Page 43 of Daisy (Omega Chosen #3)

Gunner

I can't focus.

It's the day after everything changed. After she told us she wants to spend her heat with all of us. After we revealed the scent matching. After she chose us.

Her scent has been getting richer all morning. Sweeter. More her but amplified until it's all I can think about.

She's sitting at the small kitchen table wearing one of my flannel shirts over her sleep shorts. I can barely think straight. The way the fabric hangs loose on her small frame, sleeves rolled up past her wrists. She looks claimed already. Mine already.

But she's not. Not yet.

She keeps shifting restlessly in her chair. She can't sit still for more than a few minutes. I've watched her rearrange the throw pillows on the couch three times. She's been gathering soft things: my spare hoodie, August's scarf, one of Cassian's t-shirts. Pre-heat nesting instincts kicking in.

The screwdriver slips and I curse under my breath. My hands are trembling like I'm the virgin here, not her.

Which, to be fair, I am.

The others have experience. They know what they're doing. But me? I've never been with anyone. I just never wanted to be with someone unless it felt right.

So here I am. One virgin in a cabin full of experienced alphas and an omega I'm desperately in love with.

"Gunner?"

I turn. There she is. Standing by the kitchen table in my shirt, bare legs pale in the morning light. Her scent wraps around me like a physical touch. I have to grip the counter to stay upright.

"Yeah?"

She takes a step closer. Then another. There's something different in her eyes today. More focused. Purposeful.

"Can we talk? Privately?"

My mouth goes dry. "Of course."

I set down the screwdriver. Hands definitely aren't steady. She takes my hand, her fingers warm and sure, and leads me to the bedroom. It's the only private space in our tiny cabin.

The room feels too small suddenly. Too intimate. Her scent fills every corner—honey and vanilla and something that makes my teeth ache. This is where she sleeps every night, curled up safe between August and Cassian while I lie awake on the van mattress in the living room.

She closes the door behind us.

The click of the latch echoes like a gunshot.

"I've been thinking," she says. Not looking at me. Her fingers play with the hem of the flannel shirt she's wearing. I notice her hands have a slight tremor. Another pre-heat symptom. "About what I want. For my first time."

I freeze.

"Daisy… Sweetheart."

"I want it to be… I want you to be my first." The words rush out in a breath, and I can see pink spreading across her cheeks. "Before my heat. Before everything gets... overwhelming."

I can't breathe. Can't think. She just offered me everything.

"Are you sure?" My voice comes out rough. Barely recognizable. "Are you sure you don't want to wait? For your heat? Are you sure you want it to be me?"

"I'm sure." She finally looks up at me. The want in her eyes makes my knees weak. "I've never been more sure of anything."

"Why me?"

The question slips out before I can stop it. Of all of us, I'm the quietest. Hawk's got that easy charm. Dante's the protector. Cassian's strong. August makes her feel safe. And me? I fix things. Stay quiet.

"Because you make me feel safe." She steps closer. Close enough that I can feel the heat radiating off her skin, her body temperature running higher as her heat approaches. "Never pressure me. Never make me feel like I have to be anything but myself."

Her hands come up to rest on my chest. I swear my heart stops.

"When I imagine my first time, I imagine your hands. Gentle. Patient." Her cheeks flush deeper pink, but she doesn't look away. "I trust you to… to be careful with me."

"You're not broken."

"No. But I'm new at this. And I trust you to be careful with me."

Fuck. This is really happening. She wants this. Wants me.

"Daisy." I cover her hands with mine. "I want you. But you need to be sure."

"I am sure," she breathes. "I want this. I want you."

"I have to tell you something," I say, my voice barely above a whisper. "I've never... I waited. Always knew my first time had to be with someone I loved."

I meet her eyes, letting her see everything I feel. "Never imagined it would be with my scent match, but I can't think of anything more perfect than sharing this with you. Having this be ours forever."

She rises up on her toes. Brings her mouth close to mine. Her scent is so thick now I'm drowning in it. Sweet and perfect. I can feel the heat radiating off her skin, her body temperature running higher as her heat approaches.

"Please," she whispers against my lips. "I choose you."

That's it. I'm done for.

I kiss her soft and careful. Show her how much I want her. How precious she is.

When we break apart, we're both breathing hard.

"You sure?" I ask one more time.

"I'm sure." Her hands fist in my shirt. "I want this. I want you."

I study her face. Looking for any hint of doubt. All I see is trust. Want. Love.

"Okay." I brush my thumb across her cheek. "Slow."

"Okay."

I take her hand. Lead her to the bed. My hands are shaking again as I sit on the edge. Pull her to stand between my knees.

"You're nervous," she says, touching my face.

"Terrified," I admit. "Want this perfect for you."

"It will be. Because it's with you." She bites her lip, a nervous habit I've noticed. "I'm nervous too. But good nervous."

Her words hit me right in the chest.

I start by just touching her. Hands on her waist over my shirt. Thumbs stroking the strip of skin where the fabric rides up. She shivers. Her scent gets richer. More complex. I can see goosebumps rise on her arms despite the warmth of her skin, another sign her heat is close.

