Page 24 of Rook

“Rook…and Luka?” Her question is breathless, almost lost under the tide of pleasure as I worship her with my tongue.

“Both,” I confirm, tasting her, reveling in her sharp intake of breath when I find her clit. I lap at her folds, savoring the way she arches into my touch. “We’ve got options, Ais. Plenty to keep you satisfied.”

Her response is a moan that fills the room, echoing off the walls like a promise of what’s to come. The room pulses with the heat of her skin under my hands, the scent of her arousal thick in the air. I’m fixated, can’t pull away from the taste of her. Aisling writhes beneath me, a tangle of limbs and gasps that fan the flames in my veins.

“Why?” she manages between sharp breaths, her grey eyes searching mine. “Why are you even suggesting this, Oberon?”

I don’t answer. Words are trivial things at the moment, drowned out by the drumming of my heart and the slick warmth of her against my tongue. The question hangs there, but it’s carried away by the tide of desire that crashes through us both.

I navigate her body like territory I’ve claimed long ago, moving up with intent, leaving a trail of kisses as hot as the blood rushing beneath her skin. Her fingers clutch at me, nails digging into my shoulders with each inch I climb, until I’m poised above her.

“Oberon,” she whispers, and that’s all it takes.

My restraint snaps.

I press into her, feeling the heat from her core envelop me, and every thought burns away. Her body’s a beacon, calling me home, and I’m powerless to resist the primal urge to claim her over and over.

“Can you imagine it, Ais?” My voice is rough as gravel, words barely escaping between labored breaths. “Rook, Luka… all of us worshiping this body of yours? You’d be the center of our goddamn universe.”

“Oberon…” She gasps, her grey eyes glazed with raw desire.

“Picture it,” I continue, relentless in my pursuit of her pleasure. “Each one of us filling you up, taking turns until you can’t remember anything but the feel of us inside you.”

Her nails dig into my back, sparking pleasure laced with pain that only feeds the hunger within me. The idea of sharing her, even in dirty talk, stokes a possessive fire I can’t quench. But this isn’t about me; it’s about Aisling and what her body demands when her heat hits. It’s about keeping her safe and satiated.

“God, yes…” she moans, and it’s music—raw and real.

We move together, chasing release, each moment building on the last until we’re both teetering on the edge of oblivion. Words of possession and pleasure spill from my lips, painting vivid scenes that leave us both reeling.

“I need your knot, Oberon,” she gasps. “Please…please give it to me…”

I’m hers to command—and I’m aching, I want her so bad. Without another moment’s hesitation, I push past that final barrier to lock myself inside her, buried to the hilt.

She screams as she comes, and I rock my hips against her, making sure to do it exactly how she likes it. Aisling bites down on my shoulder, clasping me to her, and I practically howl as I come along with her, spilling my seed.

We collapse against each other and I roll us to the side, Aisling’s leg hooked over my hip, my knot warm in her tight heat. She gazes into my eyes, lips parted…but she doesn’t speak.

So I do—because she deserves an answer.

“I want to answer your question, Ais.” My voice slices through the afterglow, steady but softened by the intimacy we’ve just shared. “Why I’m doing this…suggesting Rook and Luka… it’s complicated, but it boils down to one thing—you.”

I watch her, needing her to see the truth in my eyes. “It’s not about sharing you or passing you around like some…prize. It’s about what you need, what this pack needs to survive. And right now, that’s all that matters.”

“Oberon,” she breathes out, voice still hoarse from cries not long past. “It’s…it would break Gunnar’s heart—“

“Listen, Ais.” My words come slow, deliberate. “Gunnar and I…we didn’t see eye to eye on a lot of things, especially when it came to you. And when you were with Terra Vitae…I think I blamed him a little, for not trying harder to keep you safe.”

She shifts, pulling the tangled sheets closer, a makeshift barrier against truths neither of us wants to face. “What do you mean?”

“Protection, Aisling. Your safety. Gunnar had his way, but…” I trail off, unsure how to say that his way left gaps wide enough for chaos to slip through. “Omega like you needs a pack, not just two guys doing their best.”

“Are you saying he didn’t care?” Her voice cracks like ice underfoot, and I’m quick to correct course.

“No, no. He cared, all right. But caring and doing what’s necessary are two different beasts.” I reach out, brush a strand of hair back from her face. “I think you need more than what he thought was enough. I think we’ve got to be smarter, stronger.”

Her lips press into a thin line, and she sits up, clutching the sheet to her chest like armor. “I won’t betray him, Oberon. Not Gunnar.”

“Betrayal is a strong word.” I sit up too, leaning in so she can’t look away. “And if it’s about survival? About protecting what’s yours? Then it’s not betrayal—it’s necessity.”

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