Sexual thoughts really need to leave during this conversation.
“You were furious for Dash, but how did you feel for yourself?”
His jaw clenched, expression cooling into the facade he wore so well in public. Uncaring and frigid, only there to problem solve for other people. Never himself.
Maybe Ambrose should have been the one to have this conversation.
Except asking him would be the coward’s way out. You’re not a coward anymore.
“Tell me, or we’re going to dance around this conversation a million times until you’re ready to. We can’t be in a pack together with whatever this is,” I waved a hand vaguely, “between us. It might stress our omega out.”
Or me. It could stress me out, too. I’d touched him during the heat, but those had been different circumstances. Was I allowed casual affection with him in general? Would these scenarios in my head get to be played out, or was that not an option?
“I was jealous of you,” Mercury said after a long pause. “It felt like he cared more about you than me, because he continued a relationship with you in secret while allowing me to end ours. I’m well aware it was my own damn fault for being so pushy when he didn’t want to end things with me. Ambrose and I have talked about it. It’s in the past.”
“Are you jealous of me now?”
“What part of‘it’s in the past’wasn’t clear to you?”
My eyebrow lifted and I growled softly. “It didn’t necessarily sound like it was in the past, and I’d like to fuck both you and Ambrose without that tension lingering.”
His aura flared, sharp cinnamon filling the air. Mercury was quick to get himself under control, but his scent lingered. The cool expression cracked, his teeth sinking into his bottom lip.
“Look, I’m dealing with it,” he muttered. “It’s hard to… reconcile. The fact that I’m jealous of you having the last year with Ambrose, while also being wildly attracted to you.”
I tried to keep my arousal under control. He’d said it was hard—which equated to not ready. That’s what I thought, at least. There was no need for me to push. Mercury had accepted that Kiara wanted him, meaning we would be in a pack together soon. Packs were forever. We had forever to figure this out.
“You can fuck me if you think that would help you reconcile,” I said.
Those words were not what I’d thought about saying. Mercury looked me up and down, though, clearly tempted.
“Not sure if fucking you would have the desired effect,” he said.
I shrugged, turning back to my laptop. The screen had gone dark during our conversation, but if I didn’t want to get pushy, I knew I had to go back to work. There was a twinge of disappointment, which I did everything I could to quell.
“You fucking me, on the other hand…”
Mercury trailed off and my gaze snapped to him. His eyes were hooded, a faint flush to his cheeks. His burgundy hair hadn’t been in any tight braids since the heat started—they would only get ruffled and fall out, so he’d taken to keeping it down. Chaotic waves around his shoulders.
Slowly, I closed my laptop. It ended up on the coffee table, and I stood, walking past the blankets and stuffed animals to sit directly beside him. Our thighs pressed together, his heat leeching into me. We were all running a little hot. Kiara was giving us plenty of physical activity.
“So, you’re saying you have no desire to be dominant over me?” I asked, cocking my head to the side.
He snorted softly. “No. It’s just hard to submit when I have that lingering envy.”
“You don’t have to submit,” I said. “Sex doesn’t have to be a power exchange between us.”
DidIwant him on his knees for me? Yes.
I once again reminded myself that we had forever. This pack was going to be my forever, same as Kiara was. We could work up to that.
“There’s already been a power exchange,” he said. His voice was going husky. “Like you said. When I came for you.”
He admitted it wasfor me.
My thighs clenched, core tightening with desire. Mercury was a different kind of sub than Dash was. He had to be handled with care, not roughly tossed around.
Hesitantly, I threw my leg over his lap, waiting for him to stiffen. He didn’t. His hands came down to my hips, long fingers meeting my bare skin. I was only wearing one of Ambrose’s t-shirts. With Kiara’s heat raging, the less clothing we all wore, the better.
