Every pair of eyes in the room is now on her. The water isn’t up enough to cover her full body, leaving her round, perky tits on display. That space between her legs is completely submerged and hidden by the way she has her legs.
But honestly? Seeing her in the tub, her chest exposed, is more than enough to make a certain part of me come alive—and I don’t think I’m the only one affected here.
“Asher, grab me the hair clip on the counter there,” she says as she leans her head back. “This heat is no good for the color in my hair.” When Asher only stares at her, she finally lifts her head and brings her knowing eyes to each of us. “I’m sorry, but it kind of felt like we were going in circles, so.” She shrugs, then snaps her fingers. “Hair clip, please.”
Asher wears a dumbfounded look as he goes to get her hair clip, and he makes a big deal over trying not to stare at her exposed chest while handing it to her. His brother, on the other hand, clutches the clothes he brought in like they’ve become his lifeline and he needs them to survive.
And me? I’m feeling… a wild rollercoaster of different emotions.
Jess twirls her hair up and clips it to keep it from dipping in the water. “Unless you three are going to bathe me, I got it from here.” She shoots a glare our way. “That was me being sarcastic, by the way, in case you didn’t notice. Get out.”
“Right,” I say, though as I say it, my feet are still rooted firmly in place. Moving from my current location near the tub is going to be one of the toughest things I’ve ever had to do in my life. Knowing she’s right there, naked…
This isn’t good. This doesn’t bode well for her heat. I’m an alpha who’s never doubted his self-control before, but here and now? I’m weaker than I’ve ever been.
Mason is the first to move, though each movement is mechanical and strained, labored to infinity. He sets her clean clothes on the toilet seat, tosses Jess a lingering look, and then marches himself out of the bathroom. Asher follows him.
I don’t want to go. I want to stay right where I am. Hell, I want to take off my clothes and join her in that tub, pull her onto my lap and get to know every inch of that body beneath the water.
That tingle in my lower half? It’s a full-blown erection now, as much as I hate to say it—and it’s something she definitely notices before I turn to follow Mason and Asher. I grab the bathroom door handle on the way out and close it behind me.
Mason, Asher, and I stand in the middle of her chosen bedroom, not so much staring at each other as we are staring off into space. Clearly, our minds are still on Jess and what just happened. We’re each struggling in our own way.
I knew things would get bad being in a house with multiple unmatched, unmated alphas, but I didn’t think it’d get this hard this soon, and I didn’t believe I’d be one of them.
Asher speaks softly, “What are we going to do?” He glances at his brother, then at me, for any type of guidance.
But I’ve never been in a situation like this before. I’ve saved omegas, I’ve rescued kidnapped omegas when they’re mid-heat, and I’ve never felt like this. This is insane levels of desire, to the point where I can’t think straight. I hardly feel like myself.
“We should—” Again, I want to say we should go back in there, but I have to stop myself. “—change out of these wet clothes, at least.” Asher and I are soaking, while Mason has a thick muddy footprint from Jess’s thrown shoe on his shirt.
“Right,” Mason says, glancing down at said mud on his stomach. “Then what?”
Inside the bathroom, the sound of the water shuts off. I motion for everyone to move into the hall. Now that Jess isn’t mere feet away, now that there are whole walls and a door between us, it’s easier to ignore the aching in my balls and the throbbing in the tip of my cock. I lead the others into the hall.
I tell them, “Meet me in my room after.”
Neither of them argue, not even Mason, who I assume is primed to be argumentative. But right now, it’s clear we’re on the same page when it comes to Jess.
Asher and Mason wander off to change, and I do the same. After I make it to my room, I strip out of my sopping wet clothes and pick out another pair of pants and a shirt that were left here by their parents. I must be a little bit bigger than their dads, because everything is just a bit tight, including the pants.
Yeah, there’s no hiding a hard-on in pants like these.
Once I’m dressed, I sit on the wooden chest situated in front of the bed. It creaks beneath my weight but holds steady, and I lean forward, setting my elbows on my knees and folding my hands together.
I said I’d take Jess out of here if Asher and Mason proved they could not handle themselves, but I didn’t even think of the possibility that I would have issues. She’s my scent match, so of course it’s near impossible for me to resist her. Frankly, I don’tknow how she can act the way she does; it’s almost like it’s not registering deep inside her, the connection between us.
Mason is the first to join me, having only needed to change his shirt. He leans on the wall near the dresser, a good six or seven feet away from me, and he folds his arms over his chest. “I imagine you want to grill me about what almost happened between me and Jess.” He doesn’t sound thrilled about it. If anything, he sounds annoyed. “Whatever. Ask whatever the fuck you want.”
He’s expecting a grilling, maybe even me yelling at him—and if things were how I anticipated they’d be, if nothing had changed, then I probably would.
“Just tell me the truth,” I say, keeping calm. There’s no use in getting upset over any of this. “Is there something between you two?”
He looks away. “Does it matter? You’re apparently her scent match, which means me and my brother are chopped fucking liver.” Though he tries to sound like he doesn’t give a shit, he fails. It’d be obvious to anyone with working ears he cares so much more than he’s willing to admit.
“It matters,” I tell him. “It matters because… because maybe, after this whole heat thing, we could be on the same team. Your brother and I discussed it a little when we were at the lake. I’m not saying it’s going to be smooth and easy, but—”
“You mean form a pack?” Mason scoffs. “I don’t want a fucking pack.”
