Chapter 14: Chapter Fourteen

Ashley stretched as she got into the apartment, grateful to be home…and puzzled by the fact that it was home.

Already, so quickly, it felt like her space. She’d realized it that morning when she’d gotten ready, her things in the bathroom off her room. Liam had moved Kara’s things from the room and into the apartment across the hall, going as far as to have new bedding brought in.

He was making an effort, trying to send a message, one she appreciated. You belong here.

It had helped, though she couldn’t quite kick her unease. She chalked it up to a mixture of paranoia and her own fears about her inexperience.

Somehow, going slow with them, being a virgin—it all made her question herself. It was hard to think they could actually want her above Kara, who, from what Ashley had seen, was some sort of funny, sexy rebel.

A sting at her ass made her yelp, and she turned a glare on Liam, who only offered an unrepentant grin after he’d slapped her ass. “You have this look on your face when you’re putting yourself down. I’ve finally identified it, and any time I see it, I’ll swat that lovely ass of yours.”

“I’m not a dog you can train,” Ashley argued.

“I don’t know about that. You seem to fall into line pretty easy. I’d call you praise-driven.”

She flushed, the words feeling insulting even as she thought back to the training he meant, the way his fingers had slid into her, stretched her, especially as he’d reminded her he’d done it to prepare her.

Erik came up behind her, leaning closer to inhale loudly near her throat. “You smell amazing. Whatever you’re thinking, keep thinking it.”

She waved them both off, taking a few steps away. They always did that, stood too close, made her forget herself.

Even during her workday, they’d stop in, and with just a few words, with a promising look, she’d find her breath quickening and her panties becoming damp.

It was downright embarrassing how quickly she reacted to them.

Torrin sighed as he passed them. “You three are like teenagers. I’m going to order dinner. Any requests?”

“Anything that can be drizzled over her naked body and licked off,” Liam said.

Torrin huffed, though a certain tension remained through his shoulders, as if he had pictured that. “You’ve lost your vote. I’ll call down and decide.”

With that, Torrin went to his office. While they’d stopped their chef and housekeeping from coming, they had kept the concierge who handled the entire apartment building. It meant that they only needed to call the number they’d shown her to order anything they wanted. The items would then go through the extra security they’d hired and be delivered to the door.

Ashley missed doing her own shopping, but she had to admit, it was safer.

Still, Liam and Erik stood there, both staring at her expectantly.

What are they expecting, exactly?

“What?” She crossed her arms, hoping the action hid how hard her nipples had become.

Liam’s lip curled up at the side, that half-smile he often wore. “We’re going to fuck you tonight, sweet.”

Ashley’s mouth fell open at the boldness of the statement, the way he said it without any doubts.

It wasn’t a threat, and yet for a moment it felt threatening. And promising. And sexy.

What the hell is wrong with me?

“What if I’m not ready?”

Erik shrugged, as though the conversation were about less personal things. “We’d never force you, but don’t forget, we can smell you. You’re more than ready.”

“I’ve felt you loosen right up for my fingers, sweet. Don’t worry, you’ll take a cock just fine.”

Ashley set a hand on the table for balance, her knees weak. It wasn’t just what Liam said. It was the way he said it. He had no doubt in his voice, the words saturated with lust and certainty.

She’d never felt more seen, more desired. While she wasn’t sure she understood why exactly they wanted her, it still reached inside her and made her want them, too.

Well, that and a million other things.

“Okay,” she said, as if his statement had been a question, as if they couldn’t read on her face that she wanted this as much as they did.

Or maybe more, which shocked her most of all.

Her agreement was met by Erik coming closer, taking only two large steps to end up right in front of her. He took his kiss, passionate and deep and enough to make her dizzy. His lips were solid, taking control just as he slid his hand into her hair and grasped tightly.

He stole her breath and her thoughts until she struggled to get closer, until her hands seemed to wander on their own and find their way under his shirt, to the hard, hot skin beneath.

