Page 66 of Excess

I didn’t know what happened now. Maybe she’d kick me out with a polite “thank you for your service.” Or maybe she’d want me to stay. Either way, I was going to make sure that she got the rest, hydration, and sustenance she needed.

There was no point in me putting clothes on. I’d been wandering out of here—dick and balls on display—for the last five days, whenever my stomach felt like it was consuming itself and I had to eat something. The Prendre team had seen it all at this point.

“Ms Dara,” Gerardo said instantly, not looking particularly surprised to see her, which I supposed meant that we were right on schedule. “We’re going to release you both now.”

He paused, watching me for a moment, presumably to see if I was going to put her down. Which I was not.

Two alphas approached with the small key chip things they inserted to release the muzzle, pulling both of ours off at the same time. The straps had left faint red lines over Inika’s cheeks and jaw, and I traced them with my thumb, wanting to soothe them away.

Wasn’t I meant to be taking it slow? Feeling out the situation and what Inika even wanted?

She was so pretty though. And her skin was so soft.

“Ms Dara?” Gerardo asked. “May I?”

She wordlessly stuck out her arm, still staring up at me, and it took me a moment to realise that he was pumping a syringe into her upper arm. Right, the postcoital contraception shot.

We were each handed water bottles, and I watched to make sure Inika drank at least half of hers before taking a sip of my own.

“Right, is everyone okay?” Gerardo asked in his military-style voice. “We’ve got a cooler of supplies here if you’re going to head back into the nest to recover.”

“I’m doing well,” Inika said.

Her voice. There it was. I’d missed it so much. It didn’t sound as full and vibrant as it usually did, but she had been moaning and whining through a muzzle for five days with very little sleep.

“Blake? Are you okay?”

“Of course.”

“Let’s nap in my nest,” she said decisively, giving me an exhausted smile. I tucked the sheet a little tighter around her, carefully accepting the cooler that Gerardo handed me. If any of these alphas saw so much as a hint of her naked flesh, I might have to gouge out their eyeballs. “Thank you for everything. You guys can head out now, if you’d like,” Inika added, as I carried her away, not giving them a chance to respond.

“It’s okay if you want me to leave, princess. I won’t be offended.”

Inika glanced at me sharply. “I’m going to pretend you didn’t just say that.”

“Noted.”

I did my best to suppress a smile. Sweet, relaxed, submissive Inika had completely left the building during her heat. There’d been no hesitation in demanding what she wanted, nor in letting me know with a dainty omega growl when I was taking too long to deliver.

Apparently, she was still feeling a little fired up. It was sexy as fuck. If my dick was capable of functioning, it’d be standing at attention.

Inika buzzed us into the room, and we both froze as the door sealed shut behind us, a shiver seeming to pass from her body to mine at the thick scent of us that permeated the room. It was… indescribable. My cock stirred valiantly, before retreating again. I needed a nap and something other than a protein bar in my stomach before I could even consider that.

I set Inika down on her feet and carried the cooler over to the small side table and chairs by the covered window. It was better than protein bars, but not by much. Grilled chicken. Grilled vegetables. Omelette. Avocado slices.

“Are you not allowed fun food post-heat?” I groused, opening the containers and setting them out on the tables.

Inika laughed, accepting the electrolyte drink I handed her. “Prendre always provides recovery foods. But I usually ask Graeme to send up something I actually want after I’ve slept for a bit.”

“Oh yeah. With the alpha?” I asked, as casually as I could manage.

Inika raised an eyebrow at me. “No. Not with the alpha. This part I usually do on my own.”

I hummed like that wasn’t a massive relief, patting my thigh to encourage her to come and sit down. She dropped into my lap with a dramatic sigh, though, she somehow managed to make it look graceful.

“Drink some more,” I ordered, nudging the bottle in her hand before making her a plate of tasteless nutrition.

“Been reading up on omega management?” Inika teased.

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