Page 178 of The Ashpaw: Part One

She sucked in a breath. It didn’t go far.

“Fern!”

And then the darkness had her.

* * *

She woke with a start, her body flushed and stomach cramping.

The medicine had worn off.

The heat was back.

And she was… on a horse.

Every bounce and sharp jerk was like a hammer to her spine, which was currently resting against the shield arm of Eidan.

She looked up at him with a moan trapped in her throat, his jaw set tight and trained on the path ahead as they rode at a steady canter.

There was an aching need building between her legs, one she knew could not be ignored for long.

“Eidan,” she whimpered.

“I’ve got you,” he replied.

Fern shifted uncomfortably from where she sat, her legs draped across his lap.

His cock was hard against her thigh, and her hands moved quickly, drawn like moths to a flame, trying to fight their way through layers of linen and leather to get to the prize inside.

“Fern,” he hissed, closing his eyes and swallowing audibly. “Not… not now. We have to…”

“Please,” Fern whined. One of her hands went between her legs, trying to move against herself for the friction that would take the edge off the pain but the skirts weren’t helping.

She needed skin, she needed him. His hands, his mouth, his knot locked inside her.

“I can’t wait.” Tears flowed freely down her cheeks, and she turned her face into his chest.

He smelled so good. So powerful, so strong, so… so Eidan.

“Eidan,” she said again. “I need you…”

“Reinn!” he called, urgency pushing his register up. “Reinn, we have to stop.”

“Not yet!” he called back. “There’s a good spot just a little farther up the road—”

“Please!” she practically screamed. “Please, I need you now!”

“Fuck,” Reinn spat. He slowed down from where he’d been riding ahead of them so he could speak from beside her. “Fern, you will never have to beg again, but I need you to hold out just a little while longer. You can be my good girl, can’t you?”

Her back arched and she gritted her teeth, holding on to Eidan so tightly her knuckles were turning white. “I want to be your good girl, I do, but—”

“You are, you already are little sunbeam. You need only wait a few more minutes for us.”

“Are you sure it’s only a few minutes?” Eidan asked. She could feel his hips grinding slowly, and she tried to touch his cock again. “I… I don’t think I can make it that long.”

Reinn rode even closer. “Climb over to me, let’s give your alpha a break, hm?”

Her alpha? She liked the sound of that…