Page 60 of Rut Bar

“No, I…” Brendan looks between us all. “I can’t. At least not right now while the audit’s happening. Maybe after it’s over, if…”

If it’s not too late. If we still want him to join. If we haven’t formed a pack without him. Not that I’m saying we’re a real pack or anything, but… It’s getting harder to remember why I ever wanted to say no.

Why am I fighting this when all of my instincts scream they’re mine?

“We’ll let you know when Rut reopens,” Anthony says.

“Let’s go,” I order as I yank the van door open.

ChapterSeventeen

VERONICA

I pullthe van’s sliding door closed behind me and buckle my seatbelt. It’s only when the latch clicks that Jamie puts his van in gear and backs out of his spot. I give Jamie my address and he puts it into his phone and follows the GPS.

While we make the drive, I call the insurance company and get a claim started. Once we’ve pulled up outside of my place, I realize I don’t want them to see where I live. My apartment is a tiny disaster. There’s rotting takeout in the fridge and used underwear on the bedroom floor. I haven’t run a vacuum in forever. I don’t think I’ve dusted since I moved in. What’s the point when I’m only there to sleep and do laundry?

Before they can get out of the car, I’ve already hopped out and slid the door closed. “I’ll only be a few minutes,” I say through the open window Jamie pauses mid-unbuckling and I pin Anthony to his seat with a stare and a wordless command. Thankfully he heeds it.

My keys jingle as I pull them from my bag and unlock the door, slipping inside and going straight to the hall closet where I keep a duffel bag. I shove the things I’ll need inside. Lots of panties, a clean bra, a loose sundress, a pair of shorts and a top, my softest pajamas, flip-flops, my birth control, and some toiletries.

I eye the contents of my nightstand and hesitate, then grab what I need. I bury the knotting vibrator at the bottom of the bag, then shove my laptop, charger, and phone charger on top. Hopefully during one of my heat delirium lulls I can get some work done. On my way out, I grab my favorite pillow and my softest blanket.

It’s a struggle to carry everything out to the car, and when Jamie sees I can’t get the door open with my hands full, he hops out and takes it all from me. “Thanks,” I tell him as I tuck my hair behind my ear.

“No problem.” Jamie says, a goofy grin on his face.

We all get back in, and Anthony turns in his seat to eye me and the bag and bedding shoved around my legs. “Are you hungry?” he asks.

The thought of eating makes my stomach revolt. “No, but I wouldn’t mind a drink.” Heats make me so damn thirsty. It takes a lot of fluid to make all that slick, and it’s easy to get dehydrated when you’re lost in it.

“Let’s grab burgers,” Anthony says to Jamie. “There’s a drive-thru up ahead.”

The In-N-Out isn’t too busy at this time of night on a Sunday. While they order at the window and wait for food, I use my phone to send emails to three window companies for quotes. Anthony hands me a drink and I take it without looking and suck down what turns out to be a Cherry Coke. It’s cold and refreshing, and the artificial cherry flavor reminds me of his pheromones. I’m sure he picked it on purpose.

They eat while they drive and I resist the urge to crack a window because the smell of their food is turning my stomach. Then the first cramp hits low in my belly. I’m grateful I changed my sexy panties out for a pair of full-coverage slick panties. I suck in air and breathe through the cramp until it passes with a gush of slick that soaks the super absorbent gusset. A few minutes later, a second one hits me. This one is longer and more painful and I can’t bite back my whimper as I fidget in my seat.

Jamie stops mid-sentence in his conversation with Anthony and he lets out a deep, rumbling purr that makes the tension in my pelvis melt into liquid heat. The cramp eases, and so does my grip on the edge of my seat.

“We’re almost there, baby,” Anthony says as he turns in his seat.

“I’m fine.” I am not fine. I need dick. I need to ride a fat cock and come until the bottled up need inside me bursts and floods me with a sweet relief of dopamine.

My slick panties work overtime as I fidget while I look out the window and count the palm trees we pass to distract myself. I’m not sure why this heat is starting off so strong. It could be their proximity. Or it’s because my omega instincts swear these men are pack and my body is tired of being denied what it wants. Of smelling them from afar, knowing they were so close but untouchable.

Well, I’ve touched them. I’ve done more than that. And my instincts won’t let me keep denying what a part of me has known—and feared—for years.

Needing people makes you vulnerable, and right now I need them so much it fucking hurts.

“It hurts,” I whimper and fidget again as the ache to be filled becomes a tangible, terrible thing.

“I wish I was back there with you, baby,” Anthony says. “But we’re almost there. Can you hold out or do you need Jamie to pull over?”

The thought of them pulling over so they can fuck this need right out of me on the side of the road makes my thighs tremble. But right now, I want the safety and certainty of an enclosed space more than anything else. I bite my lip until the overwhelming urge lets up and shake my head.

“I can wait.” It’s a lie. The next wave is already building, but I make it true through sheer determination.

I’m barely paying attention to where we’re going as Jamie drives us to his place while I fight the urge to shove my hand down my slick panties. It wouldn’t take much to get off right now.

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