Page 68 of Taken By the Pack

“That’s our girl,” I whisper as she shakes and moans, clinging to Rowan’s hard body.

He groans out his own release, his head bowing forward, his forearms trembling.

I kiss Grace’s cheek fondly despite the throbbing of my erection. She’s boneless, exhausted, her body completely spent.

And fuck, she’s perfect.

Rowan rolls them onto their sides, still knotted tightly within her.

It could take a bit for his knot to release and his arms are shaking so much that there was no way he was going to be able to balance over her for much longer.

Rowan exhales, running a hand down her back as she snuggles closer, her breath evening out.

“She’s out,” he murmurs, voice quieter now.

I watch her, the way her lips part slightly as soft little snores slip out. She looks… peaceful. The most relaxed I’ve seen her in days.

“You good?” Rowan asks, glancing at me.

I nod, stretching my arms over my head. “Yeah. You?”

He shifts slightly, careful not to wake her. “Fine.” A pause. “Think she’s okay?”

I stroke a hand down her spine, watching the slow rise and fall of her breathing. “I think so.”

Rowan hesitates, like he’s debating saying something, then sighs. “I’m actually a little concerned about how often she’s been going into heat. This isn’t normal. Hopefully this helps.”

I frown. “You think something’s wrong?”

“I don’t know. Could be stress. Could be something else. We should keep an eye on her.”

I nod. That’s not exactly reassuring, but at least we’re on the same page.

There’s a beat of silence before I clear my throat. “We should probably talk about what we walked in on with Ash.”

Rowan groans. “Yeah, I was hoping to just pretend that didn’t happen.”

I snort. “Yeah? Not an option.”

He rubs a hand over his face. “As much as I hate to admit it… there’s something there.”

I raise an eyebrow. “Between you and Ash? I didn’t know you swung that way.”

“Between them,” he corrects. “I’ve spent the last few days around him, and he’s not as bad as I thought. Don’t get me wrong, he’s still a weirdo from the city, but… he cares about her.”

I let that settle for a second.

I don’t know that I like Ash. But I saw the way he looked at her and the way she looked at him. And I can’t ignore that.

“So what? We just roll with it?” I ask.

Rowan exhales. “We let her wake up and make the decision.”

“Fair.”

He shifts slightly, wincing as he’s still locked inside her. “Think you can grill something for lunch? I’m kinda stuck here.”

I huff out a laugh, pushing to my feet. “Yeah, sure. You want anything specific?”