Eclipse Sector (V-Clan #3)

20. Ivana

CHAPTER TWENTY

IVANA

Several Hours Later

Home sweet home .

Only it didn’t feel all that sweet to be here.

Sighing, I fell back into my nest, my gaze on the ceiling. It’d been a long flight home. I could have shadowed myself back to Blood Sector, but I hadn’t wanted to leave the other Omegas. They’d needed someone— a local— to soothe their nerves.

I’d done the best I could. Now, the Sanctuary Omegas were with Quinn and Kyra. They’d be better at providing comfort, mostly because of their shared histories.

Rather than stay, I’d opted to come back here. Alone. Primarily to think about Cillian.

He’d remained in Glacier Sector where all the Alpha candidates were gathering for a meeting. Kieran would be off to join them any minute now. He’d chosen to wait for all the Omegas to settle in his palace before leaving. As soon as he did, Lorcan would become the acting Blood Sector Alpha. Or King, I supposed.

Or is it the Blood Sector Prince? I grunted. Who the hell knows the right term anymore?

Yawning, I curled into a ball and shifted my focus to Cillian. Primarily his knot . Because now I knew what it looked like. How it felt. And yeah, my toy—I glanced at the drawer housing said instrument—wasn’t nearly accurate enough.

My thighs squeezed together as I recalled the way his knot had felt against my core, how hot and thick he’d been between my legs.

Stars, this wasn’t the time to be thinking about this. Not after everything that had occurred tonight.

First Sylvia.

Then all the Omegas being concerned about what had happened and what might happen next.

And then there’d been Ashlyn.

She was… interesting. The Z-Clan Omega had been mostly quiet the entire way home, except for when writing in my journal. I’d wanted to snap at her for it, but something in her gaze had made me bite my tongue.

Forlorn, I thought, picturing her again now. She had looked so forlorn .

Sylvia was her friend. Of course Ashlyn was worried. Yet it’d felt deeper than that, almost as though she’d given up hope.

Rather than lecture her on journal etiquette, I’d tried to convince her—and several others—that Blood Sector was safe. That Sylvia would be okay. That the Alphas here would protect all of them, not hurt them.

Are Quinn and Kyra repeating all of that to them right now? I wondered.

Probably .

I blew out a breath and closed my eyes.

I’d never been great at making friends, but I’d tried to be one today. If the other Omegas hadn’t believed me, they’d believe Kyra and Quinn.

If that didn’t work, then this whole program would probably go up in flames.

“If it hasn’t already,” I muttered to myself as I pushed away from my nest. “I need a distraction. Maybe food.”

And now I was talking to myself.

“Good job, Ivana,” I grumbled.

Shoving aside my bout of quirkiness, I focused on fixing a comfort meal. Noodles. Cream cheese. Tomato sauce. Mozzarella cheese. And bake it for thirty minutes.

The minute the buzzer rang, I devoured a good portion of my pasta-bake casserole.

All while thinking of the night and Cillian. Has he gotten any closer in determining what happened?

I’d ask him, but I didn’t want to interrupt him. Not yet, anyway.

Now that I knew how he really felt about me, and how he considered himself to be unworthy of an Omega, I was determined to fight for him. To fight for us .

So if he tried to push me away—which I had no doubt he would—I’d chase him. I’d give it my all. And if he still refused me…

I swallowed.

I… I didn’t want to consider that outcome. Not yet. Not now.

Forcing the thought from my mind, I cleaned up the kitchen while the sun rose outside. No way was I going to sleep anytime soon. I didn’t even feel tired. Which was strange, as I’d barely slept yesterday.

What I needed to do was relax.

I glanced at my nest and beyond it to the nightstand. That’s one way to relax , I thought, shivering as I pictured the toy in the drawer.

But after feeling Cillian’s knot, the way it pulsed heatedly against me…

My throat worked once more.

Yeah, no. No toy. But maybe a bath.

Thirty minutes later, I found myself lounging in the tub filled with my favorite salts, and still thinking about Cillian’s cock.

I growled.

The pent-up need I felt for him had been stoked to a roaring fire in that shower, only to be instantly doused in ice water upon Benz’s arrival.

However, the flames licking through my veins were reigniting now that I was alone with my thoughts. Thoughts of Cillian. His long, muscular form. Naked. Wet. Aroused.

I closed my eyes and pictured all the hard lines of his exquisite form, the little dimples by his hips, the defined planes of his abdomen, up to his impressive pecs.

