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“Love you, babe.”
I move to get up from the edge of the bed, but he stands and waves me away. “Air hug. I don’t want to wear whatever body fluids you’re probably painted with.”
“Ew.”
“You ew.” He blows me a kiss. “Bye.” He opens the door.
Alden looks up from his book and rises from an armchair with a clear view to the guest room. “Everything okay?”
“You’re good, Boy Scout,” Noel says.
He looks to me.
“I’m good too.” I curl my hand toward my chest. “Come here.”
He exhales, and his entire posture changes, but the anxiety in his features doesn’t fade until he closes the distance and cups my cheek. “Good.”
“Perfect,” Noel says. “Now that we’ve all established we’re good, I’ll see myself out.”
“Let me walk you to the door.” Alden squeezes my hand. “Be right back.”
The door opens and shuts. The lock snicks, and Alden returns. Another cramp stirs, like my body knows he’s near and wants to prepare.
He pauses on the threshold. “I’m glad you have someone like Noel.”
“Thanks for asking him to stay.”
He smiles. “Did talking to him help?”
I suck in a breath as the next cramp builds, then nod.
He exhales another tense breath. Poor thing.
“How are you feeling?” he asks, treading closer.
“Due for another knot, I think. Your knot.”
He stands between my legs and cradles my face, then kisses me tenderly. Then he takes care of me, and all my worries about the future fade away. Like Noel says, I’ll save them for another day.
15 TYLER
After work, I went surfing until sunset, then nursed a beer at the bar until closing, too afraid of making bad decisions. I tiptoe up the back steps and unlock the door to my room, then nearly fall back on my ass. From scent alone, I know that Alden and the little goose who ruined my day, if not my very life, have spent all day fucking while I’ve been spiraling.
Sound hits me next. The soft slap of balls against ass. Alden’s quiet breaths like he knows I’m home and doesn’t want me to hear. My cock hardens.
My body heats with rage and despair. I want to barge into the guest room and cleave them apart, then fuck them both as punishment. Fuck. Need coils inside me. And fear.
My rut is here.
The suppressants must have failed. It better be because I’ve been neglecting my body and not because Elliott is my fucking scent match like Alden suggested.
Fuck. How am I going to survive a rut with a heat going on next door? I mean, yeah, I’ve been through this a couple times while Niall was in heat, but it was easy to ignore because the combination of Alden’s meadow and Niall’s lily nauseated me.
But Alden and Elliott… Fuck. The combination is catnip.
It sounds like they’ll be busy for a while, so I creep to the kitchen and grab a beer. Oh, fuck it. I grab the whole six-pack. I’ll drink away the blue balls I’ve been nursing since I met Elliott, drinking away any thought of what’s going on next door, the thought of Alden falling in love and leaving me behind.
Everything is too intense. I hear the electricity humming in every lightbulb, so I shut them off. Fine, I’ll wallow in the darkness. I definitely don’t want to see the crazed look in my reflection, the one that scares me because I hate losing control.
