Chapter 77: I needed contraceptives

I woke up first.

​The harsh afternoon light was pouring directly through the floor-to-ceiling windows, throwing the minimalist penthouse into sharp relief.

My eyes fluttered open, my head resting heavy against Reid’s chest, and within two seconds, the memory of what we had done hit me like a physical blow.

​"Harder—f-fuck, Reid, harder!"

"Ruin me... please!"

​God. I buried my face into my hands, my skin instantly burning with a fierce, suffocating embarrassment. I had actually begged him. I had completely let my Omega take the wheel, screaming his name until I passed out like some pathetic, broken doll.

​To make matters worse, as I tried to shift away, I felt a heavy, distinct fullness still stretched inside me. My eyes snapped wide. That arrogant, perverted prick had literally left his softening junk completely inside me while we slept.

A wave of hot anger flared in my chest, and I ground my teeth, ready to shove him off me and yell at him for being disgusting—

​But then I heard it.

​Reid’s chest was heaving in a shallow, ragged rhythm. He was panting unnaturally, his jaw locked so tight the muscles were twitching, and his forehead was drenched in a thick layer of cold sweat. He let out a low, pathetic whine in his sleep, his shoulders trembling against the leather cushions.

​I gasped, my anger evaporating instantly as I looked down past his waist toward his left leg. The ice pack had long since fallen off, and the heavy elastic bandages around his ankle looked stretched to the limit.

​The idiot. He had put way too much strain on it during that stunt. Shoving his hips up, bracing himself, lifting my entire weight while forcing a brutal, high-speed pace—he had completely ruined all the progress Jax’s massage had made. And all because his perverted, territorial brain wanted to fuck me.

​Slowly, carefully, I braced my hands against the leather and lifted myself out of his hold. I let out a soft, shaky breath as his cock slowly slid down and out of my body, exiting with a wet, heavy pop accompanied by the sticky trace of dried fluids.

​I looked down at the mess between my thighs, a heavy pit of worry dropping into my stomach.

I needed contraceptives.

At this rate, I was going to end up in serious trouble. Even though he didn’t knot me this time, he still buried himself as deep as possible and came heavily inside me.

Given my Omega biology, a massive release like that directly against my core was a massive pregnancy risk.

​I tried to swing my legs over the edge of the sofa to stand up, but the moment my feet hit the rug, my knees went completely wobbly.

My thighs were trembling, my lower back aching, and my entire body felt profoundly exhausted. I honestly wished I could just drop right back onto the couch, curl into a ball, and sleep for another twelve hours to forget this entire day ever happened.

​But I couldn’t. I glanced over at the digital clock on the kitchen microwave. It was way past early noon—nearly three in the afternoon. Just how long had we been out?

​Forcing my exhausted limbs to move, I limped into his bathroom to clean up thoroughly. Then, I grab a stack of clean towels and a bowl of warm water. I came back and thoroughly cleaned him up, wiping away the dried, tacky fluids before carefully pulling his grey sweatpants back up to cover his lower body.

Once he was decent, I took a fresh washcloth, soaked it in ice-cold water, and gently pressed the compress against his burning forehead to help break the fever.

​The mighty, arrogant, first-round prodigy was currently shivering under a lightweight blanket, his teeth chattering from a sudden, aggressive fever.

I stared down at his flushed face, a cynical, tired thought crossing my mind. I honestly wished I could get a picture of this to hold over his head later, but catching a sick, vulnerable Alpha completely unaware wasn’t exactly fun. It just felt heavy.

​"McCoy," I murmured, poking his burning cheek a couple of times. "Hey. Wake up."

​He didn’t budge. I sighed, reaching over to the coffee table to pick up the heavy bottle of anti-inflammatories and fever reducers Jax had left behind. I popped one of the large pills out of the blister pack and grabbed the glass of water.

​"Reid, open your mouth. You need to take your meds," I said, lifting the back of his neck to prop him up.

​His eyelids fluttered, his smoky grey eyes looking completely hazy and unfocused as they tried to find my face. "I’m... I’m seeing stars, Cap," he rasped, his voice incredibly rough and dry. His breath was scorching hot against my skin. "My eyes can’t stay in one place... Am I dying?"

​"Suck it up, prick. You’re not dying," I muttered, pressing the pill against his dry lips. "Just take your meds so the swelling goes down."

​But his eyes rolled back, and his head slumped heavily against my arm as he fell completely unconscious again.

​"Are you serious right now?" I snapped, my annoyance flaring.

​Frustrated and desperate to get him stabilized, I decided to just force it. I pinched his jaw to pry his mouth open, shoved the large white pill onto the back of his tongue, and carefully poured a small stream of water into his mouth.

​But the second the liquid hit his throat, his swallowing reflex failed completely. Instead of going down, the water just pooled in his mouth and immediately rolled right out the corner of his lips, carrying the wet pill with it down his flushed chin.

​I grimaced, quickly wiping his face with the towel. This was ridiculous. How the hell was I supposed to get this stubborn prick to take his medication and get better? I couldn’t exactly leave him like this with a skyrocketing fever, but he was completely dead to the world.

​I stared at the white pill in my hand, then at his parted, feverish lips. I let out a long, defeated sigh.

​Fine.

​I placed the dry pill back into Reid’s mouth, making sure it rested on his tongue. Then, I picked up the glass, took a large gulp of the cool water, and held it right in my own mouth. I leaned down, my heart doing a strange, irregular thud against my ribs, and pressed my lips firmly against his hot, dry ones.

​I used my tongue to slightly part his lips, tilting his head back as I slowly emptied the water down his throat, forcing his subconscious reflex to take over. I stayed there, our lips sealed tight, listening intently until I finally heard a faint, distinct gulp as he swallowed the pill.

​Relief washed over me, and I instantly began to pull away.

​But I didn’t get the chance.

​In a split second, Reid’s arms shot up from the cushions like lightning. Before I could even blink, his heavy hands dropped right onto the back of my head, his fingers tangling violently into my blond hair and locking my face in place.

​His eyes didn’t even open, but his grip was firm. He pulled my face down brutally, his mouth suddenly moving against mine with a fierce, ravenous hunger.