Track 4 First Time

It's been a long time since I've woken up next to the softness of a woman. A couple of years, at least. Once Gray and I formed a pack with Liam, we've dated women. Fucked them. Spent time with them, but rarely did we have them stay the night, sleep next to them. We haven't found anyone we really wanted to spend more time with.

I'm only now realizing I've missed it.

Don't get me wrong, I love waking up next to Liam. He's my omega and owns a part of my soul that I never want back. But he's all muscles and hard angles. Even though he's an omega, he isn't soft . It's part of what he does for a living, maintaining a lean body with something like ten percent body fat. Sometimes cuddling with him feels like cuddling with myself. Hard angles meeting hard angles.

But Sorrel? She's all lush curves and softness that melts into my body, molds around it, letting us get closer. And apparently I took full advantage of that last night, moving closer until I cradle her body with mine.

Her ass presses firmly against my hips, my cock nestled between her cheeks. The same way my thigh nestles between hers to tangle with Liam's legs. My arm stretches out under both of their heads, fingers tangled in Liam's chestnut locks, almost like I'm holding his head where it is, pressed against Sorrel's. They're sharing breaths, mouths close but not quite touching, hands linked between their chests. I don't know if they fell asleep like that, or if they reached for each other in the middle of the night. Either way, seeing her tangled up with my omega does something in my chest. Something good . So fucking good.

I'm right there with Liam. I want to keep her. Wrap her up and carry her away with us to take care of her forever. But something tells me it won't be that easy. She strikes me as a girl who's used to taking care of herself.

Good thing I'm not afraid of hard work. No one in my pack is, not even our omega, who arguably works more than me or Gray. We'll convince her it's okay to let us take care of her, to let us carry her load and she can just be. Whatever that looks like to her.

I've never had such a strong reaction to a beta before. Don't get me wrong, I find them attractive and have spent my fair share of time with them, but I've never had this visceral need to be close to one. It's almost the same as when I met Liam for the first time and I knew he was my omega, my mate.

I can't help but feel like she's also a part of my soul.

And that is dangerous.

Really dangerous.

We don't know anything about this girl. She could be a psycho, a stalker, a rabid fan. I didn't miss that she had a Liam Cordova movie paused on the screen when we came in. Sure, she turned the TV off, but it was still there when Liam turned it back on. He probably took it as a sign that its fate.

I have to take it as a sign that she can't be trusted right away. We need to exercise caution, even if everything in me is screaming not to.

Liam has a tendency to fall headfirst in love and he's heartbroken when it eventually doesn't work out.

There have been too many people who have tried to use him and his sweet omega heart for fame and fortune. It's part of why our pack is so small. Just the three of us, Grayson, myself and Liam. We haven't found anyone else we want to welcome into the pack, not that we don't have people angling for that.

One thing is painfully clear, though. I have to keep a clear head and that won't happen if I shift Sorrel's little sleep shorts to the side and slip inside her, wake her up with my cock. As much as I love the idea of that, it's too soon. Less than twenty-four hours, for chrissake.

Besides, I want her fully awake the first time I fuck her.

After that, though, all bets are off.

I'll take her anytime, anywhere.

With that thought in mind, I press a soft kiss to her bare shoulder. She hums in her sleep and shifts against me before nuzzling further into Liam, who purrs as he pulls her closer to him.

Purrs . I can count on one hand the number of times Liam has purred for me, and here he is doing it for her without even knowing her for twenty-four hours.

A spike of jealousy hits, but I push it aside. This is part of being in a pack, letting the person I love who loves me back find other people to let into his heart.

I just hope like hell Sorrel is worth it.

Satisfied that they'll be asleep for a while longer, I shift off the bed and pad down the stairs from the loft in my boxer briefs and my t-shirt. Normally I sleep naked, but I didn't think Sorrel would appreciate that.

I locate my phone and shoot off a few texts, requesting a background check on Sorrel and checking in with Grayson, our pack lead.

I'm sure he hates that we're away from him for the night, but he knows Liam well enough to know that there was no talking him out of staying. He would have gone full bratty omega and thrown a tantrum the entire way home.

