Page 102 of Written in Scent

The discreet rear exit opens onto a deserted service alley lit by a single streetlamp. The chill of the night air brushes my flushed skin, but it does little to ease the warmth building under my clothes. My scent is blooming stronger now, sweet strawberry and peach threading through the air between us. Jamie and Adrian keep me tucked securely between them, their bodies shielding me from any stray breeze or curious glance.

Chase’s car is already idling at the curb, headlights low. He jumps out to open the back door, and in one smooth motion Jamie and Adrian help me slide into the middle of the backseat. Jamie settles on my left, Adrian on my right, their thighs pressed firmly against mine. Alex slides behind the wheel while Chase folds his big frame into the passenger seat.

The doors close with solid clicks.

The moment the car pulls away from the curb, the confined space changes everything.

My scent fills the interior, alive and unmistakable. The heat spike surges higher, rolling through me in an insistent wave that steals the edges of my thoughts. I shift restlessly between Jamie and Adrian, my breath catching as their nearness suddenly feels both perfect and not nearly enough.

I’m losing myself again, the way I did in the library, but this time I know what’s happening and that knowledge only makes the need sharper. I turn toward Jamie first, hands fisting in his navy button-up as I pull him into a kiss that is already too deep, too desperate.

He meets me without hesitation, one palm cupping the back of my neck while his other arm bands around my waist. The golden amber and vanilla of him floods my senses, rich and playful even now, and I whimper into his mouth as my fingers slide up to tangle in his sun kissed hair.

Then the pull shifts and I am turning the other way, seeking Adrian. He catches me, his rain on stone and bergamot scent cutting through the sweetness like cool mist after thunder. Our kiss is slower at first, more focused, but I lose the rhythm quickly, pawing at his blazer, trying to get closer, closer, until I am half in his lap and half still in Jamie’s arms.

A soft whine slips from me again, needy and helpless, and I feel both of them shudder around me.

“Easy, sweetheart,” Adrian murmurs against my lips, his voice anchored and balanced, even as his fingers tremble where they rest at my waist. “We have you. Just breathe.”

Jamie presses open mouthed kisses along the side of my neck, right where the diamond butterfly necklace rests. “That’s it, baby. Let it happen. We’re right here with you.”

Up front, Alex’s knuckles are white on the steering wheel. His dark cedarwood and black pepper scent has thickened until it feels like smoke in the car, controlled fire barely leashed. I catch his reflection in the rearview mirror for one brief second and see the strain there, the apex instincts roaring to pull over and claim, to fix, to protect. Yet he keeps the car stable on the dark road, voice calm and composed when he speaks.

“Almost home. You’re doing so well, Elodie. Stay with them.”

Chase twists in the passenger seat, his pine forest and clean musk scent wrapping around me like a shield. He reaches back and rests one big hand on my knee, thumb stroking reassuringly. “We’re almost there. Just hold on a little longer.”

The drive stretches on forever. Every red light feels like an eternity. Every curve in the road sends fresh heat licking through my veins.

I alternate between Jamie and Adrian, kissing one then the other, hands roaming restlessly over chests and shoulders and thighs, desperate sounds falling from me that I can’t stop. My scent is everywhere now, bright and demanding, and the car is filled with the low, strained growls of four alphas fighting every instinct they possess just to get me home safely.

Jamie’s fingers thread through my hair, grounding me. Adrian’s lips brush my temple between kisses, whispering how perfect I am, how loved. Chase keeps his steady hand on my knee, a silent promise. And Alex drives like the fate of the world depends on it, jaw tight, eyes fixed on the road even as his own scent pulses with barely contained need.

Finally the car slows. Gravel crunches under the tires as we turn into the long driveway of the pack house. The familiar lights of home glow through the trees with welcome, and the relief that washes through the car is almost tangible.

We’re here.

The car barely stops before the pack is moving again. Jamie and Adrian lift me gently from the backseat, their arms secure around me as we cross the threshold into the house. My legs feel like jelly, the heat now a constant thrum beneath my skin, but they keep me upright and close.

Alex tries to guide us toward my nest first, voice low and soothing. “Let’s get you settled in there, sweetheart. It’ll be more comfortable.”

I shake my head, the motion sharp even through the haze. In one of the brief lucid moments still left to me I manage to speak. “Not the nest. One of your beds. Please. I need… one of you. Closer.”

Alex doesn’t hesitate. He changes direction without question, leading us straight to his bedroom at the end of the hall. Jamie and Chase linger just outside the door, their scents thick with worry and restraint, but they stay back for now. Only Adrian and Alex follow me inside.

The room smells like Alex, dark cedarwood and warm skin and that apex command that always makes me feel safe. He closes the door softly behind us, then turns and lifts me onto the wide bed with effortless strength. The black dress rides up my thighs as I sink into his dark sheets, the diamond butterfly necklace a solid hardness against my collarbone.

Adrian climbs up beside me, his hands gentle as he cups my face. “We have you,” he whispers, and then his mouth is on mine, deep and focused, tasting like rain and ink and devotion.

Alex settles between my legs, pushing the dress higher with reverent hands. He peels my panties down slowly, his breath hot against my inner thigh. “Let me take care of you, Elodie.” The words vibrate against my skin a second before his mouth is on me.

The first drag of his tongue pulls a broken moan from my throat that Adrian swallows with another kiss.

Alex doesn’t rush. He licks and sucks with devastating patience, learning exactly how I need it, his stubble scraping deliciously against sensitive skin while his big hands hold my hips still. Every stroke sends sparks racing up my spine. I arch into his mouth, fingers twisting in Adrian’s hair as our kiss turns messy and desperate, tongues sliding, breaths mingling.

The heat spikes higher, sharper. I am whimpering between them, lost to Alex’s mouth devouring me with perfect, relentless focus and Adrian’s lips claiming mine like he never wants to stop. Their scents wrap around me completely, until there is nothing else in the world.

Alex slides two thick fingers inside me and curls them just right. The pleasure crashes through me so suddenly and so hard that my entire body seizes. I cry out against Adrian’s mouth as the orgasm rips through the heat spike, shattering it completely.