"Tender. Exhausted." She opened her eyes again, meeting mine. "Better. The pain isn't as sharp. The need isn't as desperate."
"That's good. It means the heat is starting to ease."
"How much longer do you think?"
"Another day, maybe two. It's hard to predict with breakthrough heats."
She nodded, processing that. Then her gaze traveled over me, taking in my bare chest, the tattoos that covered my torso and arms, the way I was deliberately keeping distance even though every instinct I had was screaming at me to get closer.
"Can I touch you?" She bit the side of her lip. The question came out hesitant. Vulnerable. "Not because the heat demands it. Because I want to."
My heart stuttered. "Yeah. Of course you can."
She shifted in the nest, moving closer until her hands could reach me. Then she did something I didn't expect. She explored.
Her fingers traced the lines of my tattoos, the wolf on my chest, the geometric patterns down my arms, the script along my ribs that she couldn't quite read from this angle.
"What does this one say?" she asked, her fingers following the words.
"'Everything I do, I do for her.'"
"Her who?"
You, I wanted to say. It's always been you. But I couldn't tell her yet. Not while she was still in heat. We’d have that conversation when she was able to focus.
"Someone important," I said instead. "Someone I've been looking for."
Her eyes met mine, searching. "You're looking for someone?"
"We both are. Have been for a long time."
"An Omega?"
"Yeah."
Something flickered across her face. Hurt, maybe, or disappointment, but it was gone too quickly to identify.
"Oh."
"It's not," I stopped myself. This wasn't the time. "It's complicated."
"Most things are. I hope you find her." Her hands continued their exploration, moving across my shoulders, down my biceps. "Can I ask you something?"
"Anything."
"That night. At the club. Why did you approach me? Really?"
I thought about lying. About giving her some surface answer that would satisfy without revealing too much. But she deserved better than that.
"Because you were different," I said honestly. "Every other woman in that club was performing. Trying to be what they thought we wanted. But you?" I caught her hand, pressing it against my chest where my heart was hammering. "You were just yourself. Uninterested. Unbothered. Real."
"I was terrified."
"But you didn't let that stop you. You walked in, set your boundaries, and demanded we respect them." I smiled. "Do you know how rare that is? How attractive that is?"
"To be difficult?"
"To know what you want and refuse to settle for less." I brought her hand to my mouth, pressing a kiss to her palm. "That's not difficult. That's powerful."