Our pack lead responds almost immediately.

Grayson:

When do you think you'll be home?

Me:

The car should be ready in a couple of hours.

But Liam has that interview with OM this afternoon.

Grayson:

So I won't see you until tonight?

Me:

Late afternoon, early evening, unless you want to meet us at the interview.

I'll send you the address.

I do just that and then head into the little kitchen, as quietly as I can. Liam needs caffeine in the morning or he's a brat. Not that I mind his brattiness, it gives me a reason to punish him, but I don't think we need to subject our sweet beta to his early morning grumpiness if we can avoid it.

I've just pulled open the first cupboard when I get another text.

Grayson:

Is there anything else you want to tell me?

I hesitate after reading the message. I want to tell him all about Sorrel, and how sweet she is, how perfect and sexy, and how I had the best sleep of my life with her and our omega in bed with me. Even though the bed was definitely too small for all three of us and a little on the lumpy side. She needs a new mattress.

I think that might be a better conversation to have with Grayson in person. Not via text.

Before I can send him a negative, he sends another message.

Grayson:

Is there a reason you requested a file on Sorrel Forbes?

Well shit. I should have known that Scotty, the guy we use for our background checks, would have called Gray too. Not that he doesn't trust me to make requests. I'm the head of security for Liam, after all, but Scotty is a kiss ass and a little bit of a tattletale and gossip, at least when it comes to me and Gray.

Unless I specifically tell him not to reach out to my prime about a request, he will one hundred percent tell Gray.

Sighing, I type out a very brief message recounting what happened last night, and then make a point of saying we'll discuss it when we get home in person. Bold of me, considering he's my prime, but once again, I want to have this conversation with him in person.

Sorrel feels important and I want to convey that with more than just words on a screen.

A text message just won't be enough.

Grayson concedes the point and tells me to have Liam call him when he's up, already knowing that our omega will sleep until the very last moment, if he can. I know our prime alpha will never admit it, but he misses both of us when we're away from him, which happens more than we'd like.

Gray tries to travel with us whenever he can to Liam's filming locations, but he's not always able. We've gotten good at doing video chats and keeping up text conversations to keep that ache for one another at bay.

I've just come to terms with the fact that Liam is going to be extra grumpy this morning because Sorrel, as perfect as she is, doesn't have any coffee in her house, when I hear the faint sound of an alarm blaring from upstairs. The unmistakable grumbling of my omega follows and Sorrel's sleep husked voice responds.

My skin prickles and my hair stands up in anticipation of seeing her, seeing them this morning, but I focus on my task, brewing tea for both of them. I keep one ear tilted toward the bedroom, listening as fabric rustles and Liam protests. There's a thump and Sorrel giggles.

It makes my heart get all warm and glowy listening to them together, waking up and no doubt cuddling because Liam hates getting up in the morning and he'll do whatever he can to get his bedmate to stay under the blankets with him. He's a real cuddle slut that way.

I love that about him, even if it makes us late for just about everything.

Sorrel must be better at shutting him down than I ever was because it's not long before two pairs of bare feet slap against the wooden stairs and pad toward the kitchen.

"There's no coffee," I say, over my shoulder, trying my damnedest not to turn around and devour them both with my eyes.

"I'm sorry, what?" Liam splutters, sounding groggy and a little peeved about this news.

Sorrel runs her fingers through her tousled hair and shrugs. "I prefer tea. I have black tea if you need the caffeine. Green tea too, which is what I usually start the day with."

Liam grumbles even as he leans his forehead on her shoulder. "I knew you were too good to be true."

She laughs, a light, bright, happy sound that hits me in the chest like a cannonball. "This is the deal breaker, huh?"

"Coffee is life," Liam groans, nuzzling into her neck with a content groan.

"Our omega is probably about seventy percent coffee," I say, offhandedly, turning with two mugs in my hands, one with the black tea that I knew Liam would prefer and the green tea that Sorrel has already said she drinks in the morning. I move over to them, my heart doing that weird clenching thing at how sleep tousled they both look. How perfect her tan skin contrasts with his pale complexion.

