trust me," I murmur against her hip bone. "Let me worship you properly this time."
I settle between her spread thighs, and the sight makes my mouth water. She's glistening with slick, swollen and pink and perfect. The scent of her—honeyed and sweet and desperate—makes my alpha instincts roar.
"You're beautiful like this," I tell her, running my hands up her trembling thighs. "Dripping slick for me. So ready."
Then I lean down and taste her.
The first swipe of my tongue through her folds makes her cry out, hips bucking against my face. The taste of her slick—sweet and addictive—floods my senses. I groan against her, the vibration making her gasp.
"River—oh god?—"
I take my time. Licking through her folds, circling her entrance, then dragging my tongue up to her clit. When I close my lips around that sensitive bundle of nerves and suck gently, she nearly comes apart.
"Too much—it's too much?—"
"You can take it," I murmur, then do it again. "Your body needs this. Needs to be pleasured. Worshipped."
