The bathhouse was a cavern of steam and shadows, the air thick with the scent of cedar and male sweat. Torches flickered against the damp stone walls, casting long, wavering silhouettes that made the alphas seem even larger—more monstrous.
I stood frozen in the doorway, the thin shift they'd given me clinging to my damp skin.
"Close your mouth, little omega," Lucian purred from where he lounged in the largest of the sunken pools, water sluicing over his bare chest. "Unless you're offering to put that pretty tongue to better use."
Kael rose from the water in one fluid motion, rivulets streaming down the hard planes of his abdomen. He didn't speak. Just crooked a finger.
A command.
My bare feet dragged against the slick stone as I approached, heart hammering.
"Start with me." Riven's voice cut through the steam like winter wind. He sat apart from the others on a bench, his pale hair plastered to his neck, watching me with those glacial eyes.
A cake of soap was thrust into my hands.
I knelt beside him, the heat of his skin radiating against me as I lathered the soap. My fingers trembled against his shoulders, skimming over old scars and hard muscle.
"Harder." His hand clamped over mine, forcing my palm down in rough, punishing circles. "You're not petting a fucking dog."
Jax snorted from the pool. "Could've fooled me. Look at her—barely touching him like he'll bite."
"I might." Riven's thumb dug into the pulse at my wrist. "If she doesn't learn to do it right."
The humiliation only deepened when they rose from the water, shamelessly before me.
Lucian made me dry him first, standing with arms spread as I dragged the linen towel over his chest. "Lower," he murmured when I hesitated at his hips, his fingers twining in my hair. "Don't be shy now."
I choked when he forced my face against his thigh, the coarse hair there damp against my cheek.
Kael watched with hooded eyes as I laced his trousers, his knuckles brushing my collarbone every time I fumbled with the ties. "Useless fingers," he mused, catching one of my hands and pressing it against the hard length straining against the fabric. "Better learn to use them properly."
It was Jax who shattered me.
When I tried to skirt around him, he caught my waist and lifted me onto the dressing bench, spreading my knees with his own. "You missed a spot," he growled, dragging my hand down his chest to the water still beading low on his abdomen.
I jerked back…..
And his hand cracked across my cheek.
The slap echoed off the stones. Not hard enough to bruise, but enough to make my ears ring, enough to leave my skin stinging. Tears welled instantly, blurring my vision.
"That's for disobeying." His calloused thumb wiped roughly at my tears before sliding between my lips. "This is for my patience."
The salt of my own tears coated my tongue as I sucked helplessly at his thumb, his free hand hiking up my shift to grope the soft flesh of my thigh.
From the shadows, Kael's voice rumbled:
"Tomorrow, we see how well those pretty lips work on something thicker."