Sorrel takes the cup from me with a grateful smile. "Thank you, Rafe." Jesus. Is that the first time she's said my name? It must be because I don't remember feeling that sharp sting of electricity flowing from my heart to my cock and back again.

Liam frowns down at the cup with a pout on his full lips. "You sure you don't have any coffee hidden away?"

Unable to resist, I bend and suck that pouty lower lip into my mouth, scraping my teeth over it, and Liam's scent fills the room, heady and wanting. Lemon blueberry cheesecake.

Sorrel makes a little noise as I sweep my tongue into his mouth, and Liam kisses me back. When I pull away, his eyes are half lidded and he's got this pleased smirk on his mouth that makes me want to put him over my knee.

Sorrel clears her throat, cheeks flushed from more than just sleep, but she's still right there, right next to us, like it didn't occur to her to move away to give us space during our kiss. Perfect. That means she might be interested in joining. "I could go over and see if Sadie or Sylvie have any on hand, though they've both been gone for a couple of weeks."

I frown at the underlying sadness in her tone, like not having her friends around hurts her. And I want to fix that for her.

But I don't know how. She shifts on her feet and a waft of her lavender and clean linen smell hits me, but there's an undertone of something metallic. It only takes a moment for me to realize what it is.

"You're bleeding?" I ask harshly.

Sorrel stiffens, her aqua eyes flying to Liam and running over him to make sure he's not injured, and he's doing the same to her. "Where are you hurt, lovely?" He asks, and her brow furrows.

"I'm not-" she cuts off as her face goes bright red. Redder than I've seen it, and she's blushed a lot in the last eighteen hours. Her eyes drop to the space between her legs, just for a moment before she pulls her gaze back up, meeting mine. She takes a deep breath like she's preparing herself and I know what she's going to say before she says it. "I'm not hurt. It's just that time of the month."

When Liam's head tilts and his frown deepens, she mumbles something to herself and explains something that shouldn't need an explanation. "Omegas have heats. Beta females have periods. You should know that if you passed high school health."

Liam chuckles. "Well, my high school experience wasn't exactly normal, lovely."

Her nose wrinkles adorably. "No, I don't suppose it was."

Liam brushes his fingers down her arm gently. "Are you in a lot of pain?"

Sorrel shakes her head. "No, thankfully my birth control keeps the cramps pretty mild and the period itself short. Yesterday though…" She trails off and then shakes her head. "Nevermind." Another sip of the tea I made her and she says, "I'm gonna take a shower if that's okay? I need to run some errands in town before work." She nudges Liam with her elbow. "We could get you some coffee? There's a bakery that makes the best croissants and a decent latte."

My omega nods while I shake my head. "We can't. The towing company should be here in about an hour. We need to get back to Granton. Grayson will be missing us. And you have the OM interview."

Liam frowns and looks like he wants to argue, but then sighs. "I suppose you're right. Even if I hate it."

Disappointment flickers over our beta's face, but she hides it with a smile, wiping it away with ease. "You never said why you were in the area."

It doesn't feel like a probing question, like she's digging for a secret she can sell. It feels more like she's asking because she's hoping we'll come back. We definitely will. But Liam has an interview set up with a reporter from Omega Magazine this afternoon, followed by a photoshoot. And we can't miss that.

Liam grins and runs a hand through his chestnut curls. "Oh, there's this girl who posts songs on the internet. She never shows her face, so I don't know what she looks like. But she posted a stitch of her singing with me on ‘Rewrite the Stars'. And I want to collaborate with her on the theme song for my next movie, maybe convince her to step into a role for it."

I watch as Sorrel's eyes grow wider and wider, the only sign that she's surprised by the response. Liam is watching her with a slightly wolfish expression on his face, all hunter, sighting its prey. "We hired someone to track the IP address she posts from," I say. "It was in the area. But we couldn't pinpoint exactly where."

We're here for you, conejita. In more ways than one .

Her brow furrows. "So you were hoping to just… run into this mysterious woman up here?"