Except he pulled away then, an unhappy groan leaving him.

Ashley’s lust-filled brain couldn’t keep up and she wondered why he’d pulled away. A list started in her head of all the things she might have done wrong.

And, just as he had last time, he swatted her ass hard in response. “You worry too much,” he reassured her.

“You said—”

Liam chuckled from behind Erik. “I know you’re eager, sweet, but dinner will be here shortly. What we have planned will require a lot longer than the little time we have.”

Heat danced across her skin at the reprimand, at the amusement, at how she’d completely forgotten about food and everything else because she’d wanted them that badly.

Erik caught her chin, rubbing his thumb over her jawline. They all liked to do that, to force her eyes to theirs, to take that tiny bit of power and turn her to jelly with it. The more Gregory had pushed her before, the more he’d tried to run her life, the more she rebelled.

So why, every time these alphas took control, did she fall into place? Worse, it was a place she felt comfortable in, a place that fulfilled her in a way nothing else had.

Liam chuckled darkly, the sound that said she was in far more trouble than she was prepared to deal with. “Oh, sweet, you’re begging for it, aren’t you? Don’t worry, you’ll have all you can handle and more tonight.”

She’d finally not be a virgin anymore. She’d finally understand something she’d been missing.

Forget dinner, Ashley would have been happy for them to pull her to the bedroom right at that moment.

Erik twisted his lips into that rare smirk of his before he dragged his thumb across her full bottom lip. “Don’t pout. We’ll have you knotted in no time.”

Fuck food.

Erik couldn’t concentrate on the Mexican food Torrin had ordered. Even with the scent of chilis and spices in the air, he could focus on nothing but Ashley.

Her cheeks retained the slight glow from earlier, and he knew each time she thought back to what they’d said. Her eyes would lift to either one of them and she’d take her bottom lip between her teeth, shift in the seat then jerk her gaze back down to her food. Even if her face didn’t scream it, the blooming of her delectable, tempting scent did.

They’d taken their time, eased her into the idea, waited until she was nearly begging for them.

There was no doubt in his mind that she’d be knotted before the night was out. Perhaps it would ease them all. Alpha territorial impulses were nothing to laugh at, and having her unclaimed put them all on edge. Some foolish, primal part of him worried about a challenger coming in and trying to take her.

I’d tear their throat out.

He scoffed at his own thought. Not that he wouldn’t do it—of course he would—but he didn’t need to be thinking about it.

Still, having her smelling of him, of Liam, of Torrin—if that stubborn asshole got out of his own head long enough—would relax them all.

This whole thing felt temporary until then. Sure, Erik knew he was bonding to her. He could feel that pull she had, that she’d had from day one if he were being honest. The more time they spent together, the stronger it grew, until he wasn’t sure how he’d ever let her go.

She was theirs, and they’d make sure she had everything she could ever want for.

Except the truth.

If she knew about them, it was over. He stilled as he thought back to Beth’s face when she’d realized what he’d done, when she’d seen the blood on his hands. She’d flinched away when he’d reached for her, fear covering her features.

Erik dragged his hand over his face, trying to wipe away the memory that haunted him.

He couldn’t handle seeing that look on Ashley’s face. While he had no doubt he’d never hurt her, he also knew people were fickle. She’d see the worst in him and assume that was all he was.

Maybe it is all you are.

“Erik?” Ashley’s sweet voice was like a rope tossed to him at the bottom of a well, something he could grasp and climb up with, something to pull him to even ground.

How could she do that? It was as if those dark places inside him withdrew at the sound of her voice, fled from her when they fled from nothing else.

“Sorry, lost in thought.”

Her smile held hesitancy. “I said thank you, for the new pajamas.”

“Oh. Of course. When things are more settled, we’ll take you shopping for some actual clothes. Until then, dial nine on any of the phones here and you’ll reach the concierge. He can order whatever you need and have it delivered.” Erik had personally picked out the pieces, though he’d never admit it. He’d selected a nice mixture of items, with many similar to the colorful and cartoonish things she opted to wear.

