Page 59 of Feeling the Heat: Part Two
I’m too caught up in staring at his handsome face and resisting the urge to kiss him to say anything, and when he speaks it startles me.
His lips twitch as he catches me staring. “I don’t want you to be alone tonight.” There’s a pause where I wonder if he’s waiting for me to protest that I don’t want him there, then he continues. “Can one of the other guys stay with you?”
It feels silly to deflate at his words. He’s only trying to respect my needs, but my brain interprets it as his not wanting to stay with me. Dammit, maybe I need to get some help, too. I can’t keep reacting like a kicked puppy because my omega misinterprets things.
I clear my throat, pushing down the ridiculous whine that was rising. “Yeah. Okay.”
River’s brow furrows. “Are you sure? I don’t want to rush you, but I’m worried about your safety.”
“Yes, I’m sure. Jackson can come stay if he’s free tonight.”
He chuckles. “Even if he had plans—which he definitely doesn’t—he’d cancel them in a heartbeat for a chance to be around you.”
“Alright. Thanks. I…” Now that the anxiety of being around River has lessened, the fear from being followed earlier creeps back in. “I was scared… He was so big, and I didn’t know what he wanted.” My lip trembles. “What would I have done if he’d barked at me?”
River growls low at the thought, and he clears his throat with a sheepish look when my eyes widen. “We need to practice resisting barks.”
Jackson mentioned that being a possibility after the confrontation with my sister’s awful husband, but it fell by the wayside in everything that happened after.
“You can help me with that?”
River’s mouth curves into a lopsided smile. “I know I might not look like it, but Iaman alpha.”
My eyes scan down his trim, slender body, and my face heats. The man may not have a typical alpha physique, but his energy leaves no room for mistaking him for anything else. “I know you are.”
“Ambrose would be a better teacher because he knows more about it, but—please don’t think I’m saying this to be a self-aggrandizing ass—” I snort and humor flickers in his eyes. “My bark is stronger than his. It’ll be better to train resisting one that’s powerful, just in case.”
I frown. “So what, you bark at me and I try to ignore it?”
He shrugs. “Pretty much. The more you encounter it, the better your brain gets at resisting. Like building up an immunity. It will also help your omega differentiate between a bark that’s meant for its intended purpose—to keep you safe—and one meant to potentially harm you.”
“Huh. Okay.”
“Do you want to try now?” River asks, voice soft.
His posture stiffens as if he’s bracing for me to reject him. To tell him I don’t trust him enough to let him bark at me. But it’s the fact that he’s asking and clearly cares about my consent that has me nodding. “Yes. The sooner I figure this out,the better.”
River nods. “Okay. I’m going to bark a few simple things at you, and I want you to try to resist. Do I have your permission to ask you to do something that you’d find embarrassing and something your omega would like from your alpha?”
As terrifying as the prospect of being barked at by a random alpha is, my blood heats at the prospect of this powerful alpha using his on me. It makes my omega want to submit and let him have his way with me. She’s a horny weirdo.
I clear my throat with a cough. “Uh, sure.”
His eyes lock with mine. “I’m going to start. I’ll bark five times, and between each, I’ll check in and you can tell me to stop if you don’t want to continue.”
“This sounds more like a kink negotiation than you teaching me not to be mind controlled,” I blurt, cheeks heating at my own words. God, why did I say that?
River laughs. “A little. I’m not about to do anything to you without your consent…” His smile flickers, eyes dropping to the bond mark peeking out of my shirt.
“I asked you for that,” I reply. It feels good to admit it after spending so much time pretending that the bond was his fault. Sure, I didn’t know what I was asking for, but he didn’t know that I didn’t know.
I can tell he wants to argue, so I narrow my eyes at him. “No more apologies about the past, remember?”
He shakes his head at me with a huff. “Fine.” A moment passes as he pushes away whatever apology he wanted to make. “Are you ready to begin?”
My heartbeat speeds up. “Yes.”
River locks eyes with me. “Stand up.”
