Brinley licked her lips, her entire being perking up at the sound of his voice. She wanted to whimper at the tease of his far too welcome scent tickling her nose. “This was … unexpected.”
He locked his eyes onto hers. “Let me in.”
She shifted her weight to do exactly that before her brain kicked in and she managed to lock her fingers in place around the edge of the door. “If I … it’s not—” She had no freaking clue how to articulate herself and not sound like a lunatic.
Lennox lifted what looked like a large travel bag, which she hadn’t even realized he’d been holding. “Brinley, I can help. And I brought supplies. Let me in.”
He brought supplies?Her brain repeated his words and promptly screeched to a halt. “You know my name?” She blinked up at him, her confusion helping the slightest bit to ease the layered aches.
His expression softened. “You have your resources. I have mine.” He leaned forward, resting his free hand on the outer edge of the doorframe, and lowered his voice. “You went into heat in fucking public. You’reluckyI’m the only alpha who’s shown up at your door. Now, I’ll ask again, let me in so I can take care of you, omega.”
A whine escaped her before she could catch it. She wanted what he was offering. She truly did. And sheneededhis scent in her nest.
Brinley stumbled back, her knees weak, and let the door swing open.
Lennox moved swiftly forward, caught and relocked the door, then pulled her up against him with both hands splayed over her sides. He dipped his head and trailed the side of her face with his nose. “I can smell your need,” he said on a groan. “You smell fucking divine.”
Brinley clenched at his shirt and angled her head to press her face into the groove of his throat. She writhed a little against him as his scent triggered another rush of desire. “Alpha … please…”
“Please what?” He murmured his question into her skin, his lips teasing her cheek and ear.
She drew a breath, trying not to be a whimpering, wanton cliché … and failed miserably. All she managed was to tilt her head back to catch his intense stare before she said, “I need you … your scent, your knot.”
Lennox grunted and lifted one hand enough to catch her jaw, cupping her face. He held her that way as he took her lips in a slow, deep kiss that had her clawing at him. When he eased back, he said, “Show me your nest, baby.”
Slick seeped from her at the velvety tone of his voice. This was what she wanted, what she needed.Hewas what she needed.
Some small voice in the back of her head whispered that she should have questions, that what she needed was to stop and think, but Brinley flipped that voice to mute. Asking questions—thinking in general—was not going to alleviate the rampaging pain in her belly. A willing alpha in her nest, however, was precisely the solution.
Brinley led the way on unsteady legs through her apartment until they stood side-by-side in her bedroom. She curled her arms around her middle, bracing against another onslaught of cramps. “Here—” Her voice choked off briefly from the seizing pain. “Here it is.”
Lennox rumbled, the sound thoughtful. “We’ll have to snuggle.”
She blinked, first at the mountain of plumped-up blankets half-framed by an uneven wall of mismatched pillows, then up at the tall, broad-shouldered alpha next to her. Then back. He was right. She’d made do with what resources and lack of preparation she could, and the result had turned her queen-sized mattress into something a bit smaller. Cozier, or tighter, depending on perspective.
But she wanted to snuggle with him. With his engorged knot swollen inside her, preferably.
Lennox slipped his hands beneath the fluttery hem of her pajama shirt, suddenly behind her, and spread his palms over her belly. His breath warmed her skin as he murmured into her ear, “How about I start helping you feel a little better?”
Her head dropped back as she instinctively bared her neck for him. “Y-yes, please. Keep touching me.” His hands felt so much better than her clothes.
His chest vibrated and he dragged his tongue down the length of her throat before settling over her scent glands and sucking. At the same time, he raised his hands up, until he’d taken deliberate hold of her breasts.
Brinley arched against him, moaning shamelessly.
Lennox worked hickeys into her skin as he teased and pinched her nipples into painfully hard, aching peaks. Then he swept one hand down again, this time diving beneath the waistband of her shorts, where he gripped her pussy. A low, sexy-as-hell groan rolled through him before his teeth caught her earlobe. “Before I completely ruin this pussy, I want you to sit on my face.” He slipped two fingers inside her as he spoke. “I want you to ride my face until you fucking scream my name—convince me you know damn well whose cock you’re about to be taking.” He moved his mouth up to her temple and ground the heel of his hand over her clit. “Do that, and I’ll give you my knot as many times as you can take it.”
Her body shook with a need so powerful even the cramping faded from her awareness. She could barely breathe just imagining what he described, but she wanted it.
Brinley managed to nod her understanding and only whined a little when he withdrew his hand. She watched him lick his fingers as if in slow motion, saw his brow arch, and nearly missed his command to strip. It only processed as he, too, began shedding clothes.
She was done first, of course, and nearly crawled up into her nest before she remembered he needed to go in before her. So she waited impatiently for the last his attire to drop to the ground and debated for a few seconds about whether or not it would be too insane to try folding men’s slacks and men’s dress shirts into her bedding.
Then the man himself obscured her vision, tipped her chin up, and said, “Remember, Brinley. I may be your alpha, but I want to hear mynameout of those sweet lips when you come.” He kissed her before she could respond, the kiss wet and bruising but short, then turned to let himself onto her bed-turned-nest.
He looked so out of place.
He made it perfect.
