“What? Holy fucking shit, Sol.” Rhys raked his fingers through his hair. “That’s why you weren’t sure it was heat when the cramps hit you. Oh, fuck.” He leveled a confused stare at me. “I asked so much of you. I’m sorry for assuming you were experienced.”
“I am! In everything but heat and being fucked in the ass!” My voice climbed high. He didn’t know me. No one did. Not completely. “I’ve been doing this for money since I was fifteen, fattening my parents’ pockets. So my mom could wear designer threads and my dad could get a car that compensated for his dick size.”
“That’s awful. I’m so sorry. I…fuck, I can’t change that for you. But now we have to leave.” Rhys reached out, but didn’t touch me. “You have no reason to trust me, but from what you’resaying, and judging by how I found you earlier today, I may be your best option. Tell me I’m wrong.”
“Fuck you!” I spat and jumped off the bed. I kicked the rolling table, sending the implements I’d picked scattering to the floor. “Fuck you for being right!”
Strong arms around me. Warmth. Comfort. An Alpha whose touch didn’t repel me.
I leaned into Rhys’s muscled chest and let him scoop me up.
“Come on, baby, let’s get you through this.”
His whisper sent a sliver of hope into my heart. My eyes filled with tears as I relaxed into his embrace. I didn’t know how to deal with this gentleness. It was confusing and my instinct was to rebel against it. A nice gesture meant the person wanted something from me. But Rhys had already got what he needed. Was his offer genuine?
“You’d fuck me?” I didn’t want to trick him anymore, but I needed his knot to ease the excruciating pain.
“Yes. I’d do anything that you need to get through this heat with the least amount of suffering.”
“Why?”
He pulled me closer to him, rocking me as he was still kneeling on the floor. “I said I’ll help you, but I will also enjoy every second of it. Does that make sense?” Rhys kissed my forehead, and the gesture turned me into a sobbing mess.
The worst pain in my life was coming my way, but I’ve never felt safer. The night turned out to be much wilder than I’d expected, and the way it progressed formed a bond between me and Rhys.
As crazy as it was, I believed his words. If he’d wanted to hurt me, he had the perfect chance when he’d tied me to a chair. I’d beat him and fucked him, but he was now holding me as if I were made of the finest porcelain. The warmth of his body and the strength of his arms filled me with the need to burrow my faceinto his chest and let myself be vulnerable. Deep down inside, I knew he’d deliver on his promise and take care of me during my first heat, just like I’d done when I’d given him what he’d always needed and craved. As I wrapped my arms around his neck, I imagined what life with Rhys would look like, and came up with the most fantastical picture—me fucking him into the mattress at night, then us eating breakfast together in the morning. It was a pipe dream, but at least I was going through my heat on my terms.
Coming to the Rut Hotel might have been the best decision I’d ever made.
Chapter Seven
Sol
Rhys helped me get dressed into my muddy pants and the sneakers I’d had in my backpack, then draped a blanket over my shoulders. He pulled on his clothes and we left in a rush, with Rhys carrying our stuff and steadying me all the way toward a black truck with tinted windows. The passenger seat was big enough for me to sit cross-legged as I buckled up and massaged my belly. I expected the engine to rev into life, but Rhys pulled out of the parking spot at the back of the hotel with eerie stealth. I looked around the tidy interior of the cabin, decked in black leather and tiny compartments all around. It reminded me of the vehicles my parents’ security drove us in when we didn’t want anyone to know where we were going, except this one wasn’tbrand new. Rhys kept it clean, but it was a few years old, with marks of wear and tear around on closer inspection.
The tip of my tongue tingled to ask about Rhys’s work and his background. But it was none of my business. Wasn’t it? He was taking me to his house to spend a week with me, after all.
A cramp squeezed my guts, and I inhaled sharply, wrapping my arms around my waist.
“Here.” Rhys handed me his phone, opened on a shopping site I didn’t recognize. “I have access to a store for emergencies. I added the essential and advanced sets for heat to the basket, but look through what they have and add anything else you need.”
I scoffed, but took the device off him as he turned to the highway. “The heat is starting now and will last for four to ten days. The package won’t arrive on time.”
“It will be at my house within a few hours. Trust me.” He patted my knee, then lingered there, caressing the spot with his thumb. “I have military clearance.”
“That explains the truck.” And why he’d never been fucked by an omega. If his superiors found out, he’d be in deep shit. He was risking a lot more than I’d thought by giving me the signed list of things he wanted me to do to him. I wouldn’t use it unless he gave me reason to in the next few days.
“It’s useful.” Rhys’s focused gaze was on the road as he sped down the highway to get me to his place and fuck me through the heat. This was a bizarre night for the both of us.
My twisting guts reminded me to scroll through the online store. “So I can order anything I want?”
“Within reason. Like, don’t buy a car.” His short chuckle was rich, but subdued by the seriousness lingering under the surface. “Anything heat related: food, clothes, blankets, whatever strikes your fancy.”
Living in luxury my entire life, his offer didn’t excite me, but even as a military Alpha, he couldn’t be even half as rich asmy parents, so his willingness to spend so much on me was touching, given he’d sent me a fair sum already.
I added a few more dildos, toys I found interesting, and snacks. Lots of them. Every sugary and unhealthy thing my parents never let me eat. I had to watch my figure to look pretty. After the heat I’d be starving. During it, I wouldn’t be hungry and would need to drink the nutrient-packed drinks that were designed to help keep an omega going throughout the entire ordeal. Those were already in the cart.
“Do you want to see what I added?” I lifted the phone.
