I nod, not trusting my voice. My heart picks up speed, anticipation and anxiety mixing together in my stomach.
"You like their scents," Dustin begins, his voice taking on that low, intimate quality that makes my stomach flutter. "Both Stefan and Ashton's. You like the way they mix together, cedar and smoke blending with lavender and rain. You want to make sure they're okay, that they're comfortable and healing and safe."
Each statement is true, undeniably so. I can't argue with any of it even though part of me wants to.
He rocks up into me slightly, as much as he can manage while we're still locked together. The movement draws a gasp from me, pleasure sparking through my oversensitive body. His knot pulls at sensitive tissues, the stretch both pleasurable and intense.
"But right now," Dustin continues, his pace picking up incrementally, "you're thinking about them in other ways. Maybe with kisses. Or maybe taking you apart like I did on the breakfast table, your legs spread and your back arching as you come."
My breath catches, the images his words paint flashing through my mind unbidden. Stefan's hands on my hips, his face between my legs. Ashton's lips against mine, his body pressed close. The vivid fantasies are compelling in ways that make shame bloom hot in my chest.
I bite my lip hard, not wanting to acknowledge any of this, not wanting to admit that he's right. But my body betrays me, my core clenching around his knot and fresh slick coating his cock.
"Or maybe my stepbrother taking you apart," Dustin murmurs, his movements becoming more deliberate despite the knot restricting our range of motion. "His hands on your hips, his cock buried inside you while you cry out his name. Or even that beautiful Omega you hand-fed until his plate was clean? Ashton on his knees for you, looking up with those pretty eyes while you thread your fingers through his hair."
I let out a whimper, unable to contain the sound. The images are too vivid, too compelling, touching on desires I didn't know I had until this moment. My body responds with enthusiasm, more slick coating Dustin's cock and my nipples hardening into peaks.
The bathroom door opens and Dustin's voice drops an octave, becoming darker but with a honeyed tint to it. My eyes fly open, startled by the interruption even though I should have expected it.
"Or maybe you're imagining what happens when our Alpha takes that sweet Omega hole of his while my stepbrother and I take you apart," Dustin says, his words painting an impossibly erotic picture.
I fall apart again, the orgasm ripping through me with mortifying intensity. Pleasure and shame twist together, making me cry out as my body convulses around Dustin's knot. The water sloshes violently over the edge of the tub, splashing onto the floor in waves. My whole body arches, pressing my breasts above the water line as I shake with the force of my release.
My gaze moves to the doorway where Kade stands, and I take in every detail through my pleasure-hazed vision. His bare chest, water droplets still clinging to his dark skin from what must have been a shower. The defined muscles of his abdomen, the sharp cut of his hip bones disappearing into his waistband. The obscene bulge between his thighs, his cock clearly hard and straining against the fabric of his sweatpants. His eyes are liquid black, pupils blown so wide there's barely any color left, staring at me with hunger that makes my core clench again.
"Glad to see we're all bonding," Kade says, his voice carrying amusement and arousal in equal measure.
I'm about to apologize, the words forming on my tongue, when Kade comes to sit on the edge of the tub. His legs dangle into the water, the fabric of his sweatpants immediately darkening as it absorbs moisture. He doesn't seem to care, his attention focused entirely on me.
"If we had a little more time," Kade says, his hand coming to cup my face with surprising gentleness, "I would show you just how much I like the idea of what our little Alpha just described. Right now, though, my job is to get you to eat something. You need nutrition before the next spike hits."
I frown, processing his words through the post-orgasm haze. "What do you mean if we had time?"
Kade's expression shifts slightly, something like regret flickering across his features. "There's a certain job I couldn't move. It needs to happen tonight, can't be delayed any longer. Time-sensitive business that won't wait."
Rationally, I accept that. I know Kade and Dustin have business obligations, things that need their attention even during my heat. The ranch doesn't run itself, and whatever illegal activities they're involved in require careful management and timing.
But my Omega instincts hate the thought of either of my Alphas leaving during my heat. A low growl rumbles in my chest, protective and possessive in equal measure.
I sniff at the air and immediately recoil, my nose wrinkling at a scent that doesn't belong. "Why... who is that?"
It's faint but distinct, clinging to Kade's skin despite the shower he clearly took. Alpha, but wrong. Sour with fear and pain and something else I can't identify. Not pack, not welcome, not wanted. The wrongness of it makes my skin crawl, every instinct screaming that this scent doesn't belong anywhere near my Alphas or my home.
"I was just out there with Stefan," Kade explains calmly, his voice measured and soothing. "Dealing with some business that needed immediate attention."
"No," I shake my head, trying to parse through the layers of scent. "I can smell Stefan on you and that's fine. His scent is welcome. But there's another scent underneath. Is someone else in the house? Why... I don't like him. He smells wrong."
Kade looks over my shoulder to Dustin, some silent communication passing between them. I catch the exchange in my peripheral vision, see the slight nod Dustin gives.
I let out a little growl, the sound more feral than anything I've produced before. Then I reach up and drag Kade into the water, fully clothed and everything. I need to get that wrong scent off him, need to replace it with ours.
He yelps in surprise as he topples forward, hitting the water with a splash that sends waves sloshing over the sides of the tub. His sweatpants are immediately soaked, the fabric clinging to his legs. Water soaks through his clothes, but I don't care, grabbing a washcloth and starting to scrub up and down his arms frantically.
"He smells nasty," I complain, scrubbing harder at Kade's skin. "Why would you bring him in here? Why would you let his scent touch you?"
Kade laughs, the sound full of amusement despite being soaked and manhandled. "You're adorable when you're territorial."
"See?" Dustin says from behind me, his voice carrying vindication. "That's how I was expecting you to react to Stefan or Ashton's scent. Aggressive, possessive, wanting to scrub them away and replace them with ours."
