Page 78 of Knot the Last Chapter

Chapter forty-five

Rhys

Lila is curled up against me, bare skin damp and dewy from exertion, her soft breaths ghosting over my chest in a slow, warm rhythm. Her hair is tangled and damp at her temples, strands clinging to flushed cheeks. My knot is still seated deep inside her, locked in place by instinct and biology, pulsing in quiet rhythm with the heat of her body. The feel of her wrapped around me is exquisite—not just physically, but emotionally. She trusted me. She let go with me. She let me guide her through something that had terrified her.

Her scent lingers thick in the air—sweet, rich, spiced like honeyed ginger and warm vanilla—and I breathe it in like a man starved. It fills every breath, clings to my skin, coats my lungs. It's the scent of surrender, of heat and pleasure and trust. I’m getting to know all her scents, and how perfectly scent matched she is to me. To all of us.

My arm curls protectively around her waist, anchoring her to me even though she’s half-asleep, barely stirring. I don’t want to let her go. She’s still glowing, that soft, radiant sheen that speaks of satisfaction and emotional peace. The frantic edge of herearlier desperation is gone, replaced with something soft. Quiet. Deep.

And gods, she’s beautiful.

Her fingers draw lazy circles on my arm, her body a furnace against mine. Her legs are tangled with mine beneath the heavy quilts we’d tugged over ourselves earlier, and even though my knot is still keeping us connected, I feel more bonded to her in the quiet now than in the peak of her cries.

I lower my head to brush a kiss across her crown, lips pressed into her hairline, and murmur softly to her.

“You doing okay?”

She shifts slightly, breath sighing out like a wave retreating from shore. “Mmm… more than okay.”

Her voice is slow and dreamy, thick with satisfaction. Her eyes blink open lazily, heavy-lidded, and she gives me a small smile—unpolished and real.

“I didn’t hurt you?” I ask, brushing a thumb over her cheekbone.

She nestles deeper against me, her voice barely audible. “No. You made me feel… good. Whole. Like I belonged somewhere.”

My chest tightens around the ache of emotion rising there. I press another kiss to her forehead and gather the blankets closer around us. Her skin is so soft beneath my palm, warm and silken and mine. I tuck her in tighter.

“I’ve got you, sweet omega,” I whisper, and mean it with every fiber of my being.

She hums, comforted, and my heart nearly breaks from the tenderness of it.

The basement is cocooned in quiet now. The storm outside has calmed, reduced to the occasional tap of rain against the window glass and the low sigh of wind through old trees. Inside, it's all warmth. Dim lamplight paints soft gold across the floor. The surrounding nest is thick and padded with blankets, fleeces, andworn clothes soaked in our scents. We made this space safe. A sanctuary.

She shifts a little and I feel the pull on my knot. I wince, not from pain but from instinctive awareness, and she lets out a small gasp, then goes still.

“Sorry,” she murmurs, her cheeks darkening in embarrassment.

“Don’t be,” I say softly, stroking her hip in slow, soothing circles. “Still locked. Just give it a little more time.”

She buries her face in my chest. “This is so… intense. I feel everything.”

I chuckle low in my throat. “Yeah. Heat does that. But you’re doing amazing.”

She peeks up at me with half-lidded eyes, lashes wet and clinging together. “Are you always this gentle?”

My laugh is quieter this time, a breath and a smile. “No. Not always. But with someone I care about? Absolutely.”

Something unreadable flickers behind her gaze. Vulnerability. Wonder. She reaches up to trace her fingertips across my collarbone, then down over my chest.

“You don’t have to be perfect, you know,” she says. “I like you like this. Soft. Strong.”

My throat goes tight. I don’t speak. I just kiss her—slow and lingering—because I don’t have the words to match the swell in my chest.

“I never thought my first heat would be like this,” she whispers when we part.

“Overwhelming?”

She nods. “But I always thought it would be scary. But not with you. You made me feel… safe. And wanted.”

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