Page 98 of The Heat of Us

She nodded enthusiastically.

Well, we could all remedy that easily.

“Remy,” I said sharply.

We both dropped what we were holding and converged on her. Remy slid in on Hazel’s other side, trapping her between him and Aleks.

“She likes it when you grab her throat,” Remy advised, right before he pulled her cropped bra top down on one side and sucked her taut nipple into his mouth.

“F-fuck. Oh my god.” Hazel’s hand flew into Remy’s hair, the dark strands twisting in her clenched fingers.

I gave Aleks an assist, dragging her leggings off her long limbs. She squirmed, gripping Aleks’ wrist with both hands as his fingers pushed back inside her. Her back arched and I bracketed my hand around her neck. Hazel whined as I leaned closer. I scent marked her and tightened my grip on the sides of her throat.

“Come for us, Hazel,” I purred. “All of us.”

The detonation of her scent almost brought me to my knees. A summer midnight moon, linen sheets and lowered inhibitions. Four writhing bodies, one pack. I covered her mouth with mine, swallowing her jagged breaths.

I caressed her cheek with the backs of my fingers. “Go have a cuddle with Aleks in his room. We’ll come grab you when we’re done so you can arrange it exactly the way you like. How does that sound, sweetness?”

Hazel’s eyelids fluttered. “Uh huh,” she mumbled.

I ignored the fact that I was hard as a fucking rock as Remy and I got back to work. Everything was brought upstairs and I supervised the mattress delivery, paying extra to have the old one taken away. Clean slate. Only then did I let Remy into the room where he couldn't see what Hazel trusted me with.

I kept reminding myself that I was making it better. That she wouldn’t sleep another second like this.

I needed to understand exactly why. I felt compelled to unravel the tangle on her soul. It had to be slow. Careful. Pulling the strands wide to see how they criss-crossed and following the threads home.

Hoping I wouldn’t pull so hard it snapped.

35

HAZEL

None of them pressed me about my old nest. I didn’t think Ben even let the others see it.

Instead, they gave me the space to run my fingers over the new purchases. I didn’t want to think too hard about how Ben and Remy knew exactly what I liked. It was absolutely nothing like Sierra Echo’s nest for the cameras. Sierra’s nest was what people thought an omega nest should be like. Neutral tones, lots of pillows, everything super soft.

Ben and Remy picked earthy, green tones for me. Plucked from nature and placed in my nest. I slowly put my nest together and I swore it came alive somehow.

There was a jumble of textures. Slippery silk, firm cotton, plush faux fur and woven fibres. I ran my fingers across the bumpy rope-like patterns. I loved it. I found a bit of fringe edging on a throw and carded my fingers through it. It separated easily before falling back into place. The satisfaction from that alone had me biting back a pleased whimper.

It’s so good.

There was just one thing missing.

Three somethings.

Three someones.

I’d denied myself this for too long and my omega was scraping at the door I’d shut her behind.

I eventually made my way back out to the living room where they were all waiting for me. Ben gave me the words I was too afraid to say.

“Do you want us to come into your nest and make it smell right?”

My eyes dropped to the floor. “I-I’m…”

“Actually, how about we all have dinner together? It’s been a long day,” Ben quickly course-corrected. “After that, if you like, we can stay over. Just sleep. We can stay as many nights as you need until it feels right.”

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