Page 35 of Altius (The Scent of Victory #2)

The connecting door to the bathroom slid open, and a certain delicious wisp of darkness stepped inside. Someone must have been eavesdropping. He’d also made the ill-advised decision to get dressed again.

“You rang?”

Cal rolled his eyes and wisely let go of me.

I rushed over to Joaquin, snagging his wrist, trying to drag him toward the foyer of my suite. “Come on. Always wanted to fuck someone on that ugly gray chaise. If I’m going to get accused of ruining furniture, I want it to be destroyed .”

Two sets of laughter—one deep and mellow, the other raspier, more sinuous—stopped me in my tracks.

Turning around, my eyes flicked between them, the golden rumpled beefcake sprawled out naked on my nest and the predatory promise of Joaquin’s smile.

“I’ll behave and stay here…but only if you spit roast me.”

The mutual surprise on their faces was priceless.

Game fucking on.

***

Time became meaningless. Pleasure was all that mattered. I surfaced for a few breaths now and then, with a different partner—or partners—mostly in my nest but occasionally in my bathroom.

A constantly purring Wyatt took me from behind while I gripped the headboard, and he dragged a vibrator over my clit…

“Can’t—I can’t.” Jerking my head to the side, I ignored the spoonful of oatmeal and raspberries that Alijah was coaxing me to eat, refusing anything that didn’t taste like his creamsicle-flavored cum…

A firm hand connected with my backside, making me howl.

“Behave,” Joaquin ordered, two fingers deep in my ass. “No anal for squirmy girls—no matter how much they beg.”

And I begged. Oh, how I begged until his thickness slipped through the first rings of well-lubricated muscle.

“Good, so fucking good,” I mumbled, head thrashing, trying not to come.

When Alijah’s long, perfect cock slid deep into my pussy in tandem with his plush lips claiming my mouth, and Joaquin started to fuck my ass for real, I detonated…

“Stay,” I mumbled against Cal’s thick forearm as he spooned me from behind, having roused him for dead-of-the-night sex.

Despite the hardness of his cock filling me and the delectably languid strokes of his hips, he wasn’t fully awake.

“I want you to stay with me. Stay here. Move in. Fill my pill organizer every weekend and fuck me every morning while your coffee brews.”

“Shh, sweetheart. We can talk about this later.”

“You don’t believe me, do you? Think I’m too dickmatized to know what I’m saying.”

“It’s not that, it’s not. I promise. But ask me again during the day, okay? Not sure this isn’t a dream.”

“No—you have to stay. Tell me you’ll stay. If you don’t want the guest room, we can paint the primary suite the same midnight blue you splashed all over your condo. Move out all of Kelsey’s stuff to make room for your sweaters. I want you here, Cal. Because I love you… I love you—”

His mouth latched onto the curve of my neck, applying just enough pressure that his teeth pinched my flesh.

I cried out, overwhelmed by the electric buzz of near-claiming, bones turning to mush, until all I could do was claw at the mattress and sob through my release.

***

They had me surrounded.

Cal was sound asleep in my nest.

Wyatt had made himself a makeshift bed in the soaker tub, using the extra bedding from my storage ottoman—and wearing my basketball shorts—with bottles of sports drinks and a few bags of chips resting on the edge.

Sprawled across my bed, Joaquin was sawing logs, almost loud enough to drown out the sound of Owen’s efficient typing in my office.

That left just one man and one space.

Not caring that I was butt naked, I marched into my library and dropped into the sunken nest beside Alijah. Ignoring the bags under his eyes and the drivel playing on his laptop, I snagged my favorite gray weighted blanket, covering myself before cuddling up against him.

“Pretend I’m not here,” I mumbled. “Just want to sleep for a bit. I’ll even add another lunch to our tally.”

“Instead of lunch, how do you feel about Christmas shopping and The Nutcracker ? Joaquin and I are going on Saturday.”

Christmas was next week. I’d forgotten about that.

Had I bought gifts for anyone? Piper and Rory had both asked for something—but what? I couldn’t remember.

Too bad it wasn’t Easter. I excelled at hiding my own eggs.

“I don’t have a ticket,” I said.

Glancing up, I watched his cheeks darken with embarrassment.

“I see. Another one of your mate’s brilliant plans.” Draping my arm across his waist, I snuggled closer, letting out a massive yawn. “And I walked right into it.”

“Do you mind?”

“No, besides, I owe you.”

“You don’t owe us anything, Morgan. We want to be here.”

“I know.” My eyes drifted shut. “But I still owe you .”

Alijah didn’t respond.

I pretended he was watching his show instead of my face while I slept. It made it easier to forget about our overdue conversation about his feelings for me.

