Page 74 of Her Knotty Alphas

The guys continue ribbing each other for a bit, until Noah picks the winner of his hand, declaring that "my asshole packmate" is clearly the best way to answer, "reason why my boss hates me."

"Yes!" Charlie pumps his fist.

"How…am I the asshole packmate since your boss is my brother?" Enzo's brow furrows.

Austin barks a laugh, and Noah throws up his hands. "Damn. No matter what I do I suck at this game. I just picked it because I thought it was Hannah's answer."

Charlie looks at Noah impatiently. "What do I take off, man?"

Noah rolls his eyes. "I don't know. Your shirt, I guess. I really don't care."

Charlie freezes like he just realized something, and stammers. "I uh…how about my other sock?"

Noah's eyes widen, but then he grins and crosses his arms. "Nope. I'm the moderator and I say take off your shirt."

My brow furrows as I look between the two of them. "Why don't you want to take off your shirt?" Now that I think about it, Charlie's the only one who doesn't walk around shirtless.

"I…ah…I didn't think about how I was going to show you this…later." He grimaces as he starts to pull off his shirt, and…

"Oh my gods," I gasp, getting on my knees and basically crawling towards him and his exposed chest. On his pec, right over his heart. My fingers trail over the inked skin, tears stinging my eyes as I take in the beautiful image. It's a magpie. Wings spread out in flight, a strand of pearls clutched in its beak and draped over its neck, a full moon behind it. The ink is bright and fresh. "Charlie…when did you get this?"

"The same day as Titus' party. I…"

"Saw Ollie for a tattoo," I murmur, remembering how Ollie told me about how he met Charlie. "This was the tattoo?"

His throat bobs as he watches me. Waiting for my reaction. "It was."

"You got it…before you even saw me?" Tears well in my eyes. This is so much…more than getting something like my name tattooed on him. This is…this is…

"I did," he chokes out, placing his hands over mine, which I now realize are just resting on his chest.

I could sense the truth in his words before, when he told me that he never stopped loving me. Never stopped waiting for me. But seeing it, inked on his skin…I can feel it in mysoul.

My eyes find his, and it's like I'm swimming in pools of blue. "I love you too, Golden Boy. I never stopped either, even when I thought the worst. It's always been you."

When his arms wrap around my back and I feel his bare skin on mine, goosebumps break out, and when his lips meet mine in a deep, passionate kiss. My arms link behind his neck, pushing my body against his, and when he shifts us so I'm laying on the ground the rest of the guys let out sounds of protest causing us to break apart to witness the source of discontent.

"Hey! The game!" Austin grumbles, but I can see a little smile pulling at his lips.

"Whatever, you were losing anyway." Noah rolls his eyes, and I bark a laugh. Charlie kisses me once more before rolling off me.

"I guess the living room wasn't the best place for that revelation." He grins sheepishly.

"You won't find me complaining," I purr.

But we continue the game regardless, and Enzo ends up winning, standing before us naked in all his glory.

Ho-ly shit.

"You've got a little bit of drool right there, princess," Noah teases, pretending to wipe my chin.

"Our omega can stare at me as long as she wants," Enzo arches a brow. "But the rest of you? My eyes are up here, pups."

"Okay, now, Enzo, you need to...run through the backyard." I can hardly keep the maniacal giggle from my voice.

Enzo's brows shoot up. "What?!"

"Hey, I said whoever loses all their clothes will be the winner and entitled to a bit of fun. I never specified what that fun would entail." I suppress a grin, putting on a serious face. "You should have read the fine print, Enzo."

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