Page 31 of Ashley & the A-Listers (Sweetverse)

31. NESTING

CAMERON

Cameron was on suppressants all the time. He took them twice a day, morning and night. It supposedly made it easier to go about life, to focus on his career. He wasn’t distracted by alphas on set, or concerned with scent marking, or hyperaware of the people around him.

Cam’s hindbrain was trapped behind a chemical wall about ninety percent of the time. He was unfamiliar with it, so unused to the demands it made of him, that he was often surprised by its arrival.

After River left him with all his new gifts, he felt giddy and excited, and set to work.

Many of the blankets and pillows still smelled like the plastic or paper bags, so he disposed of the wrapping and then went about organizing.

He folded and arranged and tidied and stacked before taking it all down and trying again because it didn’t feel right.

Then he spied the last bag, the one by the door, with the blanket Ashley had gotten him.

It was a huge, impossibly soft, heavy blanket. And it must have sat in her car for a while, because it smelled like her.

Did that mean she’d had it for a while? How long had she hung onto it before deciding to give it to him?

Citrus and ginger, a zing that brought him to life as much as it… relieved him.

He reorganized the nest with the colorful blanket at the center. With the other pillows and the blankets River had gotten him, the explosion of color in the room almost made up for the severity of the white throughout the rest of the apartment.

He sank into the center of the nest, finally tidy and perfect. Surrounded by River’s and Ashley’s scents, though both lighter than he wanted.

The lighting was low, nothing but a strand of dimmable light hidden by the moulding near the ceiling.

He sighed as he sank into all the pillows, muscles relaxing, stress fading.

A while later he heard the door open, followed by a soft chuckle. “You look comfy,” River said, leaning against the doorway. The light was brighter out there, the white paint downright offensive after melting into this comfy haven.

“Get in here,” Cameron said, and pushed a blanket over to make a River-sized hole next to him.

River shut the door behind him and padded down into the nest. He was freshly showered, smelling like the body wash Cam had stocked in the bathroom on the other side of the apartment.

Beneath it, he smelled like River, and Cam wanted to bask in the scent of him, the ink and paper and smoke.

“I don’t really think my suppressants have worn off,” Cam muttered.

He felt the pressure. He had to be done with his heat in a week, and the schedule wasn’t forgiving.

“Really?” River asked, lips twitching as he laid down.

Cam immediately rolled into him, burying his face in River’s neck, inhaling, wanting every bit of his scent.

“You sure about that?” River asked, and Cam paused.

He sat up, pursing his lips. “Oh.”

“You’ve been nesting for two hours,” River pointed out, reaching up to push Cam’s hair back.

“Well. It wasn’t perfect,” Cameron said, nuzzling into the hand near his face.

“It is now?” River asked.

“Yeah, you’re here,” Cameron whispered.

He wasn’t not horny, but he wasn’t in the throes of heat yet. He pressed a kiss to River’s palm and then laid back down beside the beta.

His scent was comforting, and Cam pressed his nose into River, hunting the strongest bit of it, wanting to wrap it around him like another blanket.

“Tomorrow morning,” Cameron guessed. His skin wasn’t even itchy yet.

But he was restless, fiddling with the blankets and rolling over before turning back, unable to get comfortable.

River chuckled softly to himself and captured Cam against his chest the next time he tried to rotate. “Come here,” River said, voice quiet, low. “Bet an orgasm would put you to sleep.”

River was flush to Cam’s back, arms curled around his waist, holding him still. At his suggestion, Cam sank into him, head tilting to make room for curious lips.

“There we go,” River hummed, and Cam felt the rumble of each word against his skin.

River’s hands caressed him over his shirt, his boxers, his thighs—which were spreading eagerly for River’s touch—only for his fingers to skirt back up. They dipped under his shirt at last, and Cam arched into him. The flat of his palms smoothed up his stomach and chest, bringing the fabric along until River was able to pull it over his head.

Chills pebbled his skin at the cool air of the nest, but River’s warmth did away with them almost instantly.

Cameron hummed at the comfort of it, letting himself melt into River and the nest. He buried his head in a pile of blanket and?—

He sucked in a breath, one laden with Ashley’s scent. The bite of ginger went straight to his head, and he bucked his hips into the hand now teasing at the waistband of his shorts.

“Didn’t take you long to get desperate,” River murmured, and finally shoved his boxers out of the way, tucking them beneath Cam’s balls.

Cam groaned when River finally circled him with a deft hand. He was already so wet, dripping slick, and the glide of River’s fist up his length was divine.

Cam reached back and dug his nails into River’s hip, trying to drag him closer. He was hard, too, pressing into Cam’s lower back, but River wasn’t giving in to the urge to grind. Instead, he flattened his left palm over Cam’s chest, holding Cam tight to him. The only movements were the half-aborted twitches of Cam’s hips, trying to rock his cock into River’s hand.

Warmth stirred in him, not anything like a full-blown heat, but a tease, a taste, as pleasure arced down his spine, settling between his legs. It was in the head of his cock, which River twisted a fist around to capture his slick, making the glide even smoother, before it went to his head, making him feel light and floaty, like Ashley’s scent did.

Cam whined as River pulled his hand away, cock straining, tapping against his belly.

“River,” Cam moaned.

“I know,” he cooed, and slipped out from behind him. “Just want to taste you, that’s all,” he said.

