“Now? Here?” I asked, my heart racing.
I still wasn’t convinced this was real. I could smell Josie’s vanilla scent, kept huffing it like I needed it to stay alive, but what if this was some sort of elaborate dream? Would I wake up in a cell? Or the back of the van?
“Yes,” she said, staring me down with a fierce confidence that took me by surprise.
“But your nest,” I argued feebly. Why the fuck am I arguing?
All I wanted was to bond my omega. This was the greatest gift I could ever imagine. But she had just gone through yet another trauma because we couldn’t protect her again. The self-loathing that had been simmering my entire time in prison was close to boiling over. The only thing keeping me from losing my shit was feeling my mate’s bare skin on mine and seeing the love in her eyes as she looked at me.
Josie sat up, keeping the blanket wrapped around her as she straddled me. My cock twitched at the feel of her pussy against my stomach. Her scent made my mouth water, and my fingers itched to pull the blanket off her. She leaned forward and pressed her hands on either side of my face. My beard was longer than she’d ever seen, and she was momentarily distracted as she ran her fingers gently down my cheeks and jaw. I shuddered in pleasure, tightening my hold on her hips. She shook her head as if to clear it, and an expression of renewed determination crossed her face.
“I know what you’re thinking. All three of you,” she said with a scowl. Her expression was so fucking adorable. I wanted to kiss her pouty lips.
“Cam, you’re going to say you don’t deserve this because you didn’t protect me.” Well, she’s got that right.
“You,” she said, staring Theo down, “Are probably going to say something similar and that I deserve something special and romantic.” Theo ran his hand through his hair with a grimace.
“And you,” she said, turning to Ben. “Well…” her scowl turned into a smile. “You’re probably going to say it’s about time and bite me the second I ask.”
Ben burst out in laughter, pulling her in for a kiss. “You got it, precious.” Then his face turned serious. “For the record, I hate that I didn’t protect you. I keep replaying that night over and over. Just because you’re incredible and escaped and rescued us doesn’t mean I don’t wish I could have done that for you. I never want you to be in that position again.” He hesitated, his voice growing tight. “I keep having nightmares about you being ripped from my arms. I can’t handle that again.”
Josie cupped his face, pressing her forehead to his. “Me, too. It’s going to take a lot for us to recover from the past couple of weeks. During the trial, all I wanted to do was run down to the courthouse and prove to myself that you were still alive. I don’t want to wait a single moment longer to be bonded with you. I love you all so, so much. More than anything. I want to be connected with you forever. If you want that.” She spoke those last words in an almost whisper.
Fuck. I hated that she could doubt that for even a second. My fingers massaged small circles on her hips.
“I want that, baby girl. I’ve wanted to bond you from the moment you walked into that interview room. I just…” Think you deserve better.
Her eyes were soft as she ran her hand down my face, as if she knew the words I’d left unspoken. She leaned down, her hair falling in a curtain as she ran her nose across my collarbone.
“I want forever with you.”
“Forever.” My throat was hoarse as a tear fell down my face. Josie wiped it away, kissing the spot where it had been.
“Theo?” she asked hesitantly, turning towards my brother.
Theo took hold of Josie’s hand, threading his fingers through hers. “You’re the love of my life,” he said. “I can’t believe how lucky I am. Of course, I want to bond you.” He kissed the inside of Josie’s wrist, and her shoulders relaxed.
Then he looked around the barren room with a disgruntled expression. “You deserve a better room, though. You should have a nest with all your favorite things and candles, and better food than canned soup.”
Josie’s lip twitched and I couldn’t help but grin. She knew us so fucking well.
“You can get me all of that later,” she said. “But I don’t want to wait. I would bond you in the back of that van if that were my only option.”
“Our mate knows what she wants,” Ben said, giving her ass a hard squeeze that caused her to arch back with a moan. “And I think we should give it to her.”
