Beg Me Like You Mean It, Captain

"I’m being rational, Reid," I gritted out, my fingers tightening on his wrist. "Think for once. If you get what you want—my total submission behind closed doors—then what more is there? That’s all you want, right? To humiliate me and watch me come undone. Or what? Do you want to bend over backward so you can see me fall in real life, too? Think! What do you actually gain by ruining my career if it drags yours down into the mud too?"

Reid watched me, his grey eyes tracking the frantic pulse jumping in my neck, and I could see the flicker of disappointment in his face.

He wanted me to fight him, to scream or struggle, and the fact that I was being so ’easy’ about laying out the terms seemed to drain the fun out of it for him.

But then, a slow, shark-like grin spread across his face, and he leaned back into my space, his shadow falling over me like a shroud.

"You say it like you’re doing me a favor," he said, his voice dropping into that low, jagged tone that made my skin catch fire. "But I’m actually the one doing you a favor. You flinch every time I move, Evans. Don’t act like this is some high-level business deal when we both know you’re just desperate."

I flinched, despite my best efforts, my fingers digging into his forearm where the muscles were sturdy and warm, and my mind traitorously whispered oh wow at the sheer, flexed power in his arm.

Dammit! This is serious. Will you be quiet for a second? I hissed at that slutty inner Omega.

Was all it could think about how to take in this Alpha’s cock? I was trying to be rational, and it was making things worse, splitting my mind.

"I know you just want to use me for your heat," Reid continued, his smirk turning sharp and unbearably cocky. "After all, what better efficient blocker than an Alpha’s pheromones, right? You aren’t submitting because you want to; you’re just using me as a glorified, walking suppressant."

I narrowed my eyes at him, the sheer arrogance of the guy making my blood simmer even as my body craved his proximity.

"Why are you so damn cocky?" I hissed. "You’re a rookie, McCoy. You’re one bad scandal away from being traded to a bottom-tier team in the middle of nowhere."

"And you’re one heat-spike away from being the first Omega to be laughed out of the league," he shot back, his face inches from mine again until the smell of pine was so thick I could almost taste it. "So, back to my question, Captain. The word. Say it like you mean it, or I might just decide that ’boring’ isn’t worth the effort of masking you at dinner."

I gritted my teeth. Was this the only way?

Throwing out the last of my pride?

I looked at the cocky grin on his lips and then closed my eyes.

"If I beg," my words came out thinner than I intended. "Will you go through with my setting?"

"Which one?" his grin sharpened.

"Stop being such a dick and answer me, McCoy!" I hissed. "Will you keep the secret and your hands to yourself until it’s just us in the space?"

Reid didn’t flinch at my outburst; if anything, the flare of my temper seemed to amuse him even more, his eyes dancing with that dark, predatory light that told me he enjoyed seeing the ’Understanding Captain’ come apart at the seams.

He stayed looming over me, his shadow heavy and still, while the silence in the cabin stretched out, punctuated only by the frantic, uneven rhythm of my breathing and the distant, muffled sounds of the rest of the team heading toward the dining hall.

​"Keep my hands to myself?" he repeated, the words rolling off his tongue with a slow, deliberate mockery that made my skin crawl.

He leaned in just a fraction more, the scent of frozen pine intensifying until it felt like a physical weight pressing against my chest.

"You’re asking a lot for someone who can barely stay upright without my help, Evans. But fine. I’ll play the part of the dutiful rookie in public. I’ll keep the secret, and I’ll keep my hands off you when the world is watching."

​He paused, his grin sharpening into something jagged and dangerous, his thumb tracing a slow, burning line along the side of my neck just above the collar of my shirt.

​"But the moment that door clicks shut? The moment it’s just us? All bets are off," he whispered, his voice vibrating against my skin. "I’ll do exactly what I want with you, and you’re going to take it. Every bit of it. That’s the price for my silence. That’s the cost of your ’medicine.’"

​I felt the last of my resistance crumbling, my mind split between the absolute fury of being backed into a corner and the traitorous, deep-seated relief my body felt at his proximity.

My inner Omega was practically purring now, a shameful, pulsing heat settling deep in my gut as it anticipated the surrender he was demanding.

​"Now," Reid murmured, his eyes locking onto mine with a cold, snobbish certainty. "The word, Captain. Say it. Let me hear how much you want me to save you."

​I swallowed the bitter taste of my own pride, my fingers tightening on his forearm one last time before I let my hand fall away, limp and defeated. I closed my eyes, unable to look at that arrogant smirk for a second longer.

​"Please," I breathed, the word felt like a confession, thin and broken.

"Louder, let me hear you beg honestly." He looked even more smug now, and I wanted to smash his face, but that was not my role right now.

My role right now was to take the humiliation and let him have his way.

"Please... Please help me, Reid."

​The silence that followed was deafening, until I felt his hand shift from my neck to the back of my head, his fingers tangling in my hair with a firm, possessive tug that forced my eyes open.

He was looking at me not with pity, but with a terrifyingly bright, fanatic sense of victory.

​"Good boy," he said, the praise feeling like a disgusting brand. "Now get some rest. By the time you wake up, it’s already time for dinner. You wouldn’t want the team to wonder why their Captain is looking so... thoroughly handled."