The Scent of Love

Chapter 7

It’s been hours— maybe a full night already— since he got here, and she still wants him. 

Beth has no idea how to express how grateful she is. Everything she says comes out nearly hysterical, heat-driven. It’s not enough. Sean takes it all in stride, and showers her with so much praise, her brain melts. Honestly, that’s probably just as heat driven as her own crazed babbling. At any rate, words don’t matter, so long as he keeps the fever at bay. And he does, both of them up through the entire night. 

After the seventh or eighth time, when the sun is well up over the horizon, she cools off enough for Sean to carry her, wrapped in a sheet, out to the living room, depositing her on her couch and then proceeding to watch her as he cooks for her. When she reaches out to take the plate of food from him, his face tenses, and he ends up pulling her into his lap to hold her while she eats. 

“Don’t you want—” he growls when she offers the fork to him, and she retreats, startled. 

“I’ll eat when you’re full,” he tells her, stroking her hair. It’s a little possessive, and the Omega part of her preens. 

Eat it. Please your Alpha. He wants to provide for you. 

When she can’t eat anymore, he wolfs the rest of it down. He even does the dishes, and then eyes her from behind the kitchen sink like he’d like to eat her too. She has to set down her glass of water, she’s shaking so hard. 

“Sean?” He’s hard against his sweatpants— somehow he’d had the forethought to bring a change of clothing with him— his eyes so intense she finds herself clutching the sheet more tightly to her. “Sean, are you—“ 

“Come here, Omega.”

The sheet gets left behind as she scrambles to stand in front of him. 

He cups her chin in his hand, runs his thumb across her lip. “You’re beautiful,” he murmurs. Dazed, Beth just watches him, her breath catching as he draws a finger down her neck. “How long do you think before it hits again?” 

She wishes she couldn’t tell— that this had never happened to her before. “Half an hour, maybe?” 

“Enough time to shower—“ her whole body revolts, and she cringes before she can stop herself. “Right— sorry. Heat. No shower for you. But I’m—“ 

“You smell like me,” she says— no, the Omega part of her says, breathless and delighted. 

“Oh, no, Omega,” Sean says, his voice dropping. He steps even closer, crowding her— and she loves it, relishes it, soaks up the attention, until she feels the slight pur begin in her chest again. “You smell like me. And I intend to keep you that way.” 

It’s like being petted, the way his voice strokes over her. Her breath comes heavily, her eyelids fluttering as she reaches out. One finger strokes slowly down his bare chest. 

He swallows, just watching her. Slowly, silently, she trails down his abs to his waistband. She hooks her finger over the elastic— and, now that she’s not begging him to f**k her brains out, she realizes she wants to finish what she started when he got here. She pulls on his sweatpants, wanting them off— but his fingers close around her wrist, gently deterring her. 

Her gaze lifts, meeting his. His eyes— they turn down, a little, at the edges, so that he always looks a little sad. Right now, though, they’re focused on her, and it’s— it’s a lot, the way he looks so completely enraptured by her. It takes him a moment, just staring at her, but eventually, he finds whatever he’s searching for in her eyes. His grip loosens marginally, and he urges her hand down. She slips it into his pants and wraps it around his c**k, and his eyes close. 

This is so much better than words. With this, she can just show him things— like how much she wants to please him. Like how much she enjoys him being here. Like how much she appreciates him seeing her through her heat. 

“f**k, Omega.” The words seem breathless, strained. Beth moans, moving her hand, slowly up and slowly back down again. His hand clenches slightly around her wrist, guiding her, leading her to the speed he wants. 

“Omega.” It's just short of a moan. “I don’t think I can take much more of this.” 

“Good,” she says softly, watching his face. “I want to make you come.” 

His eyes snap open, so dilated he couldn’t possibly be able to see anymore, and he wraps a hand around her neck and yanks her forward, kissing her soundly. She squeezes him, the angle awkward, but keeps trying to move her hand— and then, an idea strikes her. 

“Let me,” she murmurs against his lips, and she drops to her knees. 

“Omega,” he pants, but doesn’t stop her. 

She hasn’t done this since— well. It’s not her favorite, but she’s thought about doing it to Sean before. There’s something about it, a power she holds over him, that’s so worth it— 

His pants pool around his ankles, and she runs her tongue up the back of him, moaning at the taste. His scent is so strong she feels like she’s swallowing it. She runs her tongue against his knot, and he makes this noise, which goes straight between her legs. She can feel the slick trickling down her thigh already. 

“Is this okay, Alpha?” She asks, looking up at him through hooded eyes. His eyes are a little glassy, but he nods. His thumb strokes over her scent gland, back and forth, as she takes the head of him between her lips. 

After one stroke, his breath is unsteady, as though punched out of him. After two, he has his hands in her hair, thumbs stroking her scent glands. After three, he’s visibly struggling not to thrust into her mouth. 

“Tell me what to do,” she begs, her lips still on his shaft. 