My cock twitched, growing harder. At this rate, I wasn’t going to last long. Unable to resist any longer, I tugged on the blanket she had wrapped around her, revealing her soft, round breasts with their pretty pink nipples.
She met my gaze as I pinched her nipples lightly.
“You ready to bond me, alpha?” she asked, her eyes sparkling with happiness.
I nodded, my throat suddenly too tight with emotion to speak.
“Good,” she said. “You first.”
I blinked in shock. She wanted me to go first? I waited for my brother’s jealousy or anger through the bond, but it didn’t come. I felt their contentment and excitement mixed with disbelief that we could be so lucky.
Josie shifted down my body and rubbed her sweet cunt along the length of my cock, drenching me in her slick. I needed to taste her, needed to drown in her. I gripped her hips and flipped her over until I was on top. The movement made her squeal in surprise and caused Ben to fly off the too-small bed.
“I see how it is,” Ben groaned, pulling himself back onto the bed.
Josie and Theo burst into laughter.
“Okay, that was worth bonding in this terrible bed,” Theo snorted.
“This is such a shitshow,” Josie said between giggles. I froze, wondering if she wanted me to stop.
“Keep going, alpha,” she said, mirth in her eyes as Ben leaned in and kissed her shoulder.
I cupped her face and pulled her into a deep kiss. “You taste so sweet,” I groaned, sliding my tongue into her mouth. She ran her fingers down my back, lightly scratching me with her fingernails and grinding her heat against my rock-hard cock. I cupped her ass and ran my hands up her luscious thighs. When my hand brushed against the bandage, I realized I’d forgotten all about her injury.
“Shit, did I hurt you?” I asked, looking up at her in panic.
She ran her fingers through my hair.
“No, alpha.” She was smiling, and her body was soft and relaxed underneath me, and my chest loosened.
“Tell me if I do, baby girl,” I said, placing a few gentle kisses around her wound. If I thought too long about how she’d been injured, I’d work myself into a rage again. Instead, I kissed all the way up one thigh, my breath skating across her pussy before I made my way up her other leg.
“Cam, please,” she gasped, arching up to get friction on her cute little clit.
She lay before me like a queen, baring her naked body without shame. I thought back to the day she moved in with us, how she’d had her first orgasm with me. She’d been so vulnerable, so unsure. There was none of that hesitancy now.
“Look at you, sweetheart. So fucking gorgeous spread out for me,” I said, overwhelmed with awe as I leaned over her. I firmly cupped her mound with one hand, grinning at how she writhed. The feel of her heat and slick against my palm was enough to have pre-cum dripping from my cock as I groaned.
“Whose pussy is this?” I asked, running my thumb over her clit.
“Umm… mine?” she said with adorable uncertainty.
“Damn right it is,” I said with a grin, leaning down to look into her eyes. “All yours. It’s your choice who touches you, licks you, fucks you.”
She tangled her fingers in my hair and pulled me in for a hard kiss. “Good thing I’m choosing you,” she said.
“It means the world to me, my sweet omega. I’ll never take that for granted—your trust, your love.”
Her eyes filled with tears, and I placed tender kisses on her cheeks before squeezing her mound again. I moved down her body, following her vanilla scent to where it was strongest. My cock strained beneath me as I ran my nose down her mound, breathing in deeply.
“Fuck, you smell so good.”
I licked a long line from her sweet opening to her clit. Her slick gathered on my tongue like the sweetest dessert I could imagine. I teased her with gentle licks until she was writhing underneath me.
“Please,” she begged.
I pressed my smile against her skin and increased my rhythm, licking and sucking while I thrust two fingers in and out of her pussy until she clenched around me, coming with a soft cry.
Her slick dripped down her thighs, soaking the bed, and I’d had enough waiting.
“Present for me, little omega,” I said.
She hesitated slightly before moving into position, bringing her chest down to the bed and lifting her ass in the air. I leaned in to kiss each ass cheek before cupping them in my hands.
