FIRE NATION

CHAPTER 21

"Lalisa, are you okay?"

Lalisa stopped scanning the crowded beach from beneath the shade of her umbrella, turning her attention to Roseanne instead. The omega lay sprawled on her side, stretched out luxuriously across the plush red blanket they had purchased, but she didn't seem to be enjoying her soak in the sun. One of her fists was propped beneath her chin, and her brow was knitted with concern.

Concern for me.

She knew she shouldn't be so pleased that Roseanne was paying attention to her instead of relaxing, but it soothed some jealous part of her nonetheless. Her mate had been the center of attention from the moment she strutted onto the beach in her brand new white bikini, and the small but growing crowd of alpha and beta admirers lingering next to the nearby volleyball net proved that the mating mark on her throat and the visible swell of her abdomen were insufficient deterrents.

"I'm fine," Lalisa said, deliberately choosing not to look at them. Perhaps it was the shadow of the umbrella hiding her face, or perhaps Roseanne was simply too tempting to look away from, but her death-glares didn't seem to be having much of an effect from her current distance. "Your skin is starting to look a little red. I was worried you might be burning."

Please, ask me to help you. Give me an excuse to touch you.

It was an incredibly selfish thought, one she chastised herself for as soon as it popped into her head, but she couldn't quite dismiss it. Over the past two weeks, she and Roseanne had transitioned into a comfortable state where light contact was welcome. Although she didn't want to abuse the privilege, every touch they shared left Lalisa hungry. The fact that one brave boy had separated from the throng of interested alphas and shifted a few steps closer to their blanket made her hands itch all the more.

"Oh, am I?" Roseanne flipped onto her back, stretching into an even more pleasing pose, and Lalisa saw about half the group inhale out of the corner of her eye. "Do you have any more of that coconut oil? I guess the water washed most of it off."

Lalisa swallowed. She remembered all too well how Roseanne had looked emerging from the surf, the material of her swimsuit half see-through and clinging to every curve. She was suddenly grateful that her own swimsuit had extra reinforcement at the front beneath its short, slitted skirt. Her cock was already twitching at the mere memory.

"I have a whole jar," she said, leaving her chair and climbing down onto the blanket to find it. To her delight, the shaggy-haired boy seemed to hesitate. He stopped sneaking forward, and his body language became noticeably nervous.

"Then lotion me up. I don't need a sunburn to go along with the stretch marks."

Don't get carried away, Lalisa told herself as she unscrewed the cap. The oil glistened as she drizzled it into one of her palms, and the ache pulsing between her legs swelled as she imagined the sheen it would give to Roseanne's beautiful skin. She trusts you now—trust you don't deserve. You have to be respectful of her boundaries... But despite her inner monologue, it was incredibly difficult not to take pride in the soft cooing sound Roseanne made at the first brush of her fingers. The omega relaxed, arms stretching above her head and thighs parting ever so slightly.

Roseanne's receptive body language and the stares of the interested alphas finally convinced Lalisa that it was all right to continue. She started with Roseanne's legs, taking one delicate foot in her hand and rubbing the sole briefly before running her hands up along her mate's smooth calf. Despite its slender appearance, it was firm and muscular, and Lalisa tried not to think too deeply about how it felt to have Roseanne's heels digging into her lower back.