“I won’t last if you keep going,” he manages, breathless. She feels herself tighten around nothing, more slick coating her thighs. 

“Good.” She presses a hand to his hip and adjusts herself so that she can take him deeper, the head of him catching against her throat, his knot right against her lips—

“f**k, Beth—” and then she’s struggling to swallow, to keep up as he fills her mouth, his scent filling her from the inside out. It’s too much— perfect— some of his seed dripping down her chin. She leans back when he finally stills, catching what she missed with her fingers. As his eyes open, glazed over, she licks her fingers clean. 

“Did I please you, Alpha?” For once, it’s not the Omega talking— though her heat is already simmering inside her, threatening to overwhelm her again— it’s just Beth, because she wants to know. She needs to know.

“You did perfect, Omega.” He looks like he wants to say more, but she can feel her temperature spiking. He must notice when she gets dizzy and disoriented. He runs his thumb over her lip, the gesture almost reverent. “Let me f**k you, Omega,” he says softly. “You’re almost ready again.” 

“Yes,” she breathes. 

***

The second day is… different. 

Her heat shifts about halfway through the day, from f**k me into a mattress to why am I not pregnant yet. Though the cramps are fewer, they’re worse, and the fever is so high she can barely concentrate. She’s on her tummy or knees a lot, tracking him half blindly in the mirror, the sight of him keeps her right on the edge more often than not. The down time is shorter and spaced further apart. Her entire bed is a mess; her sheets got lost halfway through the first night, and her heat protection mattress pad is soaking and a little worse for wear. 

Delightful. 

The entire apartment smells like Sean, too— at one point, in her delirium, she thinks she hears him talking to her, telling her that she’ll never get him out now. 

Good, she thinks. Maybe she even says it— probably, because he doubles his efforts and brings her off three times before knotting her. 

He does things for her, during the few moments of peace. Helps her log onto the employee website through the fever and call out for heat leave— “At least your next two shifts,” he insists, still tightly knotted inside her, “maybe three for a recovery day, if you need it.” Messages her friends that she’s okay, she’s in heat, but she has an Alpha. Josh sends a thumbs up, and when her friend Pam loses her s**t, demanding to know who, he sends her a clumsy, barely safe Snapchat of the two of them. She doesn’t find out what Pam says, though, because halfway through him sending it, her fever starts up again. 

He feeds her, even when she’s not sure she’s hungry, switching between slices of peach and mango and pineapple, then cliff bars—she’s not sure how he knew which kind she liked, but he got them for her, and she’s too busy rolling around in that contented Omega feeling to bother questioning him. He eats, too, while she dozes on his lap, during the twenty minute reprieve between waves. Probably more than a couple of energy bars and some fruit, but she doesn’t pay attention. She just basks in his scent, in his strength. 

Beth feels her heat wane just before nightfall on the second day, her body heavy with exhaustion, preparing itself for tomorrow’s hard heat. Sean catches her nesting, coming out of the bathroom to find her surrounded by pillows and under a mountain of blankets, and carefully works his way in behind her, cuddling her like a doll. 

“Gonna be worse when I wake up,” she mumbles. “Might get weird.” 

He kisses her hair, and pulls her in closer. “It won’t be weird.” 

“Might ask you to bite me.” She’s obviously halfway into her hard heat now, since she just said that. 

“I won’t bite you,” he promises. 

***

Everything is dark, and warm, and the scent— Sean Sean Sean— it’s everywhere. 

Beth shifts, and the arm around her tightens. Her mating gland is throbbing, pressed against his chest, begging for attention. 

She wiggles again, turning over in his arms and pushing on his chest. He stirs, his eyes barely open, but eventually, she has him on his back, and she throws her leg over his hip, and— 

They both groan as she takes him in. 

He watches her with sleepy eyes, his hands on her thighs. The heat— it’s like a blanket over her, the Omega side of her in complete control. It’s like being submerged in warm water, her movements slow and lethargic. 

Sean’s hands close around her waist, but he makes no move to alter her pace. He lets her lead, even though his knot is already swelling inside her, almost too big for her to move around. 

Beth runs her hands over the muscles of his arms, up the front of his chest. “You’re so strong, Alpha,” she purrs, tracing the line of his collarbone. “The first time I saw you, I knew I wanted you.” She leans down— his knees come up behind her, shifting the angle, pushing him even deeper— and licks up his neck. “And you smelled amazing.” Her mental filter appears to have shut down, because the only thing she wants to do is tell him everything— how angry she was when he ghosted her last year, how confused and upset she’s been with the on-again, off-again hooking up. How badly she wants him to mate—

She tenses. There’s something wrong with that word, with that idea. Everything’s foggy, and hot, and she can’t think straight. Something is— something is wrong— 

“Beth?” He’s stopped moving, but he’s still there, inside her, and that heat soaked, Omega side of her is screaming for him to keep moving. She’s got her face pressed to his shoulder. His skin is sticky with sweat, but he doesn’t appear to mind. He’s just stroking her hair, still hard and twitching inside of her, but unmoving. She forces herself to focus on his voice, to block everything else out but for him. 

