Page 16 of Lion's Crossing

“I can tell.” Ash patted my shoulder. “I gave him some sex toys to help him find pleasure and encouraged him to take a cool bath. That seems to have helped, but, as I said, I don’t know for how long. Though, I must tell you, he really wanted you, had the pillow from your bed just to have your scent near him. Usually, an uncommitted omega in the peak of their heat will find the nearest alpha willing to help him. Yet, he kept asking when you were coming home.”

“But, I…” I ran my hand through my hair. “I don’t know if I can. How would it look to my parents and his if they ever found out? He’s not a fan that I can get to sign an NDA.”

Ash shrugged. “Think of it as helping a friend. I mean, you obviously trust him if you left him here by himself.”

“I guess, but…” I didn’t know what held me back, especially since I really liked Knox. “I think I’m scared. What if I do this and he hates me for it, or never wants to see me again?”

A grin spread across Ash’s face. “Okay, he’s not just someone from your hometown but someone much more. You think he’s your fated mate?”

I gulped. “I don’t know. Maybe. My lion is obsessed with him and wants to go in that room right now and fuck him and mark him.”

With a chuckle, Ash shook his head. “Yeah, I don’t think he’ll hate you. Maybe don’t mark him while in this state, but I think he’d appreciate your help. I bought condoms for you. They’re on the counter. Wait to see what he’s like when he wakes up. If he calls for you, give it a go. In his position, I would appreciate a good fucking from you.”

“Ash!” I couldn’t believe the words out of his mouth.

“What?” Ash shrugged. “I said in his position. You know I have my own alpha who helps me through my heats very well. Remember the whole thing that happened when I was on tour?”

My cheeks warmed. Yes, I remembered hearing about the scandal of Ash going into heat in a room full of alphas from other sources, but I’d never talked to him about it.

Ash darted around me toward the door. “Help him. It will be okay.” Then he left, leaving me in my condo with an omega in heat, and I had no idea how long Knox’s dilemma would last.

I considered peeking into the guest room to check on him, but my grumbling stomach led me to the kitchen. I hadn’t eaten since that morning, too busy trying to keep my mind occupied with work instead of the omega at my place. And if I didn’t eat, I wouldn’t have the energy to help him, if I decided to go ahead with that undertaking. Having not been home for four months and then giving away most of the food my dad sent home to the other passengers on the train, I didn’t have much on hand. I considered ordering out again, but I didn’t know if the food would arrive before Knox woke.

Searching through my cupboards, I found some cup ramen. Not what my trainer would recommend, but I wasn’t heading back to the gym yet. I could easily work it off and have a protein shake after helping Knox if the evening went that way.

After pealing the lid off the cardboard cup, I added the required amount of water, stirred in the spices, then placed it in the microwave. I worried the sound might wake up my guest, butI didn’t hear him rouse at all. Not until I put the empty container in the recycler.

The toilet flushed in the guest bathroom. Then I heard him flop onto the bed, a loud moan following. “I ache all over. And nothing helps. I need an alpha to fuck this feeling out of me.”

My cock stiffened with his words. I had no idea if he knew I’d come home and said that for me, or if he was simply desperate for relief. Though I knew I couldn’t listen to his discomfort all night and not do anything to alleviate his pain. I either had to leave again or assist him.

Grabbing the condoms Ash had left, I headed toward the guest room. I knocked on the door and listened for a response.

“I appreciate your help, Ash, but you’re not an alpha. I need an alpha.”

I twisted the handle of the door and peeked inside, seeing his naked form sprawled out on the bed. He was semi-erect, and his skin was dewy with sweat, even with the temperature much cooler in the guest room compared to the rest of my condo. “It’s me. I’m home now. How are you doing?”

He groaned as he turned to face me, not embarrassed by his nudity in the least. Definitely not in the same mindset as the omega I’d met on the train. “I’ve been better. I’m sorry about your pillow.” He lifted it from the far side of him then cuddled it into his chest. “But your scent gave me a little comfort today.”

“Can I…” I took a step into the room. “Can I help you at all?”

He rubbed his hand between his legs then encircled his cock, spreading slick all over his shaft. “The only thing that can help me now is to be fucked hard and well. Do you think you could do that for me?”

I nodded my head as my lion tried to leap out of me to pounce on him. All doubts had left, as I knew I had to do everything in my power to help my guest. I’d invited him into my home, kept his luggage hostage so he couldn’t leave, and draggedhim back here to protect him from other alphas, while an alpha was exactly what he needed. That left me as the one who needed to take care of him. As his host, and the only alpha on the premises, it was my duty to do so. He’d asked, so I had to attend to his needs.

Chapter Seventeen

Knox

My pulse spiked as Linc walked into the room. Imagining him there as I’d ground against his pillow or stroked myself to release had brought only a little relief, though not enough to tame my overactive libido. I never knew desire for someone could be so painful, with my persistent erection and dangerous craving for someone I barely knew. But my deer didn’t want anyone else. Ash had even offered to find me a trustworthy alpha if Linc wouldn’t help, but the thought of anyone else made me want to vomit.

I held my cock firm in my hand as he undressed, draping his clothes over the exercise equipment in the corner. My nerves buzzed with anticipation taking in his naked form, his wide, firm chest, thick thighs, and heavy cock. My entrance throbbed as I yearned to feel him deep inside me. “Linc, please.”

He met my desperate gaze, staring down on me with a sudden dominant energy. “Be patient, omega. Let me take you in first.”

I shivered at the sexy rumble of his voice, and my nipples pebbled. The anticipation of waiting for him to take me proved so much worse. My body simmered under his scrutiny. “I don’t know how much more I can take.”

The corner of his mouth rose in a brief grin. “Let me see you get off. I want to see you climax before I am the one giving you the release.”

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