He kicks his shoes off and tugs his pants down. Thorne stands there in nothing but boxer briefs and socks. His socks come offnext, and then his briefs. I don’t even turn away; I just clutch the throw pillow next to me before shoving it on my lap to hide my erection.
Thorne doesn’t laugh. He’s serious, never breaking eye contact. Somehow, that’s turning me on even more. Even though I asked him to do it, I still gasp in shock when he quickly hunches over and shifts in front of me. The shift is so quick I almost wonder if I imagined it.
Thorne sits before lowering his head and crouching. When he rolls onto his back, I realize what he’s doing. He’s trying to prove to me that he isn’t a threat. Slowly, I approach him. I pat his head before jerking my hand back. He closes his eyes and stays perfectly still.
I reach out again, trailing my hand through his mane and giving him scratches under his chin. A loud purr begins, causing me to giggle. Feeling brave, I trail my hand to his chest and then lower to his exposed stomach. I pet him there, and the purring grows louder. I continue my pets in slow sweeping motions. The next thing I know, he’s shifting back and climbing over me. I gasp, my cock growing rock hard.
“Hayden,” he growls. “If you keep rubbing my stomach like that, I’m not going to be able to control myself.”
My gaze drops down to his very hard human cock. Dear heaven on earth. “Wait,” I gasp. “Did you just call me Hayden? You remember me?”
Thorne’s brow creases. “Fuck, of course I remember you, Hayden. I’ve spent the past six years remembering you. Missing you. Needing you.”
His hand cups my face, and I close my eyes, leaning into his touch.
“You have no idea, omega,” he continues talking, tone hushed, almost reverent. “If I could go back in time, I would…” His words trail off.
“You would what?” I suck in a deep breath. “Tell me.”
“I wouldn’t let you leave. I would have pulled you back against me and told you it wasn’t meant to be just one night. That we were meant to know each other. I would beg for your number. I would hold you all night and kiss you awake in the morning. I would make love to you until you went into heat. Then, I would breed you until you were mine.”
My eyes snap open. I can feel the truth in his words.
“Good,” I whimper. “I want that, because something tells me this is our second chance. Oh, and I’m going into heat.”
Chapter nine
Thorne
His words replay in my head over and over again, making me harder by the second. This primal urge to rip his pajama bottoms off and bury myself inside of him makes sense now. I crawl off him slowly, as if I’m stuck in molasses. My inner lion growls, hating that I’m moving away from our omega. But I need some space to think clearly.
‘No, don’t think. Mate. Breed. Our omega needs us.’
I shake my head, standing and taking a step back. It’s getting harder to fight that primal side of me, and I’m afraid of scaring Hayden. His tempting scent of cookies and coffee is wafting around our cabin and driving me wild. No wonder I’m having such a hard time concentrating.
From here, I can see the thick outline of his erection in his pajamas. The material is wet from all his leaking slick. Little beads of sweat are making his face glisten. I’ve never seen such a beautiful sight. My omega is hard and ready for me. I growl.
Hayden’s eyes snap up to mine. “If you don’t want me anymore, I can lock myself up in the bedroom. Although my heat usually lasts a little over a week, so I’m afraid you might be out of a bed.”
My eyes widen with shock. His breathing is labored, and he’s still trembling. He gets to his feet, and I swear more slick permeates the room. His hand grasps his cock, and he gives it a stroke. With anyone else, it would look like he’s trying to tease me, but I can tell that my omega is suffering. The older an omega gets, the harder their heats are. Only an alpha’s knot will make him feel better.Myknot.
I groan.
He turns away from me, stepping toward the bedroom. My lion roars. I can’t let him go. Unless he doesn’t want me to help, there’s no way in hell I can just turn a blind eye. “Hayden, please.I’ve spent years craving you, yearning for you. And now you’re here. Fate brought us back together. Please let me help you.”
He’s still in his right mind, and I want his full consent. I need to know now because if he doesn’t want this, doesn’t want me, then I’m going to have to take painful measures to hold myself back. We will both hit a point where the sexual need will be too overwhelming. But if I take suppressants now, then I can still be by his side to help him. Because, whether he wants my cock or not, I plan on taking care of my omega. I’ll be here to feed him and clean him between waves. I’ll be by his side to make sure he’s hydrated and safe.
Fate brought us back together, and I don’t want to squander this beautiful opportunity. I will do everything in my power to make Hayden happy and smile that stunning smile again.
Chapter ten
Hayden
Has an alpha ever looked at me the way Thorne is looking at me now?‘Please let me help you.’Whenever an alpha has helped me in the past, it was usually just to get his rocks off. To experience a heat with an omega. Which is fine, I prefer to spend my heat with someone rather than go through all that suffering.
But the way Thorne is looking at me now, with tenderness and desperation...it’s everything. I still can’t believe he recognized me so easily, and that he’s here now. He means it when he says he wants to help me. I just know it. And if I were to turn him down, he would respectfully listen. A part of me is tempted to say no, just to see what he’ll do, but that’s too cruel. Fate has already played her games. For six years. I never want to do that to him. I never want to play games with this thoughtful, caring alpha. If he meant everything he said, then this connection between us is double-sided, and I’m done waiting.
All those fears, the insecurities that have started to build up around my heart, melt away under his gaze. The lust in his eyes is lighting me on fire.