Liam shrugs. "Stranger things have happened." He's looking at her with that same gleam in his eye. "Do you know of anyone that sings around here?"

Sorrel squints one eye like she's thinking, teeth sunk into her lower lip. Makes me want to suck that lip into my fucking mouth. Finally she says, "Nope. I can't think of anyone that does that. Well, Mrs. Gladstone does, but she's about seventy. Did the woman have wrinkled hands?"

He shakes his head. "No, she didn't. And she sounds relatively young."

"Hmm," Sorrel hums as she takes a sip of her tea.

"You know," Liam inches closer to her. "She actually has hands similar to yours."

I'm watching her closely, so I see the moment she stiffens. It's only a half second before she's chuckling, avoiding looking at either of us. "Well, it's not me." She jerks her chin toward the living room. "I don't exactly have the space for a filming studio. Or anything."

Liam frowns, then grins. "I didn't say anything about a studio."

Sorrel's cheeks go pink, and she glances at the clock. "Crap. I have to go if I want to make it into town and back before I have to head to work." I know a deflection when I see it. Liam's instincts were right. This is the girl that we came up here to find. And she's also part of our pack.

Whether she knows it or not.

It's surprisingly hard to let Sorrel leave, knowing we'll be gone by the time she gets back. The last thing I want is to drive away from Lake Kilrose and our beta, but we have to. We have responsibilities we need to fulfill. But the good news is we're coming up on a weeklong break. That will make it easier to get up here and see Sorrel, spend time with her, convince her to give us a shot.

It shouldn't be that hard. We're the Cordova pack, after all.

Well, Liam and I have a week, Grayson will still need to work. Though I suspect when he meets our beta, he'll be more than willing to do that remotely. Or he'll make the drive daily to see her every night. Once he meets her, I know he'll be willing to make the effort.

Liam pouts the entire way back to the city, arms crossed over his chest and a scowl on his face, his sweet scent tinged with his disappointment and displeasure. It makes my alpha itch to make it right, even though I know there's nothing for me to fix. Not really.

I poke his thigh with one of my thick fingers. "Stop pouting. We'll be back up there tomorrow."

Liam scowls at me for a moment before he sighs. "I know you're right. I just hate leaving her."

"I can call Grayson and have him cancel the interview. It'll reflect poorly on you, but if you really can't handle it-"

"No," Liam cuts me off, shaking his head. "No. I can handle it. I know I need to handle it. This is my fucking job, my dream." He shifts lower in the seat, head resting on the back, eyes falling to half-mast. "I just think she might be my dream, too." His eyes widen and he reaches out to grip my thigh. "You and Grayson are part of it, too. My dream. Of course you are. Please don't think you aren't. Or that you're not enough for me."

My heart melts a little at his reassurance, although it's unnecessary. I can feel him through our bond and already know how much he loves me, the same way he knows how much I love him.

"Of course I know that, mi amor ," I murmur, stroking my thumb along his cheek. "I feel the same. About you and about Sorrel. She's ours. We just have to convince her of that fact." I hide a wince as I say the words. I'm supposed to be the one exercising caution here. We can't afford to dive into a new relationship with an unknown element.

But they feel right. True.

Liam groans and tips his head back. "Sleeping next to her was…" He shakes his head, like he can't believe it. "It was so fucking hard not to just slip inside her and sleep like that."

I groan at the image that conjures. Her sweet little ass nestled against my hips, my cock buried in her heat as we drift off to sleep. Waking up to fuck her leisurely and drifting off again without pulling out? Fuck. "That sounds divine."

Liam smirks, head popping up off the seat back. "Divine? She making a poet out of you, Rafe?"

I scowl at him, but he just laughs. And god, it's a fucking beautiful sound. I love my omega. Love him so goddamn much, I'd do just about anything for him. And having him laugh like that, sound so happy, does something to my alpha, makes me hum with pride, even though I had nothing to do with it.

No, all of this happiness is because of Sorrel.

We haven't really talked about it as a pack, but we've all been on the lookout for the one missing piece.

