Page 83 of Ruin Me Knot
My cock is diamond hard, my balls throbbing with a head-pounding heartbeat. The urge to mark her, to make her mine, claws at my jaw. I fight every primitive instinct demanding I claim her, to bury my teeth in her skin and bond us together so her pain can be mine.
The door beyond the plastic screen opens with a hiss of hydraulics.
All my attention snaps from Leah’s suffering to the figure in full hazmat gear stepping through the doorway as though he owns the place. My hackles rise instantly. He’s Beta-sized. For a split second I convince myself to calm, but his attention locks straight onto Leah. My grip tightens as I twist, shielding her with my body, turning so only my back is visible.
Jax is off the bed, a snarl already tearing up his throat. Ronan’s even faster, putting himself between me and the Beta, every muscle in his body a carved threat.
"Get your eyes off her and get the fuck out of here. You come another step closer, I’ll rip your fucking throat out." Ronan’s voice hits the room like a landslide.
The urge to tear the Beta’s head off roars through me. If that Beta so much as breathes wrong, if he even thinks about stepping further into this room, we’ll annihilate him. The air vibrates with the charge of three Alphas on the edge, every one of us riding the fine line between self-control and slaughter.
Why the hells Adrian would send a Beta in here now, when our Omega is nearly out of her mind with heat, I can’t fathom. It’s a senseless move I wouldn’t expect from an Alpha who knows better.
The Beta shakes, tray rattling in his hands. "I… I have the syringe. Adrian said you needed a draw—"
"Leave it on the table and fuck off." Ronan’s command cracks like a whip.
The Beta nods so frantically his visor fogs. "Yes, Alpha. Sorry." He sets the tray on a side table and stumbles out. The door closes behind him with a quiet hiss.
Leah’s whimper is a tiny, torn thing. Unbearable because her suffering is real and I can’t chase it away. My focus snaps back to her. She blinks up at me. Beneath the fever-glaze, for a moment, awareness sharpens her gaze.
"What’s happening?" Her voice is cracked. Vulnerable. Her Kitten claws stripped off her.
"A Beta just came in, Sweetheart. Gave us what we need to draw your blood. We have to make sure you’re okay." I want to tell her not to worry, but that’s not the world we live in. I must hurt her just a little to protect her so much more.
Her lips tremble and her forehead crumples. Her breath shakes in and out. She’s barely holding herself together. Hells, I know how much this affects her. Her small hands clench on my shoulders. "I’m scared, Gabriel."
The words tear me open. So raw and trusting, and it shatters me how vulnerable she is when she’s usually all spit and sizzle trying to protect herself. I press my lips to her hairline, try to pour courage into her through touch. "I know, Leah. I hate that you must do this. But I promise we’re not leaving you for a moment."
Ronan and Jax climb onto the mattress and box her in. Jax kisses her shoulder and drapes his arm around her waist as he breaks out in a soothing purr. "We’re here, Sunshine. If they could use my blood, I’d let them drain me so you wouldn’t have to face another needle for the rest of your life."
Her eyes shut and she drags in a breath. "I know."
For one long, aching second I think she’ll shut down again and hide in that shell she built to survive, but then she lifts her gaze to me and gives the smallest nod.
Gods, that small movement destroys me. This battered Omega who has stared down hell more times than seems survivable is still here. Still saying yes to the hard things. I’ve never loved anyone the way I love her in this moment.
I glide my fingertips across her flushed cheek. "We’ll make it quick, then it’s done. You’re the bravest person I’ve ever seen."
Ronan brings the tray over while Jax draws Leah against his chest and makes her as comfortable as he can. I ready the needle, hands steady despite the ache in my chest.
"Squeeze Jax’s hand as tight as you need." The sting as I pierce her flesh cuts through me, and I do the procedure as fast as I can. She’s so still, trusting, not moving once. I cap the vial and press a wad of cotton over the small wound.
Ronan takes the sample and moves to the wall speaker. "We’ve done the draw. Someone other than that Beta you sent can collect it."
There’s a brief, stunned silence across the speaker before Adrian speaks. "No one had my permission to enter your room." His tones turns to steel. "There’s a slot in the door. Put everything there and I’ll retrieve it myself. I’ll deal with whoever thought they could disobey my order."
Unease ripples through all of us but then Leah lets out a whimper. Her skin is blazing, her perfume tightening to a musky tang and when I peer back down at her, her eyes are glazed over. She burrows against me, "Please, Alpha."
Every protective urge riots in my chest. "I’ve got you, Sweetheart. We’ll take care of everything."
Leah turns her face up to mine, eyes gleaming. "Gabriel. Alpha," she breathes, and the sound is a broken plea. "Please. Kiss me. I need you. Need your cock, your knot. Please, Alpha, please—"
My body stutters, torn between hunger and reverence. She’s asking. Not just surrendering to heat but choosing me. Me. "You can have any part of me, Leah. Whatever you want. My mouth, my knot, my soul. You never have to ask what is freely given."
Leah’s answer is pure instinct and will. With a delicate growl, she surges up, mouth smashing into mine, lips hot and insistent, tasting of desperation and salt and the sparkling edge of hope. Her hands fist in my hair as she drinks me in, kiss deepening, tongue sliding over mine with such frantic longing I nearly forget the lines between gentleness and the hunger I swore I’d hold.
She makes little whimpers into my mouth, directing our kiss with desperate intensity. She clambers onto my lap and plants herself over me, pinning me backagainst the headboard with surprising strength, keeping her lips locked on mine. Her hips grind, slick scorching my thighs and abdomen as she straddles me. The fever of her skin, the tremor in her limbs, the winnowing press of her body shatters any restraint left in my bones. She breaks the kiss, forehead to mine, breath mingling.
