Page 35 of Pack’s Prize
Andwhere.
But I trusted Theo, and Elias, and Michael, who’d swooped down on me like a raven from a flock of black-jacketed older men, pulling me into his arms, burying his nose in my temple, whispering, “You really don’t want to leave?” in my ear. I shook my head. “We’ll get out of here soon, I promise,fuck, Ava, you smellso god damned delicious.”
“Go mingle,” I chided. “That’s what you’re here for. And that’s what I’m here for, too, remember?”
“In that case,” he suggested, his voice low and rich, the heat in his eyes building, “let me introduce you around.”
There was a whirl of introductions, a parade of those same people who had looked with curiosity at me earlier in the night. Now, as I was introduced–Ava, our omega–they stared, some obviously intrigued, others downright lustful. I noticed more than one man shifting foot to foot after Michael swept me away.
It was fascinating,I thought, as I held out my hand to an elegant older woman whose name I had already forgotten,how comfortable I was.How right I felt, here on Michael’s arm, Theo’s release still hot within me, the warmth of heat just beginning to build in my belly once again.I could feel Elias’s eyes tracking me through the gallery, and knew I was perfectly safe, even if the attendees were obviously interested.
I felt more secure here, in public, with strangers watching as the flush crept upwards from the valley of my cleavage to my collarbones, than I ever had locked in the house with Roman and his pack.
It was that knowledge, more than anything, that had me at last turning to Michael, a plea on my lips.
“Home?” He anticipated my question, and I nodded.
* * *
I could feelit rising in me, even during the short car ride from gallery to apartment. The fever was closer than I had thought, and my silk dress was clinging to my damp skin. It tugged against my nipples, keeping them hard and tight, and I squirmed in my seat, rubbing my legs together. I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath, trying to cool my body down by sheer force of will.
“Are you okay, Ava?” Elias asked, and I nodded, eyes still closed. “Do you want me to…”
“No, I’m fine,” I said. “I can wait until we get home.”
He was quiet for a moment, then I heard a rustle from next to me, and his hand came to rest on my thigh, kneading my muscle. I hadn’t realized how tense I was.
“Are you nervous?” he whispered.
I opened my eyes, blinking to clear them as I looked into his bright blue ones. “No,” I said. I wasn’t. I was with them. They would take care of me.
And, for the first time in a long time, I had the security of knowing exactly what awaited me on the other side: exhaustion and sore muscles.
No claiming bite.
And that was fine. That wasn’t what this was about. This was about our mutual agreement. I’d helped them out, and they were helping me. We respected each other. Soon, this would be over, and we would part ways.
A strange twinge, like a cramp, pulled in my chest.Probably just the fever.
“No, I’m not nervous,” I said, and put my hand on top of his, pulling it up over the fabric of my dress, to rest on my chest, just above my heart. It was beating fast, but not wildly so. I was excited, but I wasn’t scared. “See?”
A strange expression tugged at Elias’s handsome face, and he opened his mouth, but Michael spoke from the front seat. “We’re here.”
I smiled at Elias as the car pulled into the underground parking, then into the reserved space by the penthouse’s private elevator, and, as he opened my door and helped me down from the SUV, he smiled in return. He escorted me from the car to the elevator, with Theo leading the way and Michael on my other side. I was thankful for their support: the close spaces were concentrating our mingled pheromones, and as the elevator rose higher and higher, I could feel myself growing warm, my head growing fuzzy.
The slick building between my legs.
“Fuck, wait,” Michael said as we stepped off of the elevator and into the small foyer of their penthouse. His arm was around the small of my back, resting on the curve of my waist. His shoulder tensed as he drew to a halt. “Should we be going to the Heat Center? We still don’t have a nest–”
I turned to face him, wrapping myself in his arm.
“You have beds big enough for three alphas, don’t you?” I said, looping one wrist around his head, nudging him down to where I could kiss his worried pout. “Four shouldn’t be too much trouble.” I didn’t care that they didn’t have a nest. They’d never needed one, but I didn’t need one, either. Not with them. Not when they had extra-large, emperor-size beds filled with soft pillows that smelled like cedar, and smoke, and boozy whiskey that made my head spin and my pussy clench around nothing, desperate to be filled. My tongue slipped between Michael’s lips, teasing against his, and I stepped closer still, so that his thigh was between mine.
“Hey, hey,Ava,” he said, pulling back some. “Hold on–really, we can get a private room, then you’ll have the space–”
“She’s obviously not interested,” Theo murmured from somewhere behind Michael. I wasn’t sure exactly where–I was more interested in chasing the taste of him, and the friction of Michael’s thigh against my clit where I was grinding shamelessly against him. Two large hands gripped my ass, and I heard Theo again, much closer this time. “If you want to waste time driving halfway across the city, be my guest.” Lips landed on my neck, and a thick bulge pressed against my lower back. “I’ll take over here,” Theo whispered against my skin, and I threw back my head to rest on his shoulder. I moved my hips, grinding into firm thigh in front of me and thick cock behind, and moaned. “You can call the receptionist at the Heat Center and discuss what variety of snacks you prefer. What kind of snacksdoyou prefer while you’re in heat, darling?”
Someone was talking to me.Theo. He smelled so fucking good. I turned to bury my face in his neck, nuzzling my nose against the skin above his collar. He was wearing too many clothes. I wanted to touch him, wanted to feel his skin on mine, wanted his scent, wanted to taste…