Page 78 of Chain Me Knot

The truth of our situation floods me with heavy unease because Phoenix and I weren't simply walking the beach. We escaped reality for a fleeting hour and now, returning to the stark reminder etched onto their worried faces, I'm forced to remember exactly why we're here.

It's a sobering return to reality.

Asher’s dark gaze lifts from his laptop, settling on me. He rises from the kitchen table to step toward me.

The bond between us remains wide open and my heart skips at the deliberate flow of emotion as he lays himself bare for me. Warm, unguarded affection andrelief that I’ve returned safe, serious determination tangled gently with fierce protectiveness, and underneath it all a deep, aching longing, pure want and tender affection. Gone is the recrimination he let me feel for so long. What I read from him is no less forceful, but it affects me just as deeply.

His bond is nothing like the bonds Pack Carmichael forced on me. On the beach, I hadn't even realized their darkness was silenced by the quiet companionship with Phoenix, the joy of finding shells, sunlight soaking my skin and the cool rhythm of seawater caressing the shore.

And now, as Asher stands before me, they’re only an annoying hiss in the background. The honesty and potency of his emotions exist on an entirely different frequency, powerful and meaningful enough to drown them out.

Asher’s slow smile melts me. Delicious heat pools low in my belly and a warm and inviting tension blooms through my chest. My body heats, awareness sharpening into desire at just how good he looks smiling at me that way. The knot of longing I carried on the beach tightens, rebounding intensely when his gaze meets mine, a powerful and irresistible magnet.

My scent flares, wild, honeysuckle heavy and rich, threaded with the heady musk of my desire. I’ve never perfumed quite this way before. Not even when my heat came on me with Pack Carmichael. This is so muchmore. More complex. Deeper. Richer. More everything. My cheeks flame but Asher gently plucks the jar of shells from my fingers and places it on the counter.

“Don't, Emma. Don’t be embarrassed.” His voice wraps around me, and I tumble into that velvet softness. “It means everything to scent you this way.”

Asher's scent is earthy, powerful, masculine; but instead of twisting something inside me into nausea, it gently slips beneath my skin, flowing deep and slow until warm and soothing pleasure tingles along every nerve. It's the gentlest caress, inherently protective, breathtakingly intimate and something inside me unlocks.

I want to scent him.

I crave every molecule of the rich fragrance he offers me.

Rich smoky whiskey woven with warm, reassuring leather winds round me, drawing me to him and I’m powerless to stop the insistent tug.

I don’t want to.

I lean toward him, skin tingling with desperate, urgent hunger.

His large palms come up, his knuckle lifting my chin. His thumb strokes my jaw, leaving tingles. He gazes down at me and I’m struck with the full force of his desire.

“May I kiss you, Omega?” His breath fans over my lips, ghosting where I want to feel the real thing.

Heat races under my skin, spreading through me until I ache. There is only one answer I can give. One answer Iwantto give. “Yes please, Alpha.”

His gaze rakes over my face, checking my expression for I-don’t-know-what, but when his gaze locks on mine once more, it smolders. “As you wish, Omega.”

His mouth descends. Soft warmth brushes the corner of my lips, a tender exploration edged with agonizing restraint. I sigh into his kiss, the aching sweetness unbearable as the tentative caress deepens and…

I…

Ignite.

His lips fit so perfectly against mine.

I never knew a kiss could make my heart race, but ithammersagainst my ribs. Every lingering thought about anything that ever entered my head disappears except for the sensation of his mouth coaxing me into deepening the contact. It’s tender. Respectful. Searing.

Reckless need coils in the pit of my belly, hot and demanding.

More. I need more.

I’ve never felt this way before. This is overwhelming. Monumental. And…I don’t ever want it to stop. It feels too good.

My fingers tangle in his shirt. I press my breasts against the solid planes of his chest, molding against him, sighing as a delicious tingle sears a path through me. He slides his tongue against mine and I’m hit in the back of the throat withwhiskey burn.

I crave. His touch. His taste. I want to lose myself in him.

Desire crackles through me with each stroke of his tongue along my lips. I'm gladly drowning in sensation, needing him so fiercely I tremble, flushed, panting softly against the mouth that worships me.

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