But my first gasp of breath brings the world roaring back to life around me. The rain is falling so hard that its hiss cancels out every other sound. Cade hovers over me, panting and drinking in the spent sight of me with his fingers still lodged inside me. With his eyes locked on mine, he draws his fingers out slowly, letting me feel every little sensation until they slide out.

I wilt against the hood, and Cade climbs on top of me, kissing his way up my rain-soaked body until his mouth reaches mine. We share a wild, messy kiss before he breaks it and stares into my eyes as rain pours all around us.

“How do you feel?” he asks hoarsely.

I nod, breathless. “A bit better. The edge is dulled.”

“Good. I need to get you home quickly,” he says and doesn’t give me time to question why.

He hurries to help me get my clothes back on straight before he carries me to the passenger side of the truck and lowers me inside. He rushes back to the driver’s seat and jumps in, then starts the truck and throws it in gear.

We peel away from the gravel, sending it flying behind us, and as we tear down the open road toward the ranch, I understand the urgency. The ache, the unbearable need that mercifully dulled after the orgasms Cade gave me, is already twisting inside me again.

I squirm in the seat, whimpering, and Cade glances at me. He rests one calloused hand on my leg, stroking it.

“It’s going to be okay. We’ll be home soon where we can take care of you. Just hold on.”

His deep voice is uncharacteristically soothing, but the need is still there, itching and scratching at my insides.

Thanks to the storm, there’s hardly anyone else on the road. We only pass a few other cars in our mad dash back to the ranch, and when we get there, Cade hoists me into his arms and charges inside through the last sheets of drizzle still falling.

The others are there, and they greet us at the door as Cade carries me through it. They take one look at the two of us, soaked through to the bone, and their noses prick at the air. One by one, I see the comprehension dawning on their faces without Cade saying a word.

“Her heat started,” he says gruffly.

As soon as the words leave his mouth, the air in the room shifts, taking on a charge that makes all the hairs on the back of my neck stand. They all know what this means and what has to happen next. And judging from the heat blazing in their eyes as they stare at me, they want it just as badly as I do. My eyes drift across them all, drinking in the raw sex appeal of these gods.

I need Alpha cock so badly.

My face flushes at the thought because I don’t know where it came from or why it’s so damn loud in my mind. But I know beyond a doubt the only cocks I want are theirs. All four of them.

“Please. Help me through my heat. I want it to be you. All of you.”

The guys exchange uncertain looks. This probably wasn’t what they imagined happening when they agreed to save me at the auction. All of this was supposed to be fake, a big show for this small town.

But this need? It’s real. Very fucking real. And I have to get it taken care of.

“Please,” I say from Cade’s arms, staring up into his eyes, but he looks to the others.

Several unbearable moments pass without a word, and my heart pounds so hard that I feel like it might crack through my ribs. They resisted giving me what I wanted for so long, refusing to add a friends with benefits clause to our fake relationship agreement because they didn’t want to complicate things.

Part of me is certain that they’re still going to deny me, that they’ll just drag out the toys Cade bought me and tell me to take care of my heat myself. I know it’s technically possible, that Omegas who find themselves alone when they enter their heat can try to simulate the experience of being fucked by an Alpha until the heat finally passes. But it sounds painful and awful, and the desperate need raging in my chest screams at me that it won’t be satisfied by anything but these Alphas.

I don’t just want them. I need them. In this moment, they’re the only thing I need.

“Please,” I whisper again, too far gone to care that I’m openly begging. “Please, I can’t do this on my own. I need your help. Please.”

All four Alphas react, leaning toward me as if they’re being pulled by an invisible force. Then, finally, Jesse nods.

“We’ve got you, wildcard,” he promises. “You won’t be alone.”

Cade dips his chin in a quick nod of acknowledgement as the four of them share one more look, then he turns and carries me to my bedroom where my nest waits. The bed is piled with the flannel blankets and other creature comforts I wanted, and Cade sets me down gently among them.

Instantly, I feel at home. I can’t put it into words, but this feels right. Like it’s exactly where I’m supposed to be. I’m glad that Easton and the others talked me into giving in to my Omega feelings and building this nest.

The men all climb onto the bed around me, stripping out of their clothes as their hands wander across my body. Hendrix grips the belt loops of my shorts and hikes them along with my panties down to my ankles with one pull. The sight of my naked body awakens something in them all, and an untamed hunger courses across all their faces like they’re sharing a single mind, a singular focus: me.

I shiver with each touch, the need throbbing in me, almost like it knows what’s coming. Like it’s writhing under my skin to meet their touch because it knows release and relief are close and they’re the only ones who can bring it.