“Your body is perfect,” I said with reverence. Part of me was tempted to spank her, to redden her skin and hear her moans of pain and pleasure, but my chest tightened at the thought of inflicting any harm on her. It felt wrong. Even her position, presenting for me, didn’t feel right.
I wanted to see her face, to look at her as I took her. I needed tenderness right now, reassurance that my omega was safe.
I ran my hand down her back and felt a slight tremor go through her body.
“Actually, baby girl, turn around for me.”
She did what I asked, her eyes wide and unsure. “Did I do something wrong?”
“Never,” I said fiercely, gathering her up in my arms so she was straddling my lap. “I just… want to see you while we bond. Want you closer.”
She shuddered and I thought I saw a flash of relief cross her face as she wrapped her arms around my neck and pressed her body against mine.
“Don’t leave me again,” she whispered.
“Never,” I responded fiercely, wrapping my hand in her hair. Ben and Theo moved closer to us, running their hands over Josie’s body. The three of us murmured reassurances, holding onto our omega as tightly as we could.
I didn’t know how much time had passed when Josie pulled away, a smile on her face. She leaned in to kiss Theo and Ben and then turned her heated gaze on me.
“I need you,” she said, running her hands down my chest until she gripped my cock. I groaned, thrusting into her hand before lying down on the bed with her underneath me.
“You play dirty,” I said, nipping her ear.
Josie giggled and the sound was a miracle.
I spread her legs wide and settled between them, supporting my weight on my forearms as I slowly pushed my cock into her silken heat.
Her eyes widened and the sweetest whimper escaped her lips. I captured them with mine, dipping my tongue into her mouth and nipping her lower lip. Fuck, I would never get enough of this.
“I want you like this, beautiful and flushed and happy every single fucking day,” I growled. “In my arms, on my knot.” I grasped her wrists, pinning them above her head in one hand while my other wrapped around her uninjured thigh, hitching it up.
“Yes,” she moaned, arching her back until her nipples rubbed against my chest with every movement. Josie let out a sharp cry as I thrust into her again, sinking my knot fully into her slick heat. She threw her head back, her eyes closed as she came, gripping my knot like a glove. I came with her, roaring my pleasure.
We lay there, gazing into each other’s eyes, and I was unexpectedly overwhelmed with emotion. If I had to live every painful moment of my life over again just to get here, I would do it in a heartbeat.
I pressed my face into her neck, sucking on her skin, my mouth watering at the thought of marking her in such a visible spot. I wanted everyone to know she was mine, always.
I pulled back and stared into her eyes. All I found there was happiness.
“Make me yours,” she whispered, running her hand through my hair.
I trembled as I lowered my lips to her neck and bit. Josie entered my soul in a wave of sugary vanilla, tenderly wrapping me up in a blanket of her love.
I gasped as tears streamed down my face at the overwhelming feeling of my mate, my omega, so woven into my being I wasn’t sure where I stopped and she began. Her joy pulsed through the bond like stars breaking up the darkness. It was as if her very being surrounded my insecurities—my feelings of not being good enough, of failing those I loved most—and obliterated them.
She shifted so we were facing each other on our sides, lowering her lips to my chest before hesitating.
“Mark me, baby girl. I’m already yours completely.”
She bit down on the spot right above my heart. There was a flash of pain and then pleasure as the bond was completed. I tried to loosen my hold on her hips, not wanting to bruise her, but I was incapable of letting her go.
The pain she’d felt since we were taken from her was sharp in the bond and a purr built in my chest. I wanted to make sure she never felt that again. I wrapped my arm around her neck, pressing my face into her hair.
“My sweetheart, my omega,” I murmured over and over.
“My alpha,” she responded as she wiped away my tears, her own soaking into her beautiful hair.
I pushed as much of my love as I could down the bond so she could never again doubt how deeply I loved her. My thumb caressed the bite on her neck, my purr intensifying at the satisfaction of seeing it there. It would fade into a silvery scar, forever marking that we belonged together.
