Page 159 of Knot Heirs: Serenity's Reign

Darius, though, was a shadow at the edge of the nest.

And she felt him, watching.

Eventually, Lucian’s knot softened and he eased out of her with a groan, pressing one last kiss to her shoulder before letting her slip back into the heart of the nest.

“You need to eat something,” Darius said, kneeling at her side.

She blinked up at him, confused. “I’m fine.”

“You’re not,” he countered, already holding a small tray. “Apple slices. Crackers. Light, clean, safe. Eat before the next wave hits.”

She wanted to argue. But when he pressed a bite of apple to her lips, she opened. Chewed. Swallowed.

“Good girl,” he murmured, offering another.

She didn’t realize how hungry she was until the third bite. The food sat gently in her stomach, and the water that followed was refreshing enough to bring her back to herself. Lucian was lounging now, head back, eyes closed, but one hand still touching her leg. Ronan had stripped his shirt and was sprawled at the edge of the nest, half-dozing, always listening.

But Darius never left.

When she finished eating, he set the tray aside and stroked his thumb across her cheek. “Sleep for a few minutes. You’ll need it.”

She didn’t remember falling asleep. Only the warmth of his arms around her. The solid beat of his heart beneath her ear. The soft, guarded breath that only Darius ever seemed to let her hear.

She woke up to his scent thick around her and the heat building again, coiling inside her belly like a fuse lit too soon.

She didn’t need to say a word.

Her eyes opened, heavy with need, and met his.

Darius’s jaw was tight, eyes storm-dark with restraint. “You sure you’re ready for this?”

She nodded.

“I want you.”

He brushed hair from her face, gentle in contrast to the storm gathering behind his gaze. “I’m not going to be gentle, Serenity. I’ve waited too long. It won’t be one round. I need more than that.”

She smirked. “I wouldn’t expect less from you.”

He growled low in his throat, a sound that made her toes curl.

In a single motion, he laid her back, lips crashing into hers. His kiss was devouring, claiming, full of that signature Castellano control finally shattered. She opened for him, her body already rising to meet his, legs wrapping around his waist as he pressed her into the center of the nest.

“I knew,” he growled, dragging his mouth down her throat. “The second I saw you in that boardroom. Knew you were mine. Ours. That you’d belong to us. That I’d never get enough.”

He gripped her thighs, spreading her wide.

“Look at you,” he murmured, dragging his fingers through her slick folds, groaning at how ready she was. “Already dripping for me.”

“Darius,” she whispered, desperate.

He lined himself up and thrust in deep.

She screamed.

The stretch was brutal, glorious, so full it punched the air from her lungs. He didn’t give her a moment to adjust, setting a punishing rhythm from the start. Each thrust forced her deeperinto the nest, the slick noises of their bodies echoing off the walls.

“Mine,” he growled, voice low and ragged. “You hear me, Omega? Mine.”

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