“You’re okay,” he murmurs. “It’s alright. I won’t do anything until you’re ready. It’s okay. You’re okay.” 

She’s not calm, exactly, but there’s something about his words that bring the Omega back to the forefront of her consciousness. Her scent spikes, and then his does, and then—

He lifts her off of him, and it’s agony. She hadn’t realized, hadn’t even addressed the pain, her mind almost normal while they were joined. Now— 

Alpha please. Alpha. Come back. 

She’s on her belly again. His lips trace up her spine, over her— oh, god, Alpha, please— over her mating gland. 

“I can make it all stop,” he rumbles, right against her gland. “You won’t have to think, Omega.” He's already spreading her legs, rubbing his erection against her. “Just let me take care of you.” 

Maybe, someday, she’d pick apart this moment. She’ll Analyze it and scrutinize it until she understands his intentions. 

Right now, though. Right now, she’s hot, and confused, and everything hurts, and the idea of her Alpha just taking control sounds like bliss. 

She nods. 

*** 

Her hard heat barely lasts a day. She’s sure of it. Even with her sleep schedule all sorts of f****d up. 

Beth opens her eyes— it’s morning, judging by the sunlight filtering in— and breathes in the scent of her Alpha, their mixed scents. The tide has shifted, just enough that she can breathe again. It’s a time meant for cuddling and nesting. She wants to burrow down and hide amidst the scent of her Alpha, to wrap herself around him and maybe f**k a couple more times, but that would require him still being there. 

Which. He’s not. 

So. 

First things first, she supposes. Food, because she’s trembling, even laying down. Her blood sugar is probably dangerously low. Then a shower— her body tenses, but honestly, it’s worth the discomfort to get the smell of Sean off of her. She intends to wash her sheets and her mattress pad, and vacuum, and light a scented candle or four, and maybe even open a window. Anything and everything that will get his scent out. 

God, this is the worst part. The after, the part where she has to resume normal life and remind herself that what happens during a heat is over once the heat is.

Every single one of her muscles is sore, that post-heat ache that usually goes away after this recovery day, if she doesn’t exert herself too much. She’ll have to be sure to sit down and relax— maybe a movie on the couch between loads of laundry. A nap, once her room doesn’t smell so much like s*x. 

It’s a struggle, but she manages to pull herself out of bed, and pull on her hoodie, and even get on a pair of clean panties. Pants will just have to wait until she can bend more easily. 

Honestly, damn Sean. Damn him. Damn him for answering that stupid phone call, and coming over, and f*****g her right through her heat— f*****g her so well she can’t really remember the last however many hours, after she hit hard heat. Damn him for closing and reopening the door to their relationship— whatever it was—over and over, and damn him for always, always leaving after. For abandoning her, over and over and over again. 

Of course, now she’s crying. A lovely combination of stress from not nesting, hunger, and the crippling sadness regarding Sean. 

Stupid, she tells herself, but she can’t force it to have much weight. Stupid, needy Omega. Nothing of worth to offer. Just a pretty little fucktoy. 

She opens her bedroom door. 

Sean looks up from the kitchen counter, frowning at her. “You’re up,” he says by way of greeting. “I thought you’d be out for at least another hour.” Then he looks at her— really looks at her— and his frown deepens. “Sweetheart. Did you have a nightmare?” 

She’s stunned— too stunned to speak, too overwhelmed to think. So she just shakes her head, gaping at him. 

He’s making food. Food which smells divine, like everything she’s ever wanted and more. And he’s in her kitchen, after her heat, frowning at her, like he can’t figure something out. He turns off the stove and wipes his hands on a towel, and then he’s walking toward her, and she can’t even move. She just stands there, crying like an i***t. Sean stops in front of her, still frowning. He smells… like himself, obviously, but somehow better. Like he was made just for her, to take care of her and mate her and —

He cups her cheek, stroking her tears away with his thumb. “No, not a nightmare,” he croons. “You thought I’d left.” He doesn't wait for her to respond. He just pulls her close and kisses her forehead. 

It’s… sublime. 

Alpha is still here, the Omega part of her cries. Alpha stayed to take care of you. 

“Go get your comforter,” he says, stepping away. “Unless you want to eat breakfast in bed, which I’m all for.” 

It takes Beth another moment to react, but then she nods. It’s like moving through mud as she goes to get her comforter, and then comes back out to sit on the couch, right where she can see him in her kitchen. The Omega voice in her head preens at his presence. 

“You nest, don’t you?” Sean asks, approaching her comforter-cocoon with plates for both of them. Beth nods. “Okay. I can stay through your nesting, if you want me to.”

It’s dangerous, she thinks mildly. The Omega side of her tells her logical mind to shut up— and for once, she listens to it. 

“Yes, please.”

He nods, setting their plates on the coffee table, and then promptly disappears into her room, emerging with a bundle of blankets. 

Beth blinks, and something warm blooms in her chest.