Page 43 of Knight With Benefits

I shook my head, biting my bottom lip before releasing it to speak.

“No, I want to be here. I want you in my nest.”

I didn’t need to add that I wanted the familiarity of my nest to keep away the worries, or that I wanted the memories in case I needed something to look back on if the worst happened. I knew he would understand, just like he always seemed to.

“Then lead the way.”

His voice was rough with desire, making a wave of warmth pass through me as my nipples tightened and my core clenched. It probably wasn’t smart to have sex with an alpha when my heat was coming, it could trigger it early, but I was beyond caring.

I wanted him.

I wanted the way he made me feel.

Not releasing his hand, I headed for my bedroom.

Chapter Nineteen

Carl

Ishould have been making a call to Danger.

Or finishing the roof.

Or letting the others know of the new risk.

But there was nothing that would have made me walk away from Gwyn right then. She was taking me to her nest, and there was nowhere else I wanted to be.

A small part of my brain warned she was using me to push her fears aside, and it might have been better to help her face them in a different way, but I didn’t care. My bear drowned out the voice with a growl that rattled through my bones and filled every part of me until it spilled out and poured over the omega trusting me with everything she was.

“Gwyn.”

Her name was a prayer. A plea. It held all my desire and a hint of the hope I was trying to keep bottled inside so I didn’t scare her away after all.

I stopped in the doorway of her bedroom, the air thick with the scent of her. I was drowning in peppermint and fresh pastries, the honeyed smell of slick pulling my alpha side closer to the edge.

Chocolate eyes blinked up at me, a thick enough ring showing that she was still aware of what she was doing. I’d known her heat was coming, even if I’d tried to ignore the fact, and I both did and didn’t want to tip her into it. I’d give anything to be the one to see her through it. I didn’t want her to suffer alone, and there was no way my bear would allow anyone else near her, but I also wasn’t sure if she knew what to expect with a shifter.

She waited, staring up at me in a way that had my chest tightening and my teeth aching to sink into her even though I knew I couldn’t bite her.

“You need to tell me now if you still don’t want to be knotted. I’ll respect your boundaries, but I can’t tell you how badly I want to.”

She sucked in a deep breath, my own lungs frozen as I waited for her response. It would kill me to hold back, but I’d do whatever she wanted just to have what she was willing to give.

“No, Carl. I want it all. I trust you.”

Air whooshed from between my lips, my shoulders dropping as I sagged in relief.

“Oh, thank fuck.”

My lips were on hers before she could say anything more. I reached down and slid my hands beneath her ass, lifting her so I could crush her against my chest. It was impossible to resist the urge to thrust, grinding her on the ridge of my cock despite the pain of it being trapped within my jeans.

My head was spinning by the time I released her mouth, both of us gasping. I still stood just inside the doorway, her bed across the room, but I wanted us naked and horizontal so I could have my way with her.

She resisted when I tried to peel her off to undress her, so I dropped to my knees where she could reach the floor without falling.

“I need to get you naked so you can invite me into your nest, Gwyn. Stop fighting me, or I’ll have to spank that perfect ass.”

I skimmed my mouth along her collarbone as I spoke, and she let her head drop back on a moan, but she finally released the death grip her legs had around my waist. I didn’t waste any time reaching for the button on her jeans, loosening them before shucking them and her panties down her legs as her fingers ran over my buzz.

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