Page 122 of Feeling the Heat: Part One
When our lips part, her eyes are shining with heat. “Jackson,” she whimpers, rubbing her cheek against my throat to scent mark me. Her omega must be in overdrive after hearing the alphas together, but not having them in here with her.
We won’t all be together tonight, but maybe one day. My lust rises to meet hers at the thought.
“Don’t worry, gorgeous,” I rasp. “I’ll take care of you.”
39
“Enough. I’m tired of this.”River cards a hand through his hair with a frustrated sigh.
“Ignoring your feelings is only going to make things worse!” I protest, my rarely provoked temper rising to the surface. That and my alpha clawing at my mind to chase the desire flooding my veins.
When Jackson absconded with Camille, and cut off his end of the bond as we all agreed on, River’s mood soured. But he refused to talk to me as we cleaned up the scattered board game, or when we were doing the dishes. He stayed silent as we got ready for bed, frustration simmering down the bond.
At least he’s kept that open like he promised. It lets me know he’s not happy, and I have a good idea why.
I place a hand on his shoulder, willing my mate to let down his guard and know that no matter what he says, I want to hear it. “It’s okay to be jealous. Don’t bottle that shit up again. Talk to me.”
He looks at my hand, jaw flexing. “I can handle it on my own.”
I scoff, stepping back and throwing my arms up in surrender. “Fine. But when you explode and destroy this thing we’re building because you ‘handled’ your jealousy, don’t expect me to be there to console you.”
River’s eyes flash with bitter anger and he steps into my space, crowding me against the wall. This close, his deep chocolate scent envelops me and my pulse spikes with how much his nearness turns me on, even when I’m upset.
Maybe even more when I’m upset. Not going to examine that too closely.
“I don’t expect that, because it won’t happen,” River bites out through gritted teeth. “Now stop challenging me before my alpha decides you need to be taught a lesson.” He leans in closer until I can feel the heat radiating off of his bare chest and his stiff cock against my hip.
He gives me time to think, his breaths quickening as he brings his hand to rest on my sternum. He’s waiting for me to tell him I don’t want to play this game with him right now, while we’re having a serious conversation.
But I can’t resist him. I’m already worked up from the combination of being around my scent match all night, and the firm, possessive touches River kept giving me while we were all together.
Trying to get him to be forthcoming with his feelings is like bashing my head against a brick wall. Maybe by letting his alpha take over for a while and burn through the potent emotions he’s bottling up, it’ll make him more willing to have a vulnerable conversation. Maybe if I show River I can handle anything from him. Pleasure, pain, joy, darkness.
Maybe then he’ll get it through his thick skull that I’m not going anywhere.
“Green,” I murmur, preemptively using the check-in word to let him know I’m okay with leaning into this. I know theysay not to go into a scene angry, but I don’t care right now. I trust that no matter how high tensions rise, the moment I tell River to slow down or stop, he will.
River’s hand slides up to rest on my throat. “You want my alpha to come out, don’t you? You’ve missed being my fuck toy and need to be shown who you belong to.” His arousal surges through the bond, eclipsing the frustration that was there before.
“Yes,” I breathe, wetting my lips as I anticipate what comes next.
His hot breath fans across my skin as he leans in so his lips are hovering beside my ear. His fingers tighten ever so slightly on my neck, making my cock buck eagerly. “Do you like that I’m jealous?”
I swallow against his grip. “N-no.”
River pulls back to give me a look that makes my legs weak. “You know what happens when you lie to me. Tell the truth. Does it turn you on thinking I’m jealous of you? Jealous of your scent match to Camille? Jealous that I have to share you?”
My eyes widen, worried that maybe I was wrong about playing our game right now, because I can’t hide the way I react, lust coursing through me and down our bond to mingle with his.
Rough disdain tinges River’s voice, even as his excitement increases. “That’s what I thought. That’s why you keep checking in with me about this. Such a needy slut wanting to hear that your alpha is jealous.”
My cheeks burn at the degradation, and I release a soft gasp at the force of River’s alpha putting me in my place.
Fuck, is he right? Is there a part of me that gets off on being wanted like that?
Shame hits me, and I lash out. “And what about you?You’re hard, too. You like putting me back in my place. You get off on being a martyr. ”
Surprise flashes across River’s face at my retort. Our scenes never involve me talking back. I’m his good, obedient toy, and that works really well for us.
