Page 66 of Ruin Me Knot
I melt under the weight of his tenderness. Everything else falls away. The fear. The shame. Every lesson burned into my skin. There is only his gentle mouth and my hungry heart, and the beautiful, earth-shaking truth that I said yes.
That I can want.
That I stilldo.
Both a revelation and a shock.
The front door clicks open, heavy footfalls on tile. The moment shivers. I break from Ronan’s kiss to see Gabriel standing in the entry, his gaze locked on us tangled in the nest. His eyes crinkle at the corners, golden and wicked. "Don’tstop on my behalf. That’s a damn nice sight to come home to. I could get used to it."
Ronan traces my jaw with his thumb, his smile lazy and slow-blooming. "I could get used to it too."
There’s a pause in me, an old reflex, the place where shame and survival always jabs me in the ribs, but the kick doesn’t come. There’s just…space. Something easier. I don’t understand it, not really, but it holds. Then the air is full of a warm, rich sugar. Gabriel grins wider and lifts the box, bright with bakery wrap. "Breakfast, Sweetheart. You hungry? I thought you might like to try some pastries from my favorite bakery."
Jax erupts from the nest in a tangle of limbs and strides into the kitchen. "Coffee’s on me!"
Broad shoulders taper to a narrow waist, every step sending muscle rippling across his back, the flex and bunch of thigh and calf a living study in power and animal grace. The curve of his ass is high and tight, thighs dusted with dark hair, feet silent on the cold floor.
This scene is so warm. So domestic. Normal. A scene I’ve dreamed about for years when all I had was concrete and bars.
Ronan tilts my chin, and his scent rolls over me, stealing my attention. "I enjoyed our kiss, Kitten. Anytime you want another, you only have to ask."
Desire unfurls alive inside me, and I almost ask for his mouth again, but Gabriel’s voice breaks in, curious and bright. "Wait. Did you… Did you ask Ronan to kiss you?"
"She did," Ronan says, and the satisfaction in his voice is a purr all its own.
Sunshine cracks open in the way Gabriel’s face lights up. Pure joy, and then mischief slides in. "Well, well. Tell me, Sweetheart, you gonna ask me for a kiss, too? I’m willing to sacrifice these lips any time you’re in need." His tone is all tease, but the wanting in it is real and my stomach somersaults.
"More than your lips will be sacrificed if you ever ask our Omega for something she doesn’t want to give." Jax leans against the counter and crosses his arm over his chest. He’s either not bothered with his nudity, or he just doesn't care.
I have to wrench my gaze off the thick, heavy cock lying between his muscular thighs to Gabriel when he speaks. "I’m not the one standing in the kitchen with my dick hanging out, brother. I’d say that’s a much better sacrifice than my lips."
A startled sound bursts out of me before I can stifle it and suddenly all three Alphas are looking at me and I’m under the scrutiny of three sets of eyes that miss nothing.
Gabriel’s smile gentles as he approaches the nest. "I was going to put these away for later, but…Why don’t we eat in your nest? What do you say?"
Another offer. Giving me another choice.
Anxiety prickles under my skin at the thought of crumbs in my nest but that urge dies quick and small next to the bigger truth: I don’t want to move. I want to stay where our scents are thick, and Ronan’s body is so warm.
"I… I want to stay here," I say.
Gabriel’s smile widens. "Nest it is, then."
He kicks off his boots, sending them thudding against the wall, and vaults over the back of the couch with a kind of showy grace that makes the cushioning bounce. Ronan eases me upright, so I’m bracketed between his thick, warm thighs. He drapes a heavy throw over my torso, tucking it close around my shoulders.
A delicious fragrance wafts over me, unrelated to the pastries, and I can’t help but bring the edge of the blanket to my nose and inhale. The material saturated with our essences, and an alchemy of comfort pours through me.
Everything about this set up should unnerve me. The blanket, the nest, their bare skin pressed alongside mine, the way they look at me with hunger and hope. I’m braced for the trap, but it doesn’t come.
"Why isn’t this terrifying me?" I gasp when I realize I’ve spoken out loud.
Ronan’s biceps jump. "Means you’re starting to listen to your instincts, Kitten."
I want to believe him, but uncertainty crackles in my chest as the familiar fear bleeds back in.
Ronan kisses my temple. "Good Omega." And now I’m oozing in warmth.
Jax bustles over with a tray filled with clean plates, the coffee pot and mugs enough for all of us before he climbs into the nest and my mind blanks at the sight of all that velvet skin on display.
