Page 17 of Heat Hesitation

Asher's distracted, and I debate leaving him be, but he's the one who asked if we could spar earlier this evening, and regardless of what happened, I don't like to deviate from a plan once I've made one.

Asher catches my stare and then huffs, looking up toward the sky before returning to me. "Yeah, okay. Let me change, I'll meet you down there."

I nod, typing in the passcode to unlock the door, and hurry down the stairs. At the end of the hall, passing the theater room and the indoor pool and sauna, I let myself into the gym and began methodically removing my clothes, folding each item and arranging them neatly in a pile on a chair against the wall. Down to my briefs, I start stretching, jumping in place to warm up my body.

Adrenaline courses through my veins. I can only hope sparring with my packmate will alleviate this strange feeling of energy inside me. Otherwise, I'll have trouble sleeping, and I really prefer to get a solid six hours whenever possible. I intend to be back over, watching Ophelia's apartment before the sun rises; knowing my brothers, we'll be there in shifts.

I'm unsurprised when my other packmates trail behind Asher into the gym, taking places at the other mat and begin sparring. Theo's anger is palpable, and though I wasn't listening to them on the drive home, I imagine his anger is directed toward our little omega and her absolute disregard for Asher's feelings.

It will be an interesting courtship. One I look forward to immensely.

Asher and I tap fists before grappling. Asher is boxier than I am, heavier with more solid muscle mass, but I'm lean, fit, and fast. I'm a better match with Theo, but I'm not in the mood to spar with him. I have a feeling he will harbor some resentment toward our newest packmate for some time, and I'm disinterested in navigating his emotions.

Asher moves sluggishly, like he's tired, but he doesn't tap out. We fight, avoiding direct hits, for nearly half an hour when he finally holds his hand up, breathless.

I cock my head. "Are you done already?"

He laughs at my bluntness. "Yes, asshole. I'm wiped. Tonight was… intense."

I nod.

"You like her," he states.

I nod again.

"You never like anyone."

He's right. I've never been attracted to anyone, not really. Finding my packmates, my brothers, shocked my parents and me. I always assumed something was missing inside me that allowed me to feel for other people. But when I met the other three, who had already formed Constantine, it clicked, and a well opened inside me, one I didn't know I had space for. I would kill for my brothers.

And now, I would kill for my omega.

"I like her," I say simply, though it doesn't nearly encapsulate the depth of my feelings for her.

"I could smell her beneath that scent-block, when I held her. It was faint, but there. It's wild, after all this time. And she was just… there. All along." He shakes his head in awe.

Scent is essential to packs, specifically alphas and omegas, so I understand his distress. Scent tells us much: if our mates are in trouble, unwell, excited, happy, aroused.

I think back to Ophelia, perfuming when I leaned close to smell her skin. Her earthy lavender sage scent turns brighter, more floral and rose the closer you get to her pulse. Her blood coursed through her veins, drowning everything around us, the disgusting scent of her apartment no longer present. All I could smell was her.

"She smells like the universe. Like every good thing I could never understand or bother with before, like I saved it all up and tucked it away, so when I found her, I could enjoy them, only because I now have her to enjoy it with. She smells like my life and my death, because nothing exists without her. I understand now, brother, why you've been unbearable all year. Had I scented her and lost her, I'd have lost myself too."

Asher watches me quietly, and I notice that Theo and Sully are listening, too. They're all wearing workout clothes, but I prefer to fight in nothing but briefs. I find the lack of material against my skin more comfortable when I grapple.

Since Asher is too tired or stunned to continue, I tell them goodnight, gather my things, and head up to my bedroom.

In my en suite shower, I stare down at my hardening cock, confused for a moment by my body's reaction. This is Ophelia's doing. I've been hard before; I've jerked off. But it's extremely uncommon.

Two years ago, Constantine took over a private equity firm responsible for several tech startups whose projections were deeply undervalued. I maneuvered the sales until the entire thing became ours, and though we made nearly a billion and grew from that one deal, the months of silent, behind-the-scenes manipulations coming to fruition gave me a massive hard-on, and I fucked my fist for hours that night.

My pack leader, Sully, has dragged me to more OFA events than I'd ever care to attend, and not once did an omega stir feeling inside me, every time leaving my cock flaccid, my knot deflated and pathetic.

The mere scent of Ophelia, the beat of her pulse, the defiant lift of her chin, her very existence, has my cock bobbing up from between my legs. Precum seeps out of the tip, and I watch in fascination.

Suddenly, the image of Ophelia on her knees in front of me, running her tongue along my length, has my balls tightening uncomfortably. Heat hits my lower back, and tentatively, imagining it's her fingers, not my own, I barely touch my cock, running just the tip of my finger along the length. My knees weaken, and I nearly fall, grunting and shuddering. My cock spurts, come shooting out along the tile wall.

I stare at the milky white fluid as it mixes with the water from the shower. My cock is still hard, the orgasm a short burst and barely satisfying. I touched myself out of curiosity, but I decide here and now, I would not come unless Ophelia was there with me.

Chapter 8

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