He kisses my cheek and I give the two alphas an awkward nod as I follow Mattie to the bed. He’s grinning like a Cheshire cat as I climb under the covers and settle against his chest. Ben and Jack murmur their goodnights, but Noah lingers long enough to flip Mattie off. The last thing I hear is his dark warning. “Rest up, Bratty Boy. Cos I’m an early riser, and I’m planning on having my breakfast in bed…”
I don’t know if what I do for the next six hours could technically be called sleep, because I wake up in a tangle of sheets, crazy dreams still dancing in my head. I can’t remember a great deal of plot, but the spice was off the charts, and I can feel slickness pooling between my thighs.
Great. And now I’m having wet dreams.
I roll over, and just like that, I’m face to face with Noah Lyall, who is definitely some kind of dream creature. He’s got a pillow mashed under his head, his pink hair fanning out on the crisp white cotton. He’s also naked to the waist, and I can’t help running my eyes over the exotic splash of tattoos. There are birds, flowers, and darker abstract swirls that could be mountains, waves, or the peaks and dips of a naked body. All eye-catching designs, but my gaze lingers on the two nipple piercings nestled inside all that ink.
“Good morning.” His voice is a raspy whisper I feel all the way to my toes. “How are you feeling?”
Hot. Sticky. Like there’s an omega under my skin, ready to claw her way out. “I tossed and turned. Probably kept Mattie up half the night.”
Noah goes up on an elbow to peer over my shoulder. “He looks happy enough to me. Must be all the sweet pheromones he’s been sucking down in his sleep.”
I’m more than aware of how I smell. Even with the bodywash Mattie lathered all over me, there’s still something coming through. And it’s so different to my usual alpha scent – which Richard once described asfaint but fresh– that I have to accept it. I’m really an omega right now.
Which is weird. And… daunting. I’m not sure I’ve got the hang of being an alpha yet, and now I have to make sense of a whole new designation?
“I don’t think I know how to be this version of me.”
I expect Noah to smirk at this awkward little revelation, but instead he bites on his lip ring and tucks his hand under his cheek. “You don’t have to ‘be’ anything. My advice – for what it’s worth – is to do what feels good.” His smirk is back, but this time it seems like it’s pointed at himself. “Stating the obvious, given the epic party aftermath downstairs, right?”
I frown, because that mess in his living room really was a nightmare. His so-called guests trashed his beautiful house and left him to clean it up. Who has friends like that? It’s on the tip of my tongue to ask, but I’m not sure it’s real amusement I see reflected in his eyes. And I suddenly have the urge to lean over and kiss those shadows away.
But instead, I roll onto my back and look at Mattie. He’s still dead to the world, little puffs of breath leaving his lips as he chases his dreams. I don’t know what feels good to an omega, but looking at Mattie feels good tome.
And based on our shower last night, kissing him makes me feel even better.
So I lean over and feather a kiss across his lips. Not enough to wake him, but I can feel the silky texture of his mouth, and taste his minty breath on his next exhale. I dip my nose into his hair, breathing in its sunshine scent, then skim my lips over the edge of his ear. I continue on along the line of his jaw, then pull back to stare down at him. I’ve spent a lot of time with Mattie over the last couple of months, but I’ve never seen him asleep. The night he spent in my bed, he was up and gone before I woke. But this feels right. Having him here next to me, soft and warm and covered in my scent…
I want to make Mattie smell like he’s mine.
The thought bubbles up from deep inside me, quickly followed by a plan.I need to kiss every inch of him.
So, I slide up onto my knees, working one leg into the gap between his thighs. It pulls the sheet down a little and I pause. We both went to bed fully dressed, but sometime in the night Mattie lost his shirt. And when I stare at the strong line of his collarbone, something tightens in my belly. A flush of arousal perfumes the air, and I have to bite back a moan as I run the tip of my tongue over that gleaming ridge of golden skin. It’s like licking up salted caramel, and I can’t stop myself from tracing the other bone. My hand twists in the sheet beside him as I keep going, running my lips down his sternum and over the tops of his ribs.
His skin shivers, the faintest ripple. I look up at him, but he’s still asleep.
I glance over at Noah, whose pupils have disappeared into the black of his irises. “What should I do now?” I whisper.
“Well, there’s lots more of him to kiss,” he points out. “Which bit looks the tastiest?”
I gaze down at Mattie, at the planes of muscle and dips of bone. All of it. It all looks like heaven spread out on a dream bed.
And I must be in a haze of some kind, because I peel the sheet down a little more, my gaze following the grooves of his abs to his hipbones. I stare for so long, I almost jump when Noah breaks the silence. “You want to fake sleep, you gotta keep your boner under wraps, Bratty Boy.”
I blink, but the sheet is starting to twitch and Mattie groans. “I’m trying to let her explore in peace, numbnuts.”
Noah smirks. “I thought you guys were hooking up.”
“We’re new.” Mattie peeks at me through his lashes. “And we’re taking things slow.”
“Then explore away.” Noah props his head on his hand, his eyes dancing. “I’ve always been a sucker for the Discovery Channel.”
Mattie grins at me, but he clearly wants me to explore some more, and it’s like a switch is flipped inside me. My thighs clench, and I can feel my sleep shorts growing damp. Noah instantly sits up, the sheet pooling at his waist. “Whoa, now. Whatcha thinking about, sweet thing?”
“Last night,” I murmur, remembering how I’d fought the urge to drop to my knees in the shower.
“You have some dirty dreams about our boy?”