Cam sighed happily at the news and melted into the nest, tugging a corner of Ashley’s blanket closer, chasing her scent like an addict with a new fix.

Alpha.

River paused between his legs and stared up at him.

Fuck, did I say that out loud?

“Yes, I’m your alpha,” he said, voice lower and darker than Cam had ever heard as he lapped at the head of his cock. Thankfully he already had a hand pressed to his hips to hold him down, because Cam instinctively rocked up to chase the wet heat of his mouth.

“Ah ah,” River tsked. “I know you too well,” he said smugly before lowering his head again.

Cam’s head bounced on the pillow as he let it fall back, River’s tongue circling his cock before wrapping his lips around him and sucking.

“Fuck,” Cam bit out, threading a hand through River’s hair. He had no control, just needed something to hold onto besides the blanket.

Sharp eyes slid to his, striking him with the heat in them, the desire. It cemented Cam in the moment, the scent of River coming back to the forefront, filling the room more than the light traces of Ashley on the blanket.

Maybe he would have mourned that had River not been so perfectly distracting.

He stroked his other hand through River’s hair, brushing the longer pieces from his face. He had the perfect view of River taking him down, swallowing around him, lips sealed.

The sight struck him, pleasure turning electric as River dragged him closer to the edge.

It simmered right beneath his skin, his abs tensing with it, hips trying to rock against the palm River had pressing him down.

“Close,” Cameron warned, a needy whine in his voice. “Don’t stop this time, please don’t stop.”

“Please, what?” River asked, a string of saliva connecting to the head of Cam’s cock.

“Please… uh—fuck.” He had to shake his head to clear it. “Please, alpha, ” he whined.

His begging worked. River’s pace remained steady, taking him deep, deeper. His throat flexed around him as he swallowed, and Cam tensed all over.

River moaned, and the sound rumbled around him and Cam arched beneath him as finally ? —

He cried out as he came, pleasure arcing through him like branches of lightning. His hands slipped from River’s hair so he didn’t pull too hard, and River swallowed around him as Cam spilled down his throat.

In the aftermath was… silence.

Except for the sound of their breath, the whisper of the blankets, there was quiet.

River’s cheek was hot on Cam’s thigh, and he carded a hand through his hair, petting, thankful. Cam’s mind was blissfully blank, and he was already sleepy.

Lazy, as River liked to call it.

“You take such good care of me,” Cameron said, so softly the words were barely there. They came like a revelation, but it wasn’t a surprise to Cameron. River had always been attuned to his needs, even as a beta. Showing up here, months before the shooting, just so they’d have more time together. Buying all these lovely things for the nest to make it feel like home.

“My favorite thing to do,” River confessed, and laid back down beside him. “Think you can sleep now?”

Cam gave a mournful glance at River’s hard length, trapped behind his lounge pants. “You don’t want me to return the favor?”

River chuckled, shaking his head. “Better save it. Something tells me you’re going to be a handful.”

As if given permission, Cam’s eyelids grew heavier, even as a smile curled his lips. “Which is different from my other heats, how?”

“Exactly,” River said pointedly, and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “I’ll get something to clean us up with.”

As if it would matter in the long run. But he let River escape and drowsily listened to a cabinet open, running water. He distantly felt the nest dip as River returned, and Cam hummed as he wiped the remaining slick off his thighs, the cloth warm.

When River crawled under the blankets, Cam crowded him, tucking his face in River’s neck and inhaling his scent.

Sleep followed soon after, and Cam both dreaded the fog of heat and anticipated all the pleasure that would follow.

Warmth slowly dragged him to wakefulness, the balmy comfort of sleep fading into… heat.

He was sweating. His skin was itchy, and the blankets felt nowhere near as perfect as they had when he’d fallen asleep on them.

But he smelled his favorite person, and a quiet, soft whine sounded in his throat before he chased the scent, his nose running up River’s bicep and sinking into the hollow of his throat.

“Morning,” River rasped.

Cam didn’t feel a bit of guilt over waking him up.

“Almost there, huh?” River asked, and Cam nodded.

“Want breakfast before?”

Cam shook his head. He wasn’t hungry.

Not yet, anyway.

He was hard, but the arousal wasn’t demanding his attention; it was just there.

It would ramp up in a few hours, but for now he was floating in limbo.

“What toys did you buy me?” Cam asked.

River blinked sleepily up at him, and his heart seized. To keep him from getting up, Cam crawled atop him.

“Never mind,” Cam said, and brushed his hand through River’s hair, petting. He kissed him good morning. It was soft, a greeting, a token of affection.

River circled him with his arms, holding him, cuddling.

“I love this part,” River said. “When you’re all cuddly and sweet.”

“As opposed to what?” Cam asked, humor curving his lips already.

River only chuckled.

Cam laid his head on his chest and sighed. On his next inhale he still caught traces of Ashley, lightly coating them both, since they’d slept on her blanket. He sought her scent as much as he did River’s, sinking into the comfort of it, wishing he didn’t have to huff it from a pile of thread?—

Cam blinked his eyes open, gaze falling to the rainbow blanket beneath River’s shoulder.

Do I want her here?

No, no. They’d never brought another person into his heat before. River always sated him, between the toys and the stamina the heat gave them both.

But the idea of Ashley, here, in his nest? A thrill went through him, making his omega sit up and pay attention.

Cameron always wanted River.

Was it so bad if maybe, just maybe, he wanted her too?