Page 20 of Heat Clinic

“Yeah. You know what I mean,” he says. “I can see it in your face. Maybe you can’t smell it, but on some level, you know. Come here,” he barks. “I want to look at you.”

I don’t know why I listen to him, but my feet pull me toward him without consulting my brain. I join him under the circle of light from the streetlight he’s parked under and do my best to look nonchalant. As if alphas built like brick houses tell me what to do all the time and I listen.

“Well, here I am,” I snap, trying to hide my uncertainty with bluster.What’s wrong with me?

The alpha leans down and sniffs me, his nose almost pressing right up against my neck. I freeze. It’s a primordial instinct. Fight, flight, or fawn. My body screamsthis is a predator, and he’s at your throat. So I freeze.God, is this how the omegas feel?No wonder they come to us in droves and let us lock them up in boxes where their necks are safe, even if their holes get ravaged.

He purrs, his chest rumbling so hard I can almost feel it through the vibrations of the air between us. He leans back and searches my face. Something in his rough expression softens. “We found you.”

What? No.My heart jumps into my throat. The way his purr makes my body feel calmer makes my head more panicked. I’m… horny yet terrified, but hopeful too. But those childish dreams of being chosen, of being picked for a pack, died years ago. Except maybe they didn’t. Or at least not completely.

Oh… no. Boy, that is a lot to unpack in therapy.

That thought is enough to break my reaction to his sniffing. I throw my hands up in the air and back away. “Gotta go.” I raise my hand to my forehead in a salute that makes no sense to me. I flee, forgetting to badge into the door. It doesn’t budge, and my face heats as I realize I look like a moron and… yup, he’s still watching me from under the streetlight next to his fancy, expensive car.

“How soon can you get here?” the alpha, Marcus, says into his phone. “Yes, Idoin fact know what time it is in London right now. That’s not what I asked, Tom. Okay. Cancel your meetings and get on the next plane. I’ll pick you up at the airport.”

Fuck.

I swipe my badge against the card reader, moving it too fast for it to register and unlock the door.

“See you soon. Love you,” Marcus says.

Rationally, I know that he’s talking to his packmate on the phone. But the way he says those words in that rough, low purr makes my heart slam against my ribs with panic.

Fuck!

I swipe it again, slower, and this time it opens. Bolting inside, I pull the slowly closing door shut behind me so hard it slams and everyone in the break room stares at me.

“Dude, are you okay?” Diana pauses with her bitten egg roll midway to her mouth.

“Oh, awesome! Food’s here. That was fast.” I snag one of the greasy paper packets off the table and stuff an egg roll in my mouth, biting off a huge chunk so nobody expects me to answer any further questions I’d like to avoid.

No. I am not okay. I have not been okay since Heather made me want things that have long been buried and should stay that way.Adolescent fantasies are just that. Fantasies.

The sesame chicken goes in the fridge for later. “Let me know how much I owe you,” I say around the food in my mouth as I bolt from the break room and nod to the coworkers I pass in the hall.

The egg roll is chewy and difficult to swallow without a drink. It’s also ridiculously hot. I choke it down, my stomach grateful for the food even though it would be happier with a bunch of sesame chicken in it.

But there’s a sleepy, cuddly omega waiting for me in her nest, and for reasons I don’t want to think about too closely, I’m eager to get back to her.

It’s the sleep, I tell myself.I’m fucking beat. Just need to sleep. Everything will make sense again in the morning.

ChapterSix

EMILY

My nest is a perfect,cozy mountain of soft blankets, and I wake up warm and content with a pleasant ache between my legs. Sam curls around me, his body fitted to mine, and he’s as hot as a space heater. It makes me want to stretch against him and soak up his warmth.

Fidgeting, I rub against him, his morning erection poking into my ass, and my lips curl in a smile as moisture creeps at my cleft.

Despite being wet, now that I’m awake and remembering what I did last night, embarrassment makes me blush. I can’t believe I did that—I let a whole room full of strange alphas rut me. Sam lets out a sleepy sound as he curls one of his arms around me and tugs me even closer, his hand going to my breast as he grabs it and holds it tight. His squeezing makes my sore clit throb, and it pulls me out of my inner turmoil as desire overtakes shame.

“Morning, baby,” he rumbles, his voice thick with sleep. “How’d you sleep?”

“Good.” My hips twitch as I grind against him. Pre-cum drips onto my ass when he rocks with me, the hand on my breast squeezing and playing with my nipple in that way that makes a bolt of lightning shoot right down to my clit.

“Sam, I want you to fuck me,” I moan.

---