Never had he thought such silly pieces of clothing could be so sexy, but leave it to her to prove him wrong.

In addition to them, though, he had included some more risqué items. White lace would look stunning against her tan skin, making her look like the innocent creature he knew she was.

And part of him liked that. It was like giving in to his predator side, to think of her as prey who willingly embraced him, who allowed him to devour her.

“Are you wearing any of it?” His voice came out rough.

More red on her cheeks signaled yes.

Liam chuckled from his spot, the man always an interesting dichotomy. He could chuckle, seem disarming, and yet his eyes held no less lust, no less promise. “Well, seems like that will be a very pleasant surprise for me. I never saw what he ordered.”

Again Ashley shifted, no doubt aching for friction against her swollen clit. Not that she could get what she needed sitting there. Why is it such a turn-on to think of her needy and unfulfilled right now? Probably because Erik knew damned well she’d get what she wanted after dinner.

Possibly sooner, if she kept smelling like that.

A quick glance around the table told Erik the same. Liam and Torrin had barely touched their food, far more interested in the omega than anything else.

It seemed dinner had been mostly a bust. Ashley had eaten some, though that had been likely because they’d pushed her, reminding her to take bites, and she’d obeyed like the sweet omega she was.

Torrin breathed in deeply, his eyes closing and lines of tension appearing between his eyebrows. No doubt he was as affected as the others by that delectable scent. “Are you finished eating, dove?”

She nodded, and Erik needed no further welcome. He stood at the same time Liam did, the strange connection the twins had, that not even they fully understood.

“Good, because I’m starving for something else.” Liam pulled her from the seat as Erik took her plate, piling the barely touched food and discarding the plates on the kitchen counter to deal with later.

He turned when Ashley’s gasp called him, then couldn’t stop the grin as he found Ashley seated on the large dining table. The sweet, naive little thing looked entirely confused.

“Show me what you’re wearing,” Erik ordered, his mouth watering at the thought of what she might have picked.

There had been no shortage of options, but he secretly hoped she’d picked the white lace, the one that would allow her lovely skin to peek through the holes, that was thin enough to show her nipples.

She trembled and grasped the hem of her top, then pulled it off.

Perfection. The white, just as he’d hoped.

And as he’d imagined, she looked like the best virgin sacrifice.

“Fuck, Erik, you picked this out? Who would have thought you had good taste?” Liam’s voice held mocking fondness as he traced his fingers along the bottom edge of the bra, teasing the skin there.

Torrin hadn’t moved yet, was still seated in his spot, eyes rapt to the sight before him.

No longer was it a question of if, but merely when. Torrin walked a line no man could keep from toppling from. He touched her now, but never an exchange of fluid. It was a boundary that could not continue, that was impossible to keep.

And once they had crossed it, once Torrin had no more reason to avoid it, they would all be the better for it.

However, they’d never been able to push Torrin anywhere, which meant temptation was the only option.

And there was no better place for that than here, with Ashley displayed on the table like the best feast.

One he planned on fully enjoying.

Liam was going to devour every luscious inch of Ashley’s perfect body. He wanted to suck her breasts until she cried out his name, to spread her soft thighs and feast between them until she begged for him to stop, until she pleaded for someone to fill her.

A nod at her bottoms had her following the unspoken demand, shimmying off the pajamas to reveal matching white lace panties.

She shifted, and he groaned. Not just panties, but a thong that revealed her luscious ass.

At which he had to remind himself that anal was not on the table just yet.

He scolded himself for the stupid pun, trying to keep his head in the game.

Liam pressed a hand to the center of her chest—her heart thundered there—and pressed her to lie flat.

Maybe he should have taken her for the first time in a soft bed, but they weren’t soft people.

Best she knows that from the start.

