Page 97 of Rut Bar

“What makes you think I didn’t already handle it?” I ask, teasing him. “I’ve found that alphas are a lot less interested in sticking their cock in you after you stick a taser in their balls.”

Anthony palms the back of my head and shifts in the sand, pulling me into his lap until I’m cradled against him with my head tucked under his chin. His arms are comforting instead of caging. A tightness in my chest eases.

“My little spitfire,” he murmurs against my hair, his breath fanning the baby hairs along my forehead. “I love how strong you are. So fucking tough. I’ll throw your bleeding enemies at your feet so you can stomp them into the dirt.”

I grin, my face pressed to his chest. His heartbeat is slow and steady under my ear. “Fine, but I’m keeping the taser.”

Anthony huffs out a laugh. “I don’t know how you got your hands on one. They’re illegal here.”

“You’re not the only one with connections.”

“You can tase them first, then crush their balls with your stilettos,” Anthony continues.

“I want to hear how the story ends,” Jamie says.

“Me too,” Brendan adds. “What happened after you got out of foster care?”

“I was lucky. I realized that if I kept doing what had put me in the system, it wouldn’t take me long to end up on the streets where I’d get grabbed up by some alphahole. I was always good at school. I just didn’t care to try hard after my grandparents died.

“Well, now I had a reason to care because I was getting out soon and I would not end up homeless and pregnant and turning to sex work or drugs to survive. So that’s what I did. I turned my grades around and put in the work. When I turned eighteen, I finally got access to my trust. It was enough for me to go to college with the scholarships they give us for aging out of the system. I could get my own place so long as I worked part time while going to school.

“After I graduated, I still didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life. I worked different jobs, not staying in any place for very long, and finally moved away from student housing. I got a job as a receptionist in an office. One day, some of the girls got together for a coworker’s birthday. We barhopped and ended the evening in some gross rut bar. I was standing in the middle of the tiny dance floor of that bar, getting hit on by creepy alphas who wouldn’t stop rubbing against me and growling, and I thought to myself,I wish omegas had somewhere safe to go to party.

“And that’s when it hit me. The idea for Rut. A haven for omegas to let their hair down and have the same fun that alphas have. Somewhere designed especially for us. There are thousands of strip clubs and scent bars for alphas. As if omegas aren’t equally as horny.”

I roll my eyes at the thought. A completely untapped market. One that’s made me millions with no signs of stopping. Our gross rises every year. And once I open up a second location? There won’t be any stopping us.

“Yeah, they are,” Anthony agrees with me. He jostles me on his lap. “Horny cum sluts that need a good dicking down.”

Irritated with him, I grab whatever I can reach and pinch him through his shirt. I think I got armpit skin.

“Ouch! Get your pinchy little claws away from me, kitten!” Anthony shrugs my grip off him. “I’m not into the rough stuff like Jamie.”

“Hey!” Jamie protests while Brendan chuckles. “I don’t like pinching.” Jamie is silent for a moment. “I don’tthinkI like pinching.”

“How will you know if you don’t try it?” Anthony asks him, feigning sincerity.

Jamie frowns, as if he’s really considering it.

“Don’t listen to him, Jamie,” Brendan says. “Don’t let him talk you into doing something you don’t like.”

“I’d never do anything to him he wouldn’t thoroughly enjoy,” Anthony says. “You too, Vee. You can’t deny it. We took good care of you and your sweet little pussy, didn’t we?”

They did, and I’m not thinking only about the sex. They kept me hydrated and clean. Calmed me. Made sure I took my birth control. Kept in touch with Rut and the staff and made sure the repairs were being done right. For the first time in years, I’ve been able to take a break without all the balls I’ve been juggling crashing down around me.

“You did,” I admit, stroking him through his shirt as I watch the fire flicker. Another log collapses as it’s consumed. Beyond it, Jamie and Brendan study me. “Thank you for taking good care of me during my heat.” Jamie smiles, and Brendan nods, looking thoughtful.

“We need more wine,” Anthony announces, rising suddenly and taking me with him.

I let out a brief shriek at going from sitting to being lifted so abruptly. Anthony cradles me in his arms in a bridal carry and walks around the fire. “Your turn. Watch out for her pinchy fingers. She has the grip strength of a gorilla.” Then he bends, depositing me into Brendan’s lap.

Anthony taps Jamie on the shoulder. “Help me carry everything?”

The comforting scent of fresh baked bread envelops me. Brendan’s grip is more gentlemanly, his hands not wandering so much. Jamie stands and brushes sand off his backside and follows Anthony up the beach to the house. Then Brendan and I are alone. It’s the first time we’ve been alone in days. Now that his cock’s been inside me, it’s a bit more awkward than it was before when I was only lusting after his scent.

His thumb strokes over my knee.My knee. Shit.“Am I hurting you?” I ask him. “I can get off your lap if I’m too heavy.”

“Not at all,” Brendan says. “You’re not hurting my knee.” His voice is deep, but gentle. Soothing. There’s a confident air about him that sets me at ease.

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