I fully intended to do that as soon as the show was over.
Her scent was muted with a spray for the crowd, but that would be easy enough to rinse away later, and she had blessedly thought to scent mark another bandana for me, so I could carry her with me tonight.
The pack was fucking precious. Every raucous shout ofhuzzahrang out among the crowd. Even Alve got into it. They cheered for Jax, too, in his mock battles, but tonight, he was taken out before the final showdown against Mordred, which left me playing Galahad to defend our Camelot.
Madison was fucking hyped. Her excitement flowed down the bond, energizing me. I couldn’t help stealing glances at her as Mordred and Galahad had their final face-off. Asher smirked at me, inclining his head toward Madison on her feet.
He prepared to take the final stroke of my blunted sword and collapsed to the ground in dramatic fashion.
“Yes!” Madison yelled. “That’s my alpha!”
Her pride infused me as the staff flooded onto the arena to take away the fallen warriors and lift me overhead, our king and queen actors graciously thanking me for saving Camelot.
After that, it was time for photos, which meant I got to have Madison in my lap when the other fans had moved on. She beamed at me and Nathan took photos as she clutched my cheeks and kissed me.
“Want to ride back with me?”
“Fuck, yeah, I do.” She adjusted to sit facing forward and patted Eclipse on the neck. “You did such a good job tonight, sweet boy. He’s the most talented horse in the whole arena.”
“You’re going to give him an ego,” I said with a smile and leaned to get a deeper whiff of her scent. It wasn’t strong withthe spray, but it was in her hair, and pressed close, I could catch more hints of it.
Being without Madison was a struggle. Lunch had been a desperately needed reprieve, but then I’d faced hours more on my own. The bandana had helped, but nothing compared to having Madison in my arms.
The stables were a hive of activity as our staff removed costumes from themselves and the horses. Madison happily helped me get Eclipse ready for bed. The rest of my pack—after checking in with me to gush praise—went to chat with Jax while he did the same for Applesauce, whom he’d taken on while Dylan was on parental leave.
I’d never been so anxious to have the night be over and the arena emptied out as I was tonight. I needed everyone out of here so I could be reacquainted with Madison, and for this occasion, I wanted it to be just her and I. Much as I was coming to love the pack, sometimes we needed moments to be one alpha at a time. Besides, I’d only fucked her in a group setting, and I was more than eager to experience her all on my own.
By the time everyone finally cleared out, I was ready to crawl out of my skin. I needed to plaster myself to Madison or I was going to implode.
I tugged her along to the showers, leaving a trail of shed clothing in our wake.
I needed her scent.
Now.
Lifting her in my arms let her lock her legs around my waist and brought us to a height I could easily kiss her. I indulged in her mouth and rotated slowly in the warm water. Every drop that sluiced over our skin washed away the scent-masking spray, until the showers were a fog of raspberry, mulberry, and lavender.
As much as I wanted to get a move on, the shower was a necessity. I had enough arena dust stuck to me I’d be able to create my own little sandstorm, and I didn’t want any of it raining down on her.
“Leo.” She gasped out my name. “Are you fucking me in the shower or the stable?”
“Depends on if you have a preference.”
“Stable feels naughtier.” She grinned at me. “Do you want me to wash your hair?”
It wasn’t what I’d expected her to ask, but I wasn’t about to refuse. “Sure, if you’d like to.”
I carefully lowered her to her feet and sank to my knees. Her fingers were magic as she lathered the shampoo and carefully rinsed the mountain of dust hidden away between the strands. I closed my eyes so I could bask in the sensation, but kept my hands on her hips. After another shampoo and a condition, she deemed me ready.
“There we go. All sparkly.” She twirled a few of the strands around her fingers, leaving delicate ringlets. “I love your curls.”
“I loveyou.”
We both froze. That was probably the wrong thing to say. Too much too soon. But…how else was an alpha meant to feel about their bonded omega?
She recovered first, cradling my cheeks and forcing me to meet her gaze. “You’re an absolute sweetheart, and I’m working on accepting that I deserve the love I’ve been offered. I’m not ready quite yet, but I want to be, and I think I love you, too.”
Relief had me melting and pulling her close.