She was spread out before him like a sacrifice on an altar, like the best lure that could trap any man.

And he wanted to be trapped. He wanted this perfect creature to dig her claws into him and never let him go.

He ran his hands up her thighs, savoring the curves, the responsiveness of her trembling body. He brushed his thumbs over her lace-covered pussy but didn’t pause even when she moaned.

Instead, he continued, up over her hips, up her soft belly, her ribs, her succulent breasts. Every part of her was made for pleasure, made for him.

Not an inch of it failed to excite him.

Erik had stripped out of his clothing, no doubt eager.

Liam allowed himself a moment to lean down and drag his tongue against her nipple, the lace thin enough to feel the already hardened peak. Ashley gasped and reached for him, carding her fingers through his hair to keep him close, to urge him to continue.

But he wanted her surrendering entirely.

Liam caught her wrists and met her lust-drunk gaze. “Hands up, sweet. Grasp the edge of the table and don’t let it go. Can you do that for me?”

Her chest rose and fell rapidly, but she nodded.

“Such a good girl,” he praised as she lifted her arms and grasped the top of the table, her body lying across the short length.

It stretched her out, made her chest lift as if on display. He’d never seen a better sight, one that made him want more. He reached beneath her to unhook her bra, then pulled it up her arms and left it on her wrists like cuffs. Her panties went, too, as he tugged them down her long legs.

Liam slid off her to undress as well, needing to feel Ashley’s warm skin against his own.

Torrin hadn’t moved from his spot, though he had undone his pants, his cock in his hand. He sat where her hands grasped the table, giving him the perfect view down her tempting body.

Ashley’s moan stole Liam’s focus, his hands frozen on his own pants as he turned to see Erik between Ashley’s supple thighs, the sweet girl still gripping the top of the table even as she shifted and writhed on its surface.

Damn. What a sight.

Liam could almost enjoy himself right there, taking in the show, the way her breasts moved, the way Erik slipped two fingers into her cunt.

Liam could imagine her squeezing down, knew how tight she was, how her taste lingered on his tongue.

Erik drove her hard. Her muscles twitched beneath her skin as if the distrust inside her warred with what she wanted, with what Erik seemed determined to pull from her.

His pink tongue appeared as he circled her clit before he pressed his lips to the hardened nub.

She gasped, the cry cut off, her back arching impossibly off the table and her knuckles turning white.

Torrin groaned, and Liam had to agree.

That was the sort of sight he never could picture getting tired of. Hell, the more they did this, the more he thought about a future, about waking up beside her, about how after an especially taxing job he could come home and wash away the day with her curled up to his side.

If we can deal with Gregory. And if she doesn’t leave us.

Ashley’s eyes fluttered open, Erik having moved to more gentle affection, offering soft kisses and nibbles to her folds as she came down after her orgasm—her first but certainly not last one that night.

Her blue eyes drew him in, the honesty there, the offer of something real he’d never experienced before in his life.

It chased away his fears, made him resolve to make it work somehow. How could he lose the way she looked at him?

“You ready, sweet? Because it’s time to fuck you, now.”

Liam’s words stole what little of Ashley’s mind was still working worth a damn after the orgasm Erik had given her. His eyes, brown with those green flecks that caught the light, were mesmerizing.

It was really happening. No more waiting, no more wondering.

She shouldn’t have had to answer, the truth in her trembling body, in her scent, but still the alphas waited.

They wanted to hear her say it. Was that their way of making sure, or did they just enjoy the power of making her say it?

And why did she like that? When they pushed her, when they made her do things she wasn’t sure she wanted to, her pussy would clench and her breath would quicken.

“I’m ready,” she said, pleading with her eyes to not demand more.

The curl of Liam’s lips said it was enough. He came forward as Erik shifted between her thighs. A tug at her waist made her yelp. Erik moved her on the table until her ass almost hung off the edge, but his warm body was there.