***

A cock this thick and delectable could only belong to Wyatt, and he was choking me with it. How divine…

Riding Cal, I nibbled on the skin of his dense left pec, leaving yet another impermanent mark on his body…

Fisting Joaquin’s dark hair, I tried to redirect his mouth from my overly-sensitive clit to anywhere else on my body—elbow, left big toe, gallbladder, eyeball, it didn’t matter—because I was going to combust if he gave me so much as one more lick…

Alijah keened as I sucked him to completion in the shower…

Cool fingers brushed my sweaty hair away from my face, and a telltale beep meant someone was taking my temperature.

“One hundred and two. Still.” Owen’s voice was as chilly as his touch.

And I wanted more.

Trying to blink away my bleary vision, I grabbed at the vague outline of his dress shirt, pressing his refreshingly cold hand against my sweat-slicked breast…

“One more sip, baby,” Wyatt murmured against my ear.

Writhing in his arms, I avoided the cup. “No, not until you give me back your shorts. Give them back or I won’t—”

“They’re yours, I promise. I’ll take them off as soon as you finish drinking this.” Settling me firmly in his lap, Wyatt helped me to swallow a frozen concoction that tasted like mango and protein powder. “That’s it. Good girl, such a good girl…”

A needle pierced my right arm. I flinched, but Cal held me tight.

“Last one, I promise. We have to get your temperature down.”

And then it started all over again.

***

“Nngh… Agh—ah!” I came with a gasp, hand slamming against the mattress as my eyes snapped open, staring at the arched ceiling of my nest.

Awake.

I was awake, totally present, in complete control for the first time in days, drenched in sweat and other fluids.

My heat had broken while in the middle of receiving the most exquisite oral pleasure.

A solid arm was draped across my stomach. Cal lay prone beside me, face haggard and stubbled, overdue for a shower. The poor guy was probably dying for a coffee.

The long fingers stroking my G-spot prompted another moan, and the precisely timed flutters of his tongue against my clit wound me up once more. Somehow, against all odds.

How could I possibly have enough strength to come again ?

My heat was over. There was no need to aim for a world record in omega pleasuring.

I looked down at the dark head of hair between my thighs. That wasn’t a surprise. All my guys had dark hair except for Cal. But I expected to see blue or brown eyes looking back at me.

Not gray.

Two crucibles of molten quicksilver stared at me while Owen feasted, licking me from clit to ass and back, fingers steadily pumping inside my pussy, making my hips writhe and flex. Rewarding every minute change of my expression, every breathless moan, with another stroke or suckle.

“Oh—oh my god!” I howled as I came, waking Cal up with a jerk.

But Owen still didn’t stop.

Cal blinked at me a few times, then reached for his glasses to check his phone. A glance at the screen was enough for me to tell my hormones were normal for the first time in weeks.

Quickly sitting up, Cal grabbed the thermometer and held it to my forehead. “You’re finally below a hundred.”

He leaned over to look at my pupils, but the room was too dark. One second before he turned on his phone’s flashlight, I twisted his nipple.

“Do it, and I’ll start stealing your watches, too.” Glancing down at the determined man between my thighs, I reluctantly used our consent code for the first time. “Red light. Not because I don’t like it, but because you broke me—in the best way.”

Owen eased back, chin dripping with my release, eyes still glowing silver as he licked his elegant fingers clean. A sight that was almost enough to order him back again.

Almost.

But after being stuffed with cocks and knots for days, I was thirsty and sore. I also wanted a long soak in the bathtub. Alone.

“What time is it?” I asked, still trying to catch my breath.

“I’ll do you one better—look what day it is.” Cal turned his phone around.

It was just after four in the afternoon on Thursday. We’d been having sex for six solid days. No wonder Cal looked beat. I must have worn the others out, too.

Even the silent Owen looked less than pristine for the first time in our acquaintance, marathon notwithstanding. His shirt was untucked, with the sleeves rolled up, exposing his toned forearms. And his tie was missing.

Which meant finders keepers.

Owen got up and headed into the bathroom to wash his face and hands.

Turning to Cal, I hedged my bets. “I’ll trade you two blowjobs—later, much later—if you grab Owen’s tie for me. I’ll throw in a bonus if you can get his cufflinks.”

Shaking his head, Cal gave me an indulgent smile. “What else have you snagged?”

“Just a polo shirt.” Stretching my back, I hissed, discovering my soreness verged on pain. “And Wyatt’s shorts, but he tried to take them back.”

“Nothing from Joaquin?”

“Can’t steal one of his leather jackets. That’s too noticeable.”

“I see. You only go for items we have multiples of.”

“Look how well you understand me.” Wrapping my arms around Cal’s shoulders, I rested my weight against him and delivered my final kiss for the foreseeable future. “Now, be my pheromone stud in shining armor and take me to yonder tub.”

“Anything else, milady?” he asked, scooping me into a bridal carry.

“Water and my good pain meds,” I said, trying not to wince as each step revealed a new ache or pain. “And leave me to soak until I’m a human prune.”

“Want a snack plate—cheese cubes, grapes, the usual?”

“With those fancy pepper water crackers that Alijah bought?”

“Of course.”

“And that,” I said, giving my feet a happy little kick, “is why I love you.”