I lean forward and roughly stuff two fingers into Dustin's ass without warning. He's still loose from earlier when I fucked him while he was buried in Solana, his body opening easily for my fingers. The intrusion makes him gasp, his rhythm faltering.
I watch him fall apart almost immediately, his carefully controlled pace disintegrating. He speeds up, fucking himself back on my fingers and then forward into Solana with increasing desperation. His whole body shudders as he comes, grunts and groans torn from his throat as he fills her.
Solana lets out little mewls beneath him, her own orgasm triggered by his. Her body arches, pressing her breasts against his chest as she clenches around him.
Dustin twists around to look at me, his eyes half-lidded and satisfied. "I was trying to go slow."
I lean in for a soft kiss, tasting him and the salt of his sweat. "You were torturing her."
Dustin smiles and looks down at Solana, who's already falling asleep in that boneless way that follows a good knotting. He carefully pulls her to his chest and rolls onto his back so she's draped across him, the position more comfortable for both of them. His knot keeps them locked together, ensuring she stays full while she sleeps.
I pull the blanket over them, tucking it around Solana's shoulders. "I'm going to see about some food. And when she wakes up, see if you'll have better luck getting her to shower."
Dustin laughs, the sound quiet so he doesn't disturb Solana. "You remember the last time you tried to get her to shower or eat? She nearly bit off your finger."
The memory makes me smile despite myself. Solana in the grip of her heat is fierce, all teeth and growls when something interrupts her focus. I'd tried to coax her into eating some fruit between spikes and she'd snapped at my hand like a feral cat.
"That's why I'm leaving you to do it," I admit.
I stand and stretch again, my spine popping in several places. That's when I hear a soft voice, barely audible but unmistakably Solana asking me to check on Stefan and Ashton. Even half-asleep and locked on Dustin's knot, she's thinking about them.
"You need to eat something, sunshine," I tell her, keeping my voice gentle.
She lets out a little growl, the sound adorable rather than threatening. I sigh, recognizing a losing battle when I see one.
"I'll make sure to check on them too," I concede.
She makes a happy little sound before falling fully asleep, her breathing evening out against Dustin's chest. Dustin shoots me a knowing look, one that says he's as confused by her attachment to Stefan and Ashton as I am, but willing to go along with it because it makes her happy.
I pull on some sweatpants, forgoing a shirt because I can't be bothered. The moment I step out into the hallway, the full force of Ashton's scent hits me. It's stronger out here, away from Solana's overwhelming vanilla and orchid. Faded lavender and rain-soaked stone, but sweetened with pre-heat in a way that makes my cock twitch with interest despite having just come.
I move forward down the hall, my bare feet silent on the hardwood. That's when I see Stefan leaning against the wall across from the guest bedroom. His posture is tense, his jaw clenched, every line of his body screaming frustration and denial.
"How's Ashton?" I ask, keeping my voice low.
Stefan's eyes snap to me, voids of darkness. "I know you can fucking smell him."
He's right, of course. Ashton's scent is impossible to ignore, permeating the hallway and mixing with Stefan's cedar and smoke in ways that make my Alpha instincts sit up and take notice. The combination is appealing, far more than it should be.
"So I'm going to assume both of you are suffering because you won't take that step and he's too stubborn to jump you," I say, cutting straight to the point. "Excellent. Lovely conversation. How's the ranch?"
Stefan throws me a glare that could strip paint. "The horses are arriving in twenty minutes but we have a different problem."
I frown, really taking in Stefan's appearance for the first time since stepping out of the bedroom. The hard glare in his eyes, the set of his shoulders, the rawness of his knuckles. He's been in a fight, and recently based on the fresh blood still visible on his skin.
"What happened?" I ask, my voice sharpening.
Stefan doesn't answer with words, just pushes off from the wall and jerks his head for me to follow. He leads me across the living room to a small storage room at the far end, away from the bedrooms. The door is closed but I can hear movement inside, someone shifting or struggling.
Stefan opens the door and I see a man tied to a chair in the center of the small space. He's severely beaten, his face swollen and bloody, one eye completely shut. His pants are soaked with what I assume is piss, the sharp smell of fear-urine mixing with blood and sweat.
"It seems we have a stalker," Stefan says, his voice flat.
"We?" I repeat, stepping closer to examine the man.
"I explicitly mentioned to all of the ranch hands not to come to the house, to text me if they needed anything," Stefan explains. "This fucker stepped inside without permission and knew Ashton's name. Knew he was here."
My jaw ticks, anger starting to build. An unauthorized person on my property during Solana's heat is bad enough. But someone who knows about Ashton, who tracked him here? That's a whole different level of problem.