Liam told me and Gray he wants babies, and while I'm a lot of things, I can't just give him that. We can adopt and still might at some point, but I think our omega hasn't quite given up on the idea of finding that perfect woman who will complete the pack and carry our child in her belly. He wants to watch them grow safe in her womb, be there for every step of the process.

If I'm completely honest, I want the same thing.

Over the years we've thought we found the right woman, let her into our hearts and lives and beds. A few of them helped Liam through his heat, but not one of them worked out.

We always unearthed some manipulation, some lie, some plan of theirs that made it clear they weren't worthy of being a part of our pack, being loved by Liam.

Recently I think we've all started to lose hope that we'd ever find that missing piece.

Until Liam heard a voice on VidTid and decided he needed to meet the owner of that voice and convince them to be on his next album, probably in multiple songs and we used some… illegal means to track down the poster of the video, right to Sorrel Forbes.

It's cute that she doesn't want to admit it's her, though. Makes me feel even better about her. Most girls—most people —would have shouted from the mountain tops that they were the singer Liam Cordova was seeking. But she didn't. Instead, she just stubbornly refused to admit it. Going so far as to point us in the direction of a seventy-year-old instead.

"Don't look at me like that, Rafe," Liam murmurs, shifting on the seat. "You know it turns me on."

I hum and grip the back of his neck. "I'm driving so I can't take care of you, mi amor . But I can give you something to focus on besides Sorrel, if you need it."

My omega's scent blooms and fills the car with sticky sweet cheesecake. My thumb strokes over his pulse point. "Do you need that, Liam?"

A soft whimper. A nod of his head. "Yes, alpha."

"Good boy," I murmur, tightening my grip, loving the way he shivers at my touch. "Now take out my cock."

Liam licks his lips as he reaches over and flips the button with this thumb. He takes his time with the zipper, dragging it down slowly, teasing me. Little brat.

"Omega," I growl. "Do as I say. I spent all night with you and a beautiful woman in bed and somehow behaved myself. But I am nearly at the end of my patience."

Liam hums, and shifts in his seat, facing me more fully.

"Did our beta get you all wound up, alpha?" I grit my teeth at his use of the word ‘our.' My hands tighten on the steering wheel, knuckles going white. It feels so fucking right, claiming Sorrel as ours. I know Liam feels the same. And once Gray meets her… well, it'll be a done deal. So long as we can convince her.

Liam's fingers curl around my cock, pulling me out and bending over. "Poor alpha," he all but coos before his tongue laps at the tip like a cat licking up cream. "Our pretty beta slept with her ass pressed against your cock all night, didn't she?"

"Yes," I grit out, forcing my hands to stay on the steering wheel. I'm already stepping over so many safety rules with my omega in the car. I need to keep at least partially focused on the road. Even if what I really want to do is grip his silky dark red hair, hold him down and fuck his mouth.

"She was so warm and soft, wasn't she? Did you want to slip inside her? Fuck her while she slept?"

I swallow thickly and give a sharp nod. "Yes." I've woken up Liam on more than one occasion with my dick in his ass. He loves it. I'm sure Sorrel will, too, once we establish her consent for me to do that. I wouldn't dream of touching her like that without her approval.

Liam's mouth sinks down, engulfing me in wet heat, and I groan. When he pulls away, my hand flies to the back of his neck, holding him there. "No."

I feel him looking up at me, but don't return his gaze. I am driving after all.

"I told you I'd give you something to keep you occupied." He hums his agreement. "Lay your head down. And keep my cock warm for me, omega."

I can feel his displeasure through our bond, but along with it, there's a fair amount of relief. Sometimes my omega needs this. Needs to be distracted from everything in his mind with a simple task, a single thing he can focus on. "Now, omega," I murmur, stroking his skin.

Liam huffs through his nose but shifts until his cheek is resting on my thigh, my erection in his mouth. My fingers stroke the silky strands of his hair. "Good boy. If we have time and you are very, very good for me, mi amor , I'll find a place to pull over and fuck you before we get to the city."

Liam purrs.

My alpha purrs in response.