"Can I take this off?" I tug at the shirt.

She nods. Raises her arms. I lift it over her head slowly. Giving her time to change her mind. But she doesn't. Just stands there in her simple white bra and sleep shorts. Looking like every fantasy I never let myself have.

"Beautiful." Because she is. Not just physically, though she takes my breath away. But the way she's looking at me. Like I'm something precious.

I trace the line of her collarbone with one finger. She gasps. Her skin is so soft. So warm. I can feel her pulse racing under my touch.

"Is this okay?"

"More than okay."

I lean forward. Press a soft kiss to the spot where her neck meets her shoulder. She makes a small sound. Hands come up to tangle in my hair. Her scent wraps around me. I have to fight the urge to bite down. Mark her. Claim her.

Slow. Gentle. She trusts you.

I work my way down. Kissing across her collarbone. Down to the swell of her breasts above her bra. She's trembling now. Not from fear. From want.

"Can I?" I touch the clasp of her bra.

"Yes."

My hands are definitely shaking as I unhook it. Slide the straps down her arms. When it falls away and I see her completely, I nearly lose it right there.

"Perfect," I breathe.

I worship her with my mouth. Gentle kisses and soft touches that have her gasping and pressing closer. When I take one peak between my lips, she cries out. Back arching.

"Gunner." She moans.

"Feel good?"

"So good. Don't stop."

I don't. I take my time. Learning what makes her sigh. What makes her moan. Her hands in my hair, tugging when I hit a particularly sensitive spot. The way she says my name like a prayer.

When her legs start shaking from pleasure and the restless energy coursing through her pre-heat body, I guide her to lie back on the bed. Hook my fingers in her shorts.

"These too?"

"Everything," she whispers. "I want to feel everything."

I slide them down her legs along with her panties. Then she's completely bare beneath me. Flushed and perfect and mine.

"You're staring," she says. But she's smiling.

"Most beautiful thing I've ever seen."

I settle between her legs. Hands stroking her thighs.

When I lower my mouth to her, she cries out so loud I'm worried the neighbors miles away will hear. But then she's falling apart under my tongue. I don't care about anything except making her feel good.

She tastes like honey and something uniquely her. I can't get enough. I work my tongue through her slick folds. Find that sensitive bundle of nerves that makes her back arch off the bed. When I suck gently on her clit, she screams my name.

"Gunner, oh god, Gunner..."

I slide one finger inside her while I work her with my mouth. Feel how tight she is. So tight I'm not sure I'll fit. But she's so wet. Slick coating my finger as I work her open.

When she comes the first time, her inner walls clench around my finger so hard I groan against her. But I don't stop. Just hold her through it and start again. Add a second finger, then a third.

"Gunner, I can't..."

"You can. One more."

I curl my fingers inside her. Find that spot that makes her see stars. My tongue circles her clit. She's writhing beneath me. Hands fisted in my hair, pulling so hard it almost hurts. But I love it. Love how she's completely lost to the pleasure I'm giving her.

By the time I work her through her second orgasm, she's boneless and glowing. Her body still pulsing around my fingers. When I finally pull away, my face is coated with her slick. She's looking at me like I hung the stars.

"That was..." She reaches for me. Pulls me up for a kiss. "I don't want to stop. I want more."

"We're just getting started."

I kiss her deep and thorough. Let her taste herself on my tongue. She moans into my mouth. Hands fumbling with the buttons of my shirt.

"Your turn," she whispers.

I help her get my shirt off. Then my jeans. When I'm left in just my boxers, she stares. The way she's looking at me, like she wants to devour me whole, makes every insecurity disappear.

"You're so beautiful," she says. Hands mapping the muscles of my chest and shoulders. "I love how strong you are. How safe you make me feel."

When she kisses down my throat, I nearly lose it. Her scent is so thick now. So rich and perfect. It's making me dizzy. Making my alpha hindbrain scream mine and demand I knot her, claim her, bond her right now. I have to shake my head to clear it.

"Daisy." I catch her hands before she can reach for my boxers. "Are you sure? Really sure? Because once we do this?—"

"I'm sure." She kisses me soft and sweet. "I want this. I want you."

I strip off my boxers with shaking hands. Her eyes go wide when she sees all of me, thick and hard and already leaking with need.

"Will it... will you fit?"

I wrap my hand around my length. Stroke slowly. "We'll go slow. I won't hurt you."

She reaches out tentatively. Her small hand replacing mine around me. I hiss at the contact. My hips jerk involuntarily. She's so small. Her fingers barely wrap around me.

"You're so big," she whispers. Stroking me from knot to tip. "I want you inside me so badly."

"Keep doing that and I won't last."

I settle over her. Kiss her deep as I position myself. She's slick and warm and perfect. Just the feel of her against me is almost too much.

"Ready?" I ask against her lips.

"Ready."

I start to push forward. Just the tip. We both freeze. The sensation is overwhelming. Perfect. Like coming home.

"Okay?" I'm barely holding on to control.

"Okay. But..." She looks up at me with wide, trusting eyes. "Go slow."

"Always," I promise.

And then I push forward. Watching her face. Ready to stop at the first sign of pain.