What is he—

The teasing of his cock against her pussy made her moan and reminded her that the table put her in the exact right position.

Had they picked that table for that reason? She could almost picture Liam—because he was the one who would have done that on purpose—at a furniture store, walking up to tables to see if they’d place a woman at the perfect height for him to fuck.

The position made her arms stretch, but she still could reach the top of the table, just barely.

The blunt head of Erik’s hot cock stroked her.

She knew without a doubt they wouldn’t hurt her. They’d proven it to her time and time again, giving her only security and pleasure.

So when Erik teased her, she let her thighs go lax, giving in.

Erik rumbled out a soft growl along with a good girl.

The table groaned as Liam hopped onto it. The sight of him on his hands and knees made him look even more predator-like, making his body bigger and more threatening, especially since she was lying on her back, stretched out and so vulnerable. His shaved head and sharp features did the same.

He moved closer, sliding his leg over her so her sat above her, over her ribcage.

Never had their difference in size and strength been as obvious as right then, when she stared up his strong, muscle-covered body, his thick, hard cock resting against his lower stomach.

“Do you have any idea how fucking pretty you are?” Liam grasped her breasts, not a moment of hesitation, as if he had every right to do so. That sort of comfort only made her burn hotter, especially as Erik kept grinding his dick against her still sensitive clit.

Ashley swallowed hard, the praise doing sinful things to her even as her brain tried to deny it.

Liam slid his hands, fingers pressing into her heavy, aching breasts until he had each nipple trapped between his fingers. He squeezed and pulled, the bite of pain sizzling through the electricity already coursing through her, mixing with it, sparking into flames together. “You don’t have any idea how sexy you are, but you will. We have all the time to teach you, and we are damn good teachers. Do you feel Erik? Feel how much he wants you? Well, you’re going to feel more in a moment, sweet, when he stretches that tight, wet cunt of yours for the first time.”

Right at that moment, Erik seated his cock against her and grasped her knee, pressing it up and out. Even without a line of sight, she knew he was staring at her pussy. The weight of his gaze was as intense as another touch, another teasing stroke.

Liam didn’t let up on his torment of her breasts, lessening the pressure for a moment before squeezing again, before pulling again, and it scattered her thoughts.

At least, it did until Erik sank into her. The pressure of his cock overcame any resistance, her body drenched enough to make the slide easy. She parted around him, a delicious, primal stretching of her body making her toes curl and her eyes flutter shut.

It was better than she could have imagined, each inch of space he took ramping up her pleasure. She’d thought it would hurt—had expected it to.

That was what girls said. They talked about the pain, but that was with fumbling teenage boys who wanted what they wanted and gave little care to their partner.

These alphas—her alphas—knew what they were doing. Erik rocked his hips, forward and retreating in tiny advances that had her moaning in need.

She wanted him to fuck her fully, to feel the way his dick would plunge into her and take her entirely.

She wanted wild, untamed passion.

Liam chose that moment to again pinch hard at her sore nipples. “If one cock is this good, imagine when we have you trapped between the three of us. Your cunt full, your ass full and another cock between your pretty lips? You’ll be a good girl and do that, won’t you?”

Ashley nodded. Yes. Fuck, yes. Anything they wanted, she wanted.

Erik let out a growl, dark and crazed, before he thrust hard and his pelvis pressed fully against her. He massaged the knee he still had hold of, keeping that leg out, and Ashley wished she could see what he was doing, that she could see how her cunt was stretched tight around his cock, the sight of his pubic hair against her body.

Instead, she could see nothing but Liam, his smirk the only thing to hold on to.

“So, sweet, how do you feel? So full of cock, finally?”

Ashley opened her mouth, but Erik pulled back and snapped his hips forward again, harder than before, and no words came out. Only a strangled, desperate sound left her lips.

Liam chuckled. “Well, I guess that sound will answer.” He winked before shifting his hands so the palms rested on the outside of her breasts. “You know, I’ve been thinking about these tits since day one. Not all girls have enough to do this, but I’ve been dreaming of this since I first saw you.”

