Page 54 of Bailey-Rose: The Complete Duet

With some artful negotiations on my end regarding the time they deemed I should go to bed, we settled on eight o’clock. My argument was that after having taken a nap, if they let me fall asleep too early, I’d be up at the crack of dawn throwing off my whole sleep schedule. Not that I really had one at this point, but it was the best logic to use to make my point. One movie and bowl of birthday cake ice cream later, I was scooped up in Gareth’s arms and deposited in my room.

“Be good, baby girl, and go to sleep,” he warned. “Tomorrow we’re going to check out the studio space and figure out what needs to happen to turn your dream into reality. Pretty sure you don’t want to be half asleep for that.”

As if on cue, I yawned so wide it made my jaw pop. “I can barely keep my eyes open, so I don’t think sleep is gonna be a problem.”

Sliding his hand around my throat, Gareth used his thumb to tilt my head back for him to kiss me. My hands fisted his shirt, trying to draw him closer to me, but he didn’t move an inch. With a playful nip on my lip, he took a step back, a smirk on his perfect lips.

“Tease,” I muttered.

“Oh, baby girl, if there is a tease in this room, it’s all you,” Gareth countered with a chuckle. “Your scent alone brings me to the edge of my control. Once your doc gets us those meds, I plan to make the most out of those three hours.”

I sucked in a harsh breath at his promise, my imagination running wild with what he might do during those three hours.

“Now that, baby girl, is me being a tease,” Gareth stated as he walked out of the room, leaving the door wide open to let me watch him swagger down the stairs.

My libido, which had been kept in check my whole adult life, was rattling the bars of its cage more and more. These Alphas were going to be my ruin, and I was quickly discovering how little I cared. It would be one hell of a way to go while lost in passion and lust with my men as they sent me to heaven. Fanning myself, I dropped onto my ottoman, needing a moment to compose myself. Once I knew my legs would support me, I headed for the closet and plucked a silk nightgown out of a drawer.

Another yawn took over as I changed, proving that no matter how riled up I might get, sleep was going to win out. Bleary-eyed, I shuffled to the bathroom, brushed my teeth, and called it good enough. I was on my own, at least for part of the night, since the guys weren’t ready for bed so early. There was no doubt in my mind some of them would drift up here, so I left the door open—a clear sign I was more than happy to welcome them in my bed should they want to join me.

Crawling into my nest, I groped around for Pearl, eyes no longer able to remain open. Finally, I latched on to one of her tentacles, dragging her to me so I could wind myself around her as I did every night before finding the guys. With a sigh, I nuzzled one of the pillows that smelled like Warrick and let sleep take over.

The feel of a hand brushing up my leg had me stirring. Soft kisses soon followed the same path, making me moan when those lips reached my inner thigh. Before even being asked, I shifted onto my back, widening my legs slightly, praying they would continue. The huff of laughter teased my skin as those hands slid under the silk of my nightgown, sliding it up my body. I shuddered at the kiss pressed to the top of my mound, making me whimper, desperate for them to move a little lower to where my clit ached.

“Please,” I begged. “It’s too much.”

There was no reply, only the feel of my nightgown being pulled up and off my body. It wasn’t enough. I was so hot, and my skin felt so sensitive. The lightest brush of his fingers, lips, and even his breath was almost too much for me to handle, but I didn’t want it to stop. I needed more.

A whine escaped me as a finger traced from my clit down to my asshole, which had me arching, chasing after the touch.

“No!” I cried when the hand pulled back. “Pleeease. Please touch me, lick me, fuck me, anything you want. I just need you.”

When the touch didn’t return, I thrashed, searching for whichever Alpha was here with me. With a gasp, I sat up, my eyes snapping open, desperate to find where they’d gone. Finding there was no one in my nest, I rushed to exit the bed only to crash to the floor when my limbs refused to cooperate. The feel of the carpet which I’d found so soft and luxurious, felt like sandpaper on my skin. This clued me into the fact I was naked, so someone had to have been in here.

“Why are you hiding from me?” I asked, shoving up on shaky arms to look around my room again. With hardly anything in it, there weren’t many places to hide, and the bathroom and closet doors were open.

“I don’t understand what’s happening?” I sobbed, curling up into a ball.

The heat of my body was unbearable, and the rough feel of the carpet made it impossible to remain where I was. Delirious, I crawled toward the door that I thought was to the bathroom. Once there, I would fill the tub with cold water and submerge myself. It would help—it had to help—because I couldn’t take the sensation of being burned from the inside out much longer.

In my misguided efforts, I picked the wrong door. Instead of the bathroom like I thought, it was the entrance to my room. My hand slipped on the first stair, and I was unable to stop the forward motion as I slid down to the landing. Thankfully, I was already on the floor so while a completely ungraceful move, I wasn’t hurt. A scent hit my nose, and instantly, a whine erupted from me as my body refused to listen to anything I was telling it to do.

“Bailey-Rose,” Vili shouted. “Guys, come now.”

The sound of thunder coming toward me had me curling up into a ball. Then a hand tentatively brushed my shoulder, and I whimpered.

“Did I hurt you?” Warrick asked, his voice panicked. “She’s burning up. Do we need to call an ambulance?”

I reached out a hand in hopes that one of them would take it and relieve some of my suffering. Fingers wrapped around my hand, gripping it tightly, making me moan and drag the hand to my chest.

“Oh fuck,” Gareth swore. “How can she be going into heat? I thought she was taking something to prevent this?”

“Obviously, whatever it was isn’t working,” Ulysses snapped.

Rolling on my back, I took the hand I held and brushed it over my nipple, hissing at how mind-blowing it felt. Yes, this is what I needed. “Please touch me,” I begged, rubbing myself against any skin I could of my Alpha.

The hand was yanked out of my grasp, making me sob at its loss.

“Yun,” Gareth’s voice sounded dark, almost threatening. “If you don’t let go of me and walk away right now, I’m going to do something all of us will regret.”