Page 18 of Heat Clinic

Time for a bath, baby.

I carry her to her room and manage to buzz the door open and kick it shut behind me. She clings to me when I lay her down in her nest, and I smile at her, my chest tight with fondness as I pry her fingers off my shirt and cover her with her fuzzy blankets. She makes a happy sigh and burrows deeper, dragging the blanket exactly where she wants it as she nuzzles it with her nose.

It’s such a stark difference to the shy, insecure woman who tossed a blanket down on a bed and called it a nest. I’m gonna have fun helping her build a good nest.

And then fucking her in it.

Before I can get carried away, I go into the bathroom and draw her a tepid bath. She’ll hate it. They always do. But then she’ll like it. They always do.

Emily grunts as I pull her from her nest and carry her into the bathroom. I lower her into the water. Even though I’m expecting it, I still flinch when she jolts awake, her hands batting at me. It’s not her fault. She’s disoriented, and I don’t have an alpha's purr to soothe her.

“Shh, it’s okay, baby. It’s just a bath. That’s it. That’s a good girl. Lie back and let me wash you.” I talk to her like she’s a frightened animal, and it’s not too far from the truth. When they’re in the thick of their heats and ruts, omegas and alphas get a little… animalistic. More driven by instinct than conscious thought.

When she lets me drag a soapy loofah over her body, I tell her how good she is. Her legs fall open as I rub the sponge between them, careful not to hurt her. She’s gotta be raw and sensitive. She blinks heavy eyelids at me, her gaze unfocused as she lets me move her around like a doll and wash the rest of her.

I pull the stopper on the tub and wait for the water to completely drain. It’s safer to be patient than to haul a fidgety, wet omega out of the bath.

“Let’s get you back to your nest, baby.”

She sighs and allows me to pick her up from the water. Emily is wobbly on her feet as I wrap a big fluffy towel around her and dry her off. When she growls, her tolerance for the friction against her sensitive skin exceeded, I throw the towel aside and help her back to bed.

It’s the easiest thing to convince her to climb into her makeshift nest. It’s harder to convince her to drink another bottle of protein water. Once she’s done, she fixes her blankets and pillows while I hand her more nesting material, ripping open the packages she ignored earlier. Once she’s comfy, I grab the massage oil and coat my hands and rub her down. I start with her feet and work my way up. By the time I’ve reached her cunt, she’s no longer twitchy at my touch. I spread the oil onto her swollen labia and gently work it around her opening. The herbs the doctors put it in will help her heal faster and relax her tired muscles.

When she grinds her pussy against my hand, even though it’s half-hearted, I shush her again and tuck her in with her blankets. She disappears underneath the mound, only her nose emerging as she cocoons herself.

The faintest snores tell me she’s asleep as I slip out of her room and make sure the door is latched tight behind me. I set the alarm system to ping my work phone so I’ll know if she wakes up and tries to wander. And then I head to my locker and change. My scrubs are wrecked.

“Dude,” Anthony says, nodding at me. “Hear you had a good time tonight. Aren’t you glad you let Erin talk you into taking her shift?”

I tighten the drawstring on my new scrub pants and yank the shirt over my head, shaking out my hair. “Hmm.”

“Just don’t fall in love with this one. That last one wrecked you bad for like… weeks.”

The last thing I need is to be reminded of Heather. I thought she really liked me, but when her heat ended, so did her interest. “I’m good, man.” I slam my locker shut and head to the door that leads to our common room and then the parking lot behind it.

“Just telling it like it is!” Anthony calls out as I let the door swing shut.

I learned my lesson after Heather. I’m a beta, and I understand my place. That doesn’t mean I can’t be damn good at my job. The coworkers I pass exchange nods with me. Us off-shift people are close.

“Hey, Sam. We’re ordering Chinese. Do you want anything?” Jane asks when I walk by.

“Sure.” Chinese food is good cold. It’s a solid choice for heat nanny nights, and I was too lazy to pack a meal. “I’ll take the sesame chicken combo. You can just stick it in the fridge. I’ll eat it when I get a chance.”

“Oh.” Her smile slips. “You’re not gonna eat with us?”

“Nah. I have someone I’ve gotta talk to. Text me how much I owe you.”

“Sure.”

I head out the back door, the one that the smokers use to slip in a cigarette on their breaks even though this is technically a no-smoking area. Off-shift has its perks. One of those is a lack of management oversight. Dr. Sharma is cool. As long as her patients are good, she doesn’t sweat the stupid shit. I enjoy working with her.

The alpha is hovering in the parking lot next to a flashy car like I knew he would be. He stands there leaning against the vehicle with his phone held to one ear. He’s too far from the streetlight for me to get more than a vague impression of him, but I know it’s the right one even before I hear him speak and I recognize his voice.

“Yes, I’m sure,” he says to whoever he’s talking to over the phone.

“Hey, man.” I wave, keeping my smile friendly and my posture loose. Some alphas get real dickish about anything they consider their territory.

His head snaps up and his eyes lock onto me. “The beta.”

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