Ashley didn’t need to ask what he meant as Liam leaned forward slightly, tucking his impossibly hot cock into the valley of her cleavage, then using his grip on her breasts to push them together.

His groan was masculine and deep, rumbling from his solid chest, his gaze pinned to where his dick was trapped between her breasts. “I was wrong, I guess.” He gave her that devastating smile of his. “This might just be the best sight. Now, be a good girl and let us use this luscious body of yours for a bit, hmm?”

Use. Why did that word do so much for her? It made her think about sweaty, breathless pounding, about the sort of sex she’d always dreamed of but had long before figured wasn’t in the cards for her. It was the sort of thing that happened with sultry, sexy women. Not for virgins who were awkward at the best of times.

Liam pinched down tightly on her left nipple, a reprimand in his expression telling her he’d somehow caught the type of thought on her face. Even still, he said nothing else before shifting forward and back, running his cock between her breasts. His pre-cum gave enough lubrication so there wasn’t any painful friction, allowing him to slide easily.

She wanted to touch, to grasp his thighs, to feel the soft, dark hair that covered them, to dig her nails into him.

When she loosened her grip on the table, something stopped her.

She looked up to find Torrin holding her, his hand covering her wrists, pinning her in place. It was a restraining touch, one that kept her still, yet it also made her feel safe. It was sweet in an odd way, like a reminder he was there and she was fine.

His other arm twitched, and she realized the rhythmic motion was him jerking off.

It pulled a wanton moan from her, a desire to see him, but the steel in his heated gaze said he’d not give that to her.

Liam growled above her, drawing her attention back just as Erik let her leg fall open more and chose to stroke her clit instead. “You’ll come again for us, sweet.”

What? It seemed too much, but she wouldn’t argue.

She wanted to please them, wanted to see more of that pleasure on their faces, wanted to hear them praise her, to call her a good girl.

Besides, it wasn’t as if they couldn’t make her if they wanted to, and they seemed determined.

Erik’s touches were focused as he stroked his thumb against her clit. All the while, he pounded into her, taking her harder, giving her what she’d always wanted.

Liam thrust, the head of his beautiful cock in sight each time he slid all the way forward, the head shimmering from the pre-cum that she wanted to lick from him.

Not that they seemed willing to let her do anything she wanted. Instead, they were content to give her only what they chose to.

Erik closed his fingers around her clit in a hard pinch just as he slammed in deep, and it overloaded her senses. She tried to move, but Liam’s body over her kept her in place, forced her to lie there and take the pleasure that twisted through her.

Torrin’s grip didn’t move, keeping her still. She yanked against the hold, against the overwhelming feeling that she wasn’t sure was entirely pleasure anymore, but she could do nothing.

Erik pounded into her with his cock, Liam trapped her with his body and Torrin pinned her with his hands.

It all worked with the orgasm, making it stronger, sending sparks of pleasure through her, so intense, that they frightened her.

Even as she tried to catch her breath, as Erik gave her a slight reprieve by leaving her clit alone, she squirmed.

Liam’s strong grip and heavy body didn’t let her go far, and he groaned as he fucked between her breasts in the filthy display she loved. It was messy and wonderful and perfect and she never wanted it to end.

At least until Erik went after her clit again.

“Too much,” she gasped out.

Liam’s smirk widened, an almost sadistic glint to it. “No, it’s not. You can take it. You will take it for us, won’t you, sweet?”

No. Yes. She didn’t know.

Even still, she nodded. Wetness tracked down her cheeks, everything too much.

Erik didn’t press as hard against her clit, but it didn’t take much. In fact, each drag of his cock against her overworked pussy walls made her feel as if she was nearing that edge again, as if the abyss there called to her. The third orgasm washed through her exhausted body, ripping away defenses and worries.