Oh, who was I kidding?

I wasn’t looking up; I was looking down .

At his knot.

Throbbing.

Beckoning my touch.

I wanted to wrap my hand around him and stroke. Slowly. Memorizing the path. Owning him.

My Alpha. My wolf. My Cillian.

You can try to run, but I’ll chase you, I warned him, aware that he couldn’t hear me here because he was probably still in Glacier Sector. You’re meant to be mine, Alpha. None of this “unworthy” bullshit. Mine. Mine. Mine.

Only, he wasn’t here for me to growl at. Yet his scent was everywhere. It was so strange because he’d never been in my home before. However, I swore I could smell him here.

He’s embedded in my skin. In my heart. In my damn soul.

Oh, but how I wished he were embedded in me somewhere else. Somewhere between my legs. I moaned at the thought, my body inflamed all over by the prospect.

I’d been on edge all day, the other Omegas barely distracting me from the yearning deep within me. A yearning Cillian had awoken with a vengeance after pinning me to the shower wall.

Stars, I’d been so close to exploding. So close to experiencing Cillian’s Alpha touch.

Or maybe his mouth, I marveled, recalling the words he’d said into my mind, the ones about devouring me.

He’d been flirting with me in that dining hall, treating me like a desired Omega rather than a rejected one.

And I’d loved it. Perhaps it hadn’t been the most appropriate time for his mental commentary, but it’d given me hope.

Remembering it now didn’t inspire hope so much as lust because I could picture his face between my thighs and his tongue against my slick core.

Cillian, I moaned in my mind, my palm gliding down my belly toward the place I ached most.

I should have brought my toy into the bathroom. Should have known I’d end up touching myself.

Gods, I want your knot inside me, I wanted to tell Cillian. But he wasn’t here. So I thought it to myself instead as my fingers explored my damp flesh. This isn’t the same…

My touch wasn’t hot enough or hard enough.

I almost felt like I was going into heat with how badly I craved my Alpha. That was how pent up I felt from our shower escapades. All amplified by six years of wanting a man I couldn’t have.

A man who’d desired me the entire time yet fought his attraction under some misguided notion that I deserved better.

You’re mine, Cillian, I growled in my mind. I won’t let you reject me again.

“I never rejected you the first time, Vana,” he replied, causing my eyes to spring open.

He stood in the bathroom entrance, one shoulder propped up against the door frame, muscular arms folded, dark eyes smoldering.

“Cillian,” I breathed, my lungs ceasing to work.

“Ivana,” he returned, those sinful irises skating down my naked form—a form he could obviously see through the water. I found myself suddenly wishing I’d made a bubble bath instead of just using salt.

My hand instantly left my core, my cheeks warming in response.

“Don’t stop on my account,” he murmured, eyes slowly tracking back up to my face. “I was very much enjoying the show.”

My hand curled into a fist. “What are you doing in here?” I sputtered, ignoring his commentary regarding the show .

“Well, I was in the hallway and about to knock, but then you threatened to chase me if I ran, so I shadowed inside instead.” His lips curled slightly. “If you’d like to chase me right now, in your current state, I think you’d catch me very quickly.”

I swallowed, my cheeks burning even hotter than before. “You heard all that?”

“Kind of hard not to, macushla,” he replied softly. “You were shouting at me, then moaning.” His gaze dropped once more. “Please continue. I’d like to see how this ends.”

I was so flustered that I didn’t even know how to respond to that.

Naturally, I chose the first thing on my mind and said, “You’re supposed to be in Glacier Sector.”

“Hmm,” he hummed. “I was there, yes. But there’s nothing left to discuss. The Alpha candidates all appear to be innocent. Thus, we need Sylvia to tell us what happened, and it’s going to be a while before she’s coherent enough to speak. So, I think I’ll pass the time by watching you come.”

“ Cillian ,” I choked out, at a loss of how to even begin reacting to his abrupt topic change.

“Yes, preferably with you saying my name as you climax.” He pushed away from the door and sauntered toward me. “Show me how you pleasure yourself, Vana. Perhaps I’ll reward you with a similar demonstration.”

My heart seemed to beat harder in my chest, creating a thudding sound in my ears. There was so much promise in his words, so much unveiled intention , that all I could do was stare up at him.

“Touch yourself,” he told me, a hint of dominance underlining those two words. “I want to see how you like to be stroked.” He stood right over the tub, his arms loose at his sides. “Teach me, Vana. Show me what pleases you.”