Page 22 of An Alpha’s Guide to Finding the One

“Well now I know you’re lying because you didn’t say a single word to me and I was already wet. And that was in a damned hospital bed.”

I bite my lip, sucking in silent but desperate breaths of her scent as I trail my fingers across her inner thigh. “So if I were to reach my hand inside of these sinfully tight leggings you have on?”

Her tongue snakes across her bottom lip. “You’ll find out exactly how wet you make me.”

I groan, rocking my head back against the bench’s headrest. “You’re killing me here, Darlin’. I’m trying my best to be a gentleman, but my instincts are screaming at me to make you feel good and reassure you.”

Her hands splay across my chest, drawing my attention to her fingernails. They’re shaped like almonds and tipped in different neon colors with little white clouds painted across each one. I appreciate the artistic talent it takes to create designs on a manicure, and I wonder vaguely if Lainey would let me try my hand at it sometime. “My jealousy was an unfounded overreaction. You don’t have to worry about reassuring me when you haven’t done anything wrong.”

My head tilts. “What if I want to?”

That pretty blush creeps further down her cheeks, spreading to her neck and what little I can see of her chest behind the thick sweatshirt she has on. “I guess if you really want to…”

That’s all the permission I need. Flipping her back around, I bring her back flush to my chest and part her legs so one rests on either side of mine, spreading her wide in the chair. This brings a fresh wave of her scent to my nose, making my cock jerk. I know she feels it against her back, because she whimpers quietly. Her leggings are black, depriving me of the view of her slick soaking through them. I vow to buy her some lighter pairs so I can see exactly what I do to her any time I want. “Are you aching, darlin’?”

“Since the minute I saw you through the front window,” she confesses.

A growl rips out of my throat, and Lainey bares her neck to me. I grunt, unable to resist biting down on the thin skin just below where her neck meets her jaw. I can’t wait to bond her, and I think this spot is exactly where I’ll do it.

My hand slips into her leggings and I don’t waste any time bringing my fingers to her soaked center. She’s dripping slick and my mouth waters wondering what she tastes like. Then I realize I don’t have to wonder. I slide two fingers through her core, scooping up as much slick as I can before bringing those fingers to my mouth and sucking them clean. An obscene moan escapes my lips when her tart but sweet flavor hits my tongue and I am struck by the sudden, feral need to taste it directly from the source.

I slip out from behind Lainey with the sound of her protests following me, at least until I drop to my knees at the end of the bench and grip her ankles, dragging her down until her ass hits the end. Her leggings slide off with ease, taking her barely-there panties with them. “Rhys!” She squeals, trying to shut her legs. I hold them open, ignore her embarrassment because I am too distracted when my eyes catch a glimpse of neon yellow. Only my mind goes blank because in front of me is the most perfect pussy I have ever seen. Pink, glistening, and practically begging to be worshipped.

“God damn, Lainey.” My mouth waters, but I have a burning desire to see if she’s receptive to my brand of kink. “Hands on the bench above your head. I want you to keep them there, can you do that for me?”

Her brown eyes are wide, but she nods. I smirk, fascinated by this sweet, quiet side of our omega. “Have you heard of a pleasure Dom, darlin’?”

She shakes her head this time, and I nod. “It’s different for every couple and every encounter, but for me in this moment, it means I want to eat this pretty pussy,” I swipe my fingers through her slick to accentuate my words, “until you come. But then I want to keep going until I’m ready to stop. Until you’re shaking and crying and have had so many orgasms your body physically cannot give me another one.” I place a lingering kiss on each of her thighs. “Can I do that, Lainey? Will you let me devour you until I’ve had my fill?”

Her lips part, and I wait. I need verbal confirmation from her before I take this any further. Her whispered “yes” is music to my ears, and I do exactly what I promised her I would.

I devour her.

Work has been fucking awful. I came in thinking the huge case we’ve been working on would distract me from the constant revolving door of thoughts involving Lainey, but in reality I’ve been on edge all day feeling the riot of her emotions through our bond. We’ve only been bonded for a short time, and they feel way stronger than they should. When she got sick earlier, I actually had to leave the break room at the station so I didn’t vomit when someone microwaved their leftovers.

“Ready for the meeting, Sheriff?” My assistant, Colt, knocks on my office door hesitantly, like he’s expecting to be yelled at. He’s a great kid, moved here a couple of years ago and has worked for me since I started as Sheriff. He actually goes to Harbor U with the guys, but he’s a couple of years behind them.

Closing my eyes, I lean my head back against my desk chair with a sigh. “Yeah. Let’s get this over with.”

When I open my eyes again, Colt is staring at me with concern written all over his face. “You doing okay?”

I chuckle, but I’m touched he would ask. Colt’s pretty quiet and keeps to himself a lot, but there’s this sad aura to him that is part of the reason I hired him. Reminded me of Lucky at his age, and I couldn’t deny him the job. “I’m alright, Colt. I appreciate you checking.” I look at him again, noting the dark circles under his eyes. “Are you okay?”

He grins, but it’s forced. “Never better.”

He disappears before I can question him some more, but it’s probably for the best. This meeting should solve at least a few of our recent problems and take one more headache off my plate, so the sooner I start it, the better.

“Alright, everybody here?”

A chorus of agreements ring out, but I do a visual inspection anyway. One of the pros of a small town is that I can count the number of employees in the Sheriff’s department on two hands. That’s also one of the cons, since we always seem to be understaffed.

“Excellent. I know we’ve all been waiting for this meeting, so I won’t keep you in suspense. Last month I met with the County Commissioner, and after deliberating with the board he has agreed to grant us additional funding to bring on two new deputies.”

The room erupts in cheers, and it’s enough to make me smile. We have been severely overworked with the influx of new residents over the past year and I have spent at least half of that fighting the County Commissioners Board for more funding. Now as long as I can get a couple of reliable people hired in the next few weeks, I might actually be able to take some time off when the baby is born.

As murmured chatter continues to fill the room, a foreign sensation bowls me over and makes me growl. All noise comes to a halt as wide eyes stare back at me. My mouth opens and closes, but nothing comes out for way too many seconds. “I’m so sorry. If you’ll excuse me for a moment.” I rush out of the room, ignoring the way their voices pick up immediately after the door closes. I’m too focused on the overwhelming mixture of jealousy, panic, and fear warping all the rational thoughts in my head.

As soon as I get to my office, I slam the door shut and call Wyatt. He might be in class, but I don’t care. I don’t want to go to the emergency room if it’s nothing, and Wyatt is the closest thing I know to a doctor and one of the only people I trust.