Another boom of need rolled through me, a whine sneaking out before I could even think about silencing it.

With a groan, Ryder pulled down the zipper on my snowsuit and peeled it open so he could get his mouth on my skin. I shivered, both from the cold and from his touch. My brain had gone full puddle mode as I arched eagerly until he tugged down the neckline of my borrowed tank top to close his lips over my peaked nipple. My core throbbed, desperate for more.

“You shouldn’t be allowed to say filthy things if you’re not going to follow through.” I gasped, digging my fingers into his beanie to keep him close.

Ryder laughed against my skin, nipping softly before pushing against my grip. “You’re going to get very cold if we do that.”

“A valid but irrelevant point.”

“I don’t want you to freeze. You’ve done enough of that lately.”

“Work quickly, then.”

With a sound of exasperation, he got to his feet and pulled me up along with him. “I don’t think I expected you to come with quite this much sass.”

“I never felt safe enough to sass before meeting your pack, so that is aaall on you guys.”

Ryder backed me up against one of the trees, reclaiming my mouth until I was breathless. “I’m not going to be able to worship nearly as much as I would like if you’re insisting on being fucked in the cold.”

“That’s what the nest is for later.”

He stilled. “You want me in your nest?”

“Did you think I was going to gatekeep it?”

“Protecting nest access is kind of an omega basic, isn’t it?”

I stood on my toes and pulled him back down, brushing my lips against his before answering. “I want your scent all over it and I’m not going to get it if I don’t burn off these fucking blockers.”

“Are you doing all this just to get to my scent?”

I raised an eyebrow in question, irritation picking at me. “I didn’t go through a heat foryearsso I could avoid alphas, and you think I’m asking you to fuck me just so I can scent you?”

Ryder swallowed hard. “Fair point. I want to make sure you’re only doing things because you want to. I don’t want you to leave here with any regrets.”

“Then you should give me the experience of you railing me against a tree because I will definitely regret it if I leave here without that.”

My body lit up again when he caged me in, claiming my mouth with eager sweeps. He broke away briefly to undo his jacket, dropping it to the snow, and removed his sweater beneath it before peeling me fully out of the top of my snowsuit, tying the sleeves loosely around my thighs so it didn’t fall all the way to my feet. Ryder pulled his sweater over me so I had it and the flannel to protect me. The warmth of him still on the fabric sank right to my skin. He spun me around, and I braced against the gorgeous fir tree while he replaced his jacket and tossed his mittens aside. I waited with bated breath, shivering as the chilly air ghosted over my ass.

His fingers stroked reverently along my slit, the slick coating my skin rapidly cooling. “So wet for me already, firecracker.”

I panted, resting my forehead on my arm and shifting my hips to encourage him. After arranging the flannel to cover more of my skin, he plunged his first finger into me, my pussy clamping down.

“Goddamn,” he breathed.

I rocked against his touch, every mewl coming out of me in a cloud of vapor. “More.”

He carefully slipped in a second finger and I bit down on my sleeve. I wasn’t quite ready to examine the fact that I was certain I would be able to tell the pack apart by how their fingers felt inside me.

I watched him kick away snow behind me until he was able to stand a solid foot deeper.

“What’s happening back there?”

“Getting to a good height to fuck you. One of the many benefits of snow.”

I groaned and let out another hasty demand for more. Ryder dropped down and pressed his thumb against my clit, shifting his hand and adding a third finger.

“Motherfucker.” I thrust back hard against him, his steady grind on my clit sending me tumbling over the edge.