A growl tears from my throat as I come, my release flooding through me with devastating intensity. It's been a damn long time since I knotted anyone, years of maintaining professional distance meaning I never allowed myself this kind of connection. The sensation is overwhelming, more intense than I remembered, pleasure bordering on pain as my knot expands fully.
Ashton sprays all over my chest, his cock pulsing as his orgasm hits. The warm mess coats my skin, mixing with sweat and the musk of sex. Then he collapses forward into his own mess, his whole body going boneless as satisfaction washes through him. His full weight settles on top of me, his face buried in my neck as he gasps for breath.
"That was so much better than I was dreaming of," Ashton mumbles against my chest, his words slurred with exhaustion and pleasure. "Holy fuck that's good."
I'm still a little stunned, my brain struggling to process what just happened. The implications of knotting him, of claiming him this way even without the bite, feel enormous. This isn't just sex, isn't just relieving his pre-heat symptoms. This is a statement, a claim, something that changes everything between us.
"We're both a little fucked up, aren't we?" I manage to say, my voice rough.
Ashton nods against my chest, his breath warm against my skin. "Let's just hope your stepbrother and his Alpha aren't too pissed once Solana's heat ends."
The words carry worry underneath the satisfaction, fear that this moment of claiming will be the thing that gets us thrown out. That Kade and Dustin will decide we've overstepped, violated some unspoken boundary about their Omega and their space.
Ashton slowly falls asleep, his breathing evening out as exhaustion claims him. I hold him carefully, mindful of his injuries and my own. My knot keeps us locked together, ensuring he stays full while he rests.
I find myself thinking that maybe, just maybe, there's a better ending than the one I thought was coming for me. Just as soon as we get everything fucking figured out with Charles, Harmony House, and the horses. Because fuck if anyone is taking Ashton from me.
Chapter forty
Solana
There's finally a moment of clarity, a break in the endless waves of heat that have consumed me for what feels like days. I'm resting in the bath, my back against Dustin's chest, his warm solid presence grounding me in reality. My eyes are closed as he lovingly pulls water into his cupped hand and runs it up and down my arms, the warm droplets cascading over my skin in soothing patterns.
The water is the perfect temperature, hot enough to relax my aching muscles but not so hot that it's uncomfortable. Steam rises around us, filling the bathroom with warmth and the mingled scent of our bodies. Dustin's chest rises and falls steadily beneath me, his breathing calm and even in a way that helps regulate my own.
His hands move to my stomach, caressing gently before moving up to my breasts. He cups them with reverent attention, his thumbs brushing over my nipples in a way that's more affectionate than sexual. The touch sends pleasant sparks through my nervous system but doesn't trigger the desperate, clawing need that's characterized most of my heat so far.
Then one hand dips between my legs, pressing against my sensitive flesh with just enough pressure to remind me he's there. His fingers don't move, don't stroke or tease, just rest there with gentle pressure that makes me hyperaware of every point of contact.
He's been inside me this entire bath, stretching me out, filling me completely but not moving, not even knotting. Just a constant reminder that he's there, that I'm not alone, that my Alpha is taking care of me. The fullness is comforting rather than urgent, satisfying some deep need for connection that goes beyond the physical demands of heat.
I didn't even know this was possible during a heat, this gentle intimacy that doesn't immediately escalate into frantic coupling. At Harmony House, they told us heats were all-consuming, that we'd be mindless with need from start to finish. But this moment proves that was another lie, another way they tried to make us fear our own biology.
A soft explosion of pleasure ripples through me and it feels so good, different from the desperate, clawing need of heat. This is gentler, more manageable, the heat craze finally receding enough that I can think clearly. My body still hums with awareness but it's no longer the all-consuming fire that made everything else disappear.
The orgasm wasn't even from movement, just from the constant pressure and fullness and the security of being held. My core clenches around Dustin's cock, fluttering gently as pleasure washes through me in warm waves rather than sharp peaks.
I asked where Kade was a while ago, my voice still rough from screaming. Dustin gave me some answer but I was too foggy to really process it, the words sliding through my heat-addled brain without sticking. Then I asked again a few minutes ago, more insistent this time because the absence of our other Alpha feels wrong.
During my heat, having both my Alphas close feels essential. When one of them leaves the nest for food or water or bathroom breaks, there's always a part of me that's anxious until they return. But Kade has been gone longer than usual, long enough that worry is starting to creep in around the edges of my contentment.
Now I'm getting worried, an anxious edge creeping into my contentment. What if something happened? What if there's trouble and he needs help? What if he decided he doesn't want to deal with my heat anymore and left?
That last thought is irrational, I know it is, but the fear clutches at my chest anyway. Harmony House taught me that I'm difficult, that my needs are burdensome, that eventually everyone gets tired of dealing with me. Even though Kade and Dustin have shown me nothing but patience and care, those old fears die hard.
It's silent in the house beyond our bathroom. No sounds of movement, no indication of what's happening outside this small bubble Dustin and I are in. The quiet feels heavy, oppressive in ways it shouldn't. My body is uncomfortably wired despite the clarity, like I'm balanced on a knife's edge between satisfaction and need.
My skin feels too tight, too sensitive. The water that was soothing moments ago now feels like too much stimulation. Dustin's hands on my body, his cock inside me, the steam filling my lungs—everything is amplified to an almost uncomfortable degree.
Then I catch a blast of Ashton's scent cutting through the steam and water. Faded lavender and rain-soaked stone, but sweetened with something that makes my whole body respond instantly. It's stronger than before, more intense, carrying notes that speak to arousal and satisfaction and Alpha and claiming.
The scent hits me like a physical force, slamming into my system and triggering a response I have no control over. My Omega instincts recognize another Omega who's been claimed, who's been knotted and filled and satisfied. And instead of feeling territorial or threatened, my body responds with arousal so intense it steals my breath.
I fall apart untouched, my back arching away from Dustin's chest as the orgasm crashes through me. It's borderline painful in its intensity, pleasure so sharp it feels like it might break me. My whole body seizes, muscles locking as waves of sensation roll through me without permission or warning.
Water sloshes violently in the tub, spilling over the sides and splashing onto the floor. My hands grip Dustin's thighs where they bracket my body, my nails digging into his skin hard enough to leave marks as a scream tears from my throat.
The orgasm gives way to bliss, that sharp edge fading into something warm and encompassing. I feel Dustin thicken inside me, his cock swelling as my body squeezes him involuntarily. The sudden increase in size makes me gasp, pleasure sparking through my oversensitive core.
