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Those scents wove through my smoldering thoughts, assuring me that all my needs would be met, and I would never want for anything again. It frightened me because it felt like a siren song. It crooned to the deepest parts of me that my fear of letting go and fucking them all into exhaustion was ridiculous. It whispered that I could cast aside my control, and they would take care of me.

The fragment of my rationality that was still holding on insisted that I was in a dangerous situation, trapped with Elijah on a boat with alphas we barely knew. So why the hell did I feel safer than I’d ever felt in mylifeas I curled at Curran’s feet, his hand stroking my hair as his soothing alpha purr rumbled in low counterpoint?

I should be worrying about why Elijah left. I should be worrying that Gabriel had followed him. Instead, I could think of nothing else but the growing pulse of want between my legs.

My knickers felt damp. I squirmed, satiny slickness rendering the folds of my pussy frictionless, like the finest lube. Even those small movements sent tingles of pleasure up my spine in a pulsing wave.

It was so hot in here. I needed my stifling clothingoff. With a needy whine, I began wriggling out of my caftan top. I wasn’t wearing a bra; I hadn’t been able to tolerate the discomfort of underwires and confining straps when I dressed this morning. Or had it been yesterday morning? It didn’t matter.

The brush of light fabric against my painfully erect nipples sent another wave of lust through my body.

“That’s it, pet,” Curran said. “Get comfortable. Whatever you need.”

My eyes zeroed in on the growing bulge beneath my alpha’s trousers, and I was suddenly desperate to know if his mouth-watering scent was stronger there. He’d said I could have whatever I needed—

My train of thought was derailed by the sound of footsteps coming down the staircase, followed by a fresh wave of that mind-blowing combination of scents. I whimpered and turned toward the newcomers, the fire that had been growing in my belly tightening into a spike of ravenous hunger too strong to deny.

“Oh, now look at you, beautiful.” Onyx’s rich, Australian drawl caressed me like cool hands, and I shivered in delight. “Are we getting naked now? Good.”

I watched, unable to tear my gaze away as they carelessly stripped off their white linen shirt and tossed it aside, barely breaking stride. Onyx crossed to the section of couch across from me and toed off their trainers, kicking them aside as well. Mymouth watered as khaki capris and underwear followed. Naked, the androgynous alpha flopped down on the seat, legs spread invitingly, taking up space with an easy assurance so different from my own instinctive desire to hide myself away.

“So, I guess we’re starting, then?” Gabriel’s familiar tones reached me, but I couldn’t look away from the feast laid out for me across the cabin.

“Are you okay, Em?” Elijah asked.

I nodded and licked my lips, still not looking at either of them.

Curran’s rough fingers touched my jaw, urging my face up to meet his gaze. “If you want Onyx, have them, sweetheart. No need to hold back until it hurts. Go have fun.”

I frowned. He was right. Why was I holding back? What I wanted wasright there.

This was stupid. I started to stand up, but the world went swimmy. Falling back to my hands and knees among the sea of cushions, I crawled instead.

“Condoms?” Elijah asked tightly.

The word was meaningless. I ignored it, but Curran said, “In the cup holder to your left when you need them, Onyx.”

Onyx smiled, a lovely flash of white teeth. “I know, old man. I helped you stash them all over the damned boat, remember?” A long finger crooked in my direction. “Come on, lovely. You’ll probably want to explore a bit first. Most people do.”

Hell yes, I did. I managed to wriggle out of my leggings and knickers as I approached, my legs getting tangled for a moment before I kicked free. God, I was sowet. Even on those rare occasions when I’d indulged with a vibrator and synthetic alpha pheromones in an attempt to see what all the fuss was about, I’d never been this wet before.

Finally naked, half-frantic with need, I climbed the dusky-skinned alpha’s body like a tree until I could get at the scentgland on their neck. The clean smell of berries and spruce was like a drug. I couldn’t get enough of it. When Onyx nosed against my mating gland in reciprocation and let out a low hum of appreciation that vibrated against my overheated skin, my pussy clenched hard. A new pulse of slickness added to the growing mess between my thighs.

The alpha’s body was all rangy muscle. Succumbing to the impulse, I licked my way downward, pausing to take everything in. Brown nipples peaked under my tongue, underlined by thin, horizontal lines of scar tissue a few inches lower down, at the base of hard pecs. The scars, too, were a slightly darker color than the surrounding skin, and the texture under my tongue was different.

There wasn’t a spare ounce of fat on Onyx’s taut body. An eight-pack marched down to a narrow waist and hips, accented by a clear Adonis belt pointing the way to a thatch of dark hair. The folds hidden beneath it were different than mine. For obvious reasons, I’d never been with an alpha before—male, female, or other. But it didn’t take a genius to know that there was treasure nestled among those folds; I just had to tease it out.

Onyx made a low noise of pleasure as I delved in for a taste. The flat of my tongue rasped over the blunt tip of an alpha clit, barely protruding now, but promising much more with the right motivation. The taste of sweat, salt, musk, and the clean tang of the forest enveloped me. I closed my eyes and sank into it.

Why had I resisted this? Why had I been so scared and ashamed earlier?

“You’re too good with that pretty Cupid’s bow mouth, my lovely,” Onyx purred, stroking my hair. “Seems a bit one-sided, though.”

I whimpered as the hand tangled in my hair eased me away, but then Onyx was sliding off the couch to lie back among thepillows on the floor. The hand moved to my hip, nudging me around.

“Go on, climb aboard,” Onyx said, tugging until I was on my hands and knees, facing the opposite direction.

My brain might have been reduced to a puddle of heat-scrambled mush, but it sure as hell understoodthatsuggestion. I clumsily threw a leg over Onyx’s face, keening as they dragged my sex down and started eating me out like a starvation victim who’d just been presented with a seven-course meal.