Page 73 of One Way Out

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Once I’m done with my meal, Valor sweet-talks me into taking a bath with him in the huge clawfoot tub. The house has a certain kind of charm. Not necessarily something I would pick for myself, but I see the appeal. It’s a lot like taking a vacation and going back fifty or a hundred years in time.

I’m used to a more modern home with a security system and full control panels on every wall, but this place has personality unlike the mansion my dad and I moved to when my mom died.

Valor kept the water on what I would consider the cooler side, and I’m not complaining. I love a bath so scalding, it feels like your skin might melt off for a few seconds as you get acclimated, but that’s not what I need right now. Especially with an overfull stomach from the first real meal I’ve had in days.

Soapy water sticks to my skin as Valor cups his hands, rinsing away the bubbles. My back rests against his strong chest, and as much as I’d like to turn around and kiss him senseless, even I can admit I needed a quick cleanup.

Heats are filled with slick and cum and sweat, which probably makes it a good thing Leo, Shaw, and Omen promised to tidy the room we’ve been using if I didn’t complain about having to take a bath.

I’ve heard heats turn omegas into bossy, pouty gremlins with only one thing on the brain, but I never thought it would happen tome. I’m fully prepared to admit, I’m not immune. If we weren’t already bonded, they’d probably all run away from my ridiculous mood swings, and I wouldn’t blame them.

Valor’s chest rises and falls behind me, and I glance over my shoulder at him. He’s softly chuckling, and my face heats wondering how much of that I was projecting in the bond.

“All of it. You were sending all your thoughts and feelings.” He smiles, and his wet fingers brush something from my skin. “You had some bubbles, but you’re good to go now.”

I roll over in the water, causing a small wave. It doesn’t spill over the edge, and I end up facing my mountain of an alpha. My tits end up just over his cock, and I hold on to his hips to keep from floating away.

“I’m sorry that I’ve been rotten lately. Hopefully it’ll get better once things settle down. I don’t do well with change, but I’m adapting.”

He quirks a dark eyebrow, running his hands over my slick shoulders. “You were kidnapped, tossed into a dangerous place with criminals, and bonded four people. That’s a lot of changes in a short period. I’d say you’re doing better than you’ve given yourself credit for.”

My head tilts.

God, he really is sweet.

I’ve been nothing but a brat to him.

“How are you?” I ask, teasing my fingers over his lower stomach. “Is the fog lessening now that we’re bonded? It’s hard to tell. You’re really good at blocking your thoughts and emotions.”

“I feel clearer than I have in years.” His dark eyes study me intently. “I still hate that these are still visible.” He brings a hand to my neck, tracing the marks left from our bonding.

Sensing his regret through our connection hurts my heart. I wish he could remember the whole exchange from the time McCabe put me in solitary with him. The gaps in his memory leave spaces for him to imagine much worse atrocities, but those things didn’t happen.

It was hot.

I’d do it all over again if necessary. I’m far from traumatized by our bonding.

“I can’t feel them,” I say, referencing the bruises. “They’ve never even hurt. I was actually hoping to negotiate a little choking the next time you slide inside me. If you’d be open to it?”

Valor growls, shaking his head. “Still a bossy little thing. You’re used to getting your way.”

I snort. “I’m willing to behave if you make a few concessions to meet me in the middle.” My face turns serious. “The first being, I need you to stop blaming yourself for what happened when we bonded.” Using my hold on his hips and my toes on the bottom of the tub, I push up in the water. My breasts drag over his pelvis and up his abs.

He really is one of the biggest guys I’ve ever seen, and it’s clear how much time he puts in to keep in shape.

“I’ll do my best.” Valor’s hands land around my ribs, and he tugs me up until I’m hovering above his lap. “But I don’t like the idea of hurting you.”

My hands come to rest on his shoulders, and I study the grim reaper tattoo on the front of his neck. I have no idea why a silly smile breaks out on my face, but it does. Not even in my wildest dreams did I think I’d end up with a pack of guys as hot as mine are.

“We’ll work on it. I trust you.” And with that, I push my lips to his.

Valor growls, the sound radiating around the small bathroom as I grind his cock against his lower stomach. It ended up trapped between us when I moved, and the water makes it easy to glide against him.

His electric scent is muted from the soap and water, but my nostrils flare as I pick up hints of it. I heard what Leo said about that scent while I was pretending to be asleep during the first talk the four of them had. I haven’t had the chance to give it much thought with everything going on, but I have no trouble believing it’s true. There’s some deeper connection with Valor that I’ve never felt before.

He made me a little nervous upon our first meeting, but something inside me has always told me that he wouldn’t hurt me.

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