I try to sleep, but it’s impossible. The birds are chirping outside, and I can hear the city bustling around beyond my bedroom. Sleeping during the day makes no sense to my body. I’m not sure the darkest black-out curtains in the world would make a difference.
But worst of all is the cramps… they’re getting out of control. I groan as I turn on my side, trying to ride out the pain, but it’s not working. Another heat spike, and this time it’s a bad one. I need help.
Getting out of bed, I stagger across the living room to Reese’s door, my long, silk nightgown trailing out behind me. I brought cotton short-and-tank top sleep sets from home, but I found this silk nightgown in the back of my closet before bedtime, and I couldn’t stop myself from putting it on. The smooth, cool silk against my skin has my nipples hardening, and I can’t stop myself from smoothing my hands down my front, loving the slip of the silk under my palms, even as the sensation stirs my blood to a fever pitch.
As soon as my knuckles touch the wood of his door, it flies open. Reese is standing in front of me, wearing only a low-slung pair of boxer shorts. I wheeze a little as I stare at his chest, his abs, oh my god, he’s beautiful.
He looks me up and down before grabbing hold of my hand and pulling me into his room. The whole space smells like him, and my knees shake at the arousal that courses through me.
As soon as the door closes, he leans forward, pressing me back against the door. “Your heat?” he rumbles.
“Just a spike but… I need…” I trail off, unsure how to finish my sentence.
“You need—?”
“I need help, if you’ll give it,” I say, pressing my forehead against his chest.
He growls out a rumble. “Of course I’ll give it, Haven. Like there is any way I could let you leave here without fucking you raw.”
I swallow hard as his fingers reach up and touch my cheek just below my injured eye, before trailing down. He pauses, cocking an eyebrow in question, and I nod.
“You gonna call me Daddy?” he rumbles.
“If you want me to,” I say breathlessly.
“I want you to call me whatever you like, Haven,” he says, slipping the straps of my nightgown from my shoulders. The nightgown falls to the floor. I inhale sharply at the feeling of the cold air on my skin. My nipples are puckered tight. I’m standing in his room wearing only panties. Reese lets out a ragged breath, his eyes taking me in as if I’m the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen.
It’s the middle of the day, and there’s so much light in here that it should make me uncomfortable. At the very least, I would usually cover myself; but he leans in and runs a light finger over the tip of one of my nipples, and I’m lost.
“How slick are you, lemons?” he growls.
I close my eyes and lean back against the wood of the door, letting him touch me, letting him explore. He pinches my nipples and then makes his way lower. His breath catches as he reaches the juncture of my thighs and feels how wet I am. “Fuck, Haven. Turn around. I’m going to fuck you until you can’t remember your own name.”
He takes me by the hips and spins me to face the door. I’m surprised by the surge of panic that races through me.
“Just… take it slow, ok? I’ve never been… I’ve never been knotted before.”
He freezes, his hands splayed across my body. His mouth dips to my neck and he breathes me in. “What the fuck are you talking about?” he asks.
“I haven’t.”
He turns me again, staring down into my eyes. “You’re not a…avirgin?” he asks, as if it’s impossible.
“No, no,” I say, shaking my head. “Not a virgin.”
“But no knot? I thought you had a boyfriend before this; was he not an alpha?”
I bite my lip. I’m feeling exposed, but instead of moving away, I move closer, snuggling into his arms. He wraps me closer, his warm gathering around me like a cloak. “I lied about the boyfriend,” I whisper against his bare chest. “There’s a spike house near where I live. Usually I just… got the cheapest option, when things got too bad. Even when I needed more, I couldn’t afford the knot.”
He grunts in response. “And what did you think of the people who worked there?”
Surprised by the question, I raise my eyes to look into his. He looks… vulnerable. Troubled. “What did I think about them?”
“Did you think of them at all?” he asks.
“I… I did. Of course I did. We were… together. How could I not think about them?”
His eyes narrow. “And you thought they were the lowest form of scum, I’ll bet. There only for your pleasure?”