Liam growled before releasing her breasts and shifting forward. He slid his hand beneath her head and pressed his cock to her lips. “Swallow me down, sweet,” he said in a rough and desperate tone.

Ashley did as he asked, parting her lips to take him into the heat of her mouth. She lapped at his cock as if it were an instinct, the taste of him sinful and everything she’d wanted.

“Such a good girl,” he whispered just as his dick jerked and the first spurt of cum landed on her tongue.

It was so hot it felt as if it seared her, but she greedily swallowed, needing more, sucking as if to milk him dry, to take all he could give her.

Too quickly, it was gone, even the clinging taste inside her mouth disappearing, especially when he pulled back.

He looked sated, happy, tired. He dragged his fingers across her cheek in a soft caress.

Just then, Erik’s thrusts turned erratic, losing their steady rhythm as if driven by something deeper now, by a primal need inside the alpha.

At the same time, his finger brushed her sore clit.

Not again.

Liam scooted back so he could lean forward, his lips to her forehead. “Hush, sweet. You’re fine.”

But she didn’t feel fine. She felt adrift and helpless and so raw it was as though all her skin had been scraped off.

Erik released a snarl that would have frozen her blood, that might have made her recoil if Liam and Torrin hadn’t been there, their soothing touches helping ground her. Erik plunged in, the base of his cock growing, stretching her even more.

She would have sworn there was no more room inside her, that she was stretched and full to the brim, and yet when he rocked his hips forward as though to get deeper, when that growing knot locked inside her, behind her pubic bone, he somehow fit.

When he could no longer pull out, when the unfamiliar feeling of being stretched like that overcame her, she cried out. Liam’s lips found hers, swallowing down the small, panicked noises she made, coaxing her through the brutal orgasm as Erik knotted her.

Everything was too much. Erik’s knot pulsed slightly as he came, stimulated by her exhausted body. Liam’s lips were soft against hers, and Torrin’s strong grip on her hands never faltered.

Everything washed away with that final orgasm, the world shrinking to the four of them, and she felt bare in a way that was so much deeper than her naked body.

Erik stroked along her hip, over her thigh, a reassuring touch she needed, especially after the sound he’d let out.

Liam pulled from her lips. “You did so good,” he told her. “You’re perfect, you know that?”

She was too tired to argue it, for her brain to even try.

He grinned as he moved off her. “So that’s the way it works, huh? Just have to force a few orgasms out of you and you start listening. Good to know.”

Erik shifted, and it made his knot tug at her overworked body.

That wasn’t pleasure. She wiggled, hands yanking at Torrin’s grip.

Torrin spoke this time, his voice like warm water rushing over her, easing her sore body and frazzled nerves. “Try to relax. The more you fight it, the more you tighten up, the more you’ll feel it.”

She twisted, wanting to see Torrin’s face. His eyes were soft in that rare way she’d catch glimpses of now and then.

“You know, you could help her.” Liam nodded at Torrin’s lap as he crawled off her.

Torrin lifted his hand, his eyebrows drawn together. Cum sat on his fingers in tempting white stripes, and her mouth watered at the sight.

Except Torrin’s eyes did that thing where they changed, going flat and empty, the rejection as obvious as if he’d said it.

He released her hands, then dropped his beneath the line of the table. Zipping up, no doubt…

He left without another word, the sight of his back painful, yet she couldn’t drag her gaze away.

The shutting of a door signaled the rest of his retreat, and she just stared at the empty hallway where he’d gone.

A hand at the nape of her neck drew her to sitting and against the strong chest of the alpha still locked inside her. He made a soft, soothing sound from his chest.

It was the sound Gregory had tried to make at times, to ease her, to relax her, and yet it had never done either from Gregory.

Against Erik, though, it helped. She closed her eyes, resting against him, choosing to snuggle into the warmth and safety he offered.

At least there she could pretend that Torrin’s rejections didn’t hurt as much as they did.