Page 14 of Rough Heat

Josh hid his face in Leo’s neck, lapping at it mindlessly, only stopping when Leo tilted his head and started kissing him. It was sloppy, uncoordinated, a kiss without purpose other than intimacy.

Damon must have been pretty worked up, because it didn’t take long for him to knot and come, Leo helping Josh along by stroking his cock until they were even more of a mess than before.

Damon and Josh shifted carefully to their sides, Josh not letting go of Leo so that they were all tangled together, Josh in the middle.

“Wait,” Leo said. “Let’s hydrate for a sec.”

He passed the bottles to both of them, helping Josh with his as Damon took care of his own, before they all went back to winding around each other like growing ivy.

Josh hummed faintly. “Think ’Imma pass out…” he mumbled before doing just that.

Damon lifted his head a little to look at Josh’s slack face, wide eyes flitting to Leo. “That’s the…that’s the first time I’ve seen him fall asleep like that during a heat. Normally he’s delirious with exhaustion by the end of it, this is…” he swallowed visibly, voice cracking. “Thank you,” he whispered, his gaze slicing Leo open.

“You sleep too,” Leo said, not knowing how to take the praise.

In the soft, chaotic nest of their scents, the three of them slipped into a deep, untroubled sleep.

FOUR

TherestofJosh’sheat went like that. Leo and Damon would take turns knotting him until the three of them would pass out for a few hours. They ate and drank as much as they could in the quiet moments, feeding each other small bites.

There was half a day at the peak of Josh’s heat where he wouldn’t settle, tears springing into his eyes silently every time Leo and Damon had to switch up. Still, they got through even that, sleeping for almost six hours afterwards.

By the end of the fourth day, when Josh’s heat finally broke, Leo was tired beyond words, his whole body sore. He couldn’t even imagine how Josh felt—this had been the most intense heat Leo had ever gone through, even with two Alphas there.

If Leo had been in his right mind, he would have left as soon as his duties were over, but as the sun sank into the horizon, his body just wouldn’t listen to him. The bed was a fucking mess, but it smelt like them, and as Josh burrowed back into Leo, Damon draping an arm over each of them, Leo closed his eyes and fell unconscious for ten straight hours.

Waking from that was its own challenge, but something was moving on top of him, jostling him gently. He opened his eyes to see Josh climbing over him, whispering to Damon.

“I’m fine. Love you, babe, but I’ve been fucked within an inch of my life and need a me-time shower. You take over cuddling Leo.”

Damon muttered something under his breath before saying more clearly, “Shout if you need anything.”

“Yeah, yeah, Papa Bear.”

To Leo’s surprise, Damon did as asked, moving closer until he was forehead-to-forehead with Leo. “You awake?”

Leo opened his eyes blearily. “I think so? My body feels like ground beef.” He grinned.

Damon laughed. “Yeah, same. You did—I mean, fuck. That was the best heat I’ve ever seen Josh have, and we’ve been together six years, total. Just…thank you.”

Leo squirmed a little uncomfortably. “Yeah, man, of course. I’m happy I could help, honestly.”

Tentatively, Damon raised his hand, brushing it through Leo’s tangled hair. Leo watched his face, the soft look there. Damon was so much more affectionate than he’d seemed to be at the start, and it did something to Leo, knowing that there was no way he was like this with most people.

Following the wild impulse, Leo kissed Damon softly, opening his mouth easily when Damon responded, cradling Leo’s head in his hands.

The kiss meandered aimlessly, both of them shifting so Damon was half on top of him, tongue stroking Leo’s languidly, like they had all the time in the world. Like there was nowhere Damon would rather be.

They only broke apart when Josh returned, a surprised noise leaving his throat. “Okay, you guys need to shower so I can change the sheets and get some of that kissing.”

Damon lifted his head, looking surprised. “I can change the sheets if you want. You should—”

“Baby, I feel fucking great after a heat for literally the first time in my life. I mean, sore as fuck, and I could sleep for another forty-eight hours, but…I can change the sheets. You two go shower.”

Damon gaped at him for a moment before scrambling out of bed. “You really feel good?” he asked, cupping Josh’s face.

“I really feel good. Now go shower,” he ordered with a peck to Damon’s lips.

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