Page 183 of Scent to the Feral Cowboys

Yet, there was a quieter voice whispering:‘Sure, build a new life just so you have something else to lose.’

43

NELLY

This was the first time we’d gotten into the truck together since the airport.

Wyatt slid behind the wheel first, his broad frame taking up more than his fair share of the bench seat. Wade held the passenger door for me, his shy smile encouraging as I hesitated. I calculated the tight space I was meant to occupy between the twins. Last time I’d ridden in the back. Sitting in the front felt different for some reason.

Steeling myself, I climbed inside the cab, settling myself in the middle, my thigh less than an inch from Wyatt’s. When Wade got in, I unconsciously shifted to the left to give him extra space, causing the exact thing I’d been hoping to avoid—my body pressed into one of the men.

“Sorry,” I mumbled quickly, repositioning after Wade was inside and buckled.

It did no good. They were just so huge. I became hyperaware of my thighs pressed against theirs. The world homed down to the feel of it. Heat began crawling through me, licking upwards towards my neck, setting the glands there on fire.

"You good?" Wyatt asked, the tightness in his jaw back as his nostrils flared. His green eyes flicked to mine as he turned the key in the ignition. The truck rumbled to life.

I nodded, not trusting my voice as Wade closed the door, sealing us in. Behind us, Cooper, Levi, and Boone squeezed into the back seat, their combined presence turning the cab of the truck into an Alpha pressure cooker. I kept my hands folded primly in my lap, afraid to move my elbows for fear of nudging either twin.

Wyatt pulled away from the ranch house, and my damn body swayed with the movement, shoulder bumping against his solid arm. Two seconds later, I was tilting into Wade against my will. I muttered another blanket apology.

"No need to apologize for touching me, Nelly," Wyatt said, voice pitched low enough that I wasn't sure the others could hear over the engine's growl. "Ever."

Wade leaned into me, also speaking softly. “The same goes for me.”

My Omega senses went into overdrive as we journeyed away from the ranch, the close quarters amplifying everything. About ten minutes into the drive, the heat I’d been feeling off and on in my stomach since arriving at Sagebrush—a sensation I’d chalked up to reactionary Omega nonsense I couldn’t control—hit with enough force to make me suck a quick gasp through clenched teeth. I wrapped my arms around my middle. Their muscled legs still pressed against me. I wanted more of them touching me. And I didn’t want the clothes inhibiting us.

“Are you sure you’re okay, Nelly?” Wade pressed, as his left hand lifted to hover over my knee and his fingers flexed.

"Just a little... warm," I admitted, hating how breathless I sounded.

Cooper leaned forward between the seats, his face suddenly close to mine. "We can open the windows?"

His nearness brought a fresh wave of his scent; it almost undid me completely. I nodded quickly, grateful when a rush of fresh morning air hit as four Alphas scrambled to lower windows. I took deep, steadying breaths. But it only gave me the slightest relief. I found myself leaning into Wade, rather than away. I found myself resting my head against his shoulder. My lashes fluttered, and I closed my eyes against battling sensations.

Suddenly, I wanted them.

So badly I thought I might be sick.

But I also felt too hot all over. My forehead dampening with sweat.

Along with the desire and the volcano inside me threatening to erupt, I felt my indecision melting away. Leave? Why would I leave them? How could I give them up when I hadn’t even properly had them yet?

They were mine.

And I was theirs.

Those became irreversible facts the minute I landed in Wyoming.

"Better?" Boone's deep voice came from behind me. I heard movement in the back of the truck, bodies shifting against the seat, and then a large hand curled around my head, a cold palm lightly touching my forehead. “She’s really hot.” He spoke again.

“I’m fine,” I whispered, fluttering my lashes. My glands poured a cloyingly sweet scent. Candied. Honeyed. Brimming with sweet berries. The lava sensation in my belly shifted into cramps, as if my insides were being kneaded and pulled and folded. Wade wrapped his arm around me, tucking me into his body.

“You’re not fine, Nelly,” he breathed out. It wasn’t just concern in his voice though. I tilted my head, briefly opening my eyes, and catching the unveiled hunger in his green gaze.

Through the haze taking over my brain, and the pain clenching my stomach, what was happening dawned on me. It had been so long since I’d had a proper one, that I hadn’t recognized the signs.

"Heat," I whispered, a tremor running through my voice as I pushed the words through the fog of feelings, “I think I’m in heat.”