Page 76 of Knot in Bloom
“What?”
“To bite you.” The admission slips out before I can stop it. “Right here.” I press my lips to her pulse point, and she shivers beneath me. “I wanted to mark and claim you so badly it was making me shake.”
“So why didn’t you?” she whispers, tilting her head to give me better access.
“Because you deserve better than a claiming bite made in the heat of the moment,” I say, pulling back to look at her. “When I claim you, it’ll be because we’ve talked about what it means. About packs and futures and forever. Not because I got overwhelmed by instinct.”
The understanding in her eyes makes my chest tight with emotion. “You’re right. But the fact that you wanted to...”
“I wanted to more than I wanted my next breath.” The admission comes out raw, honest. “But I also want to do this right. You deserve to be courted properly, claimed properly when in heat.”
“What if I said I don’t care about proper?”
“I’d say you’re trying to kill me,” I gasp as she shifts beneath me again. “And that I love you too much to give you anything less than perfect.”
Instead of the claiming bite my instincts are demanding, I press gentle kisses to her throat, sucking lightly at her pulse point until she’s arching beneath me. The mark I leave is temporary, but it’s something.
“There,” I murmur against the small bruise blooming on her skin. “Something to remember tonight by.”
She touches the spot with wondering fingers. “It’s perfect.”
When my knot finally starts to soften, I’m almost reluctant to move. Being locked together like this has been the most intimate experience of my life—not just the physical connection, but the emotional vulnerability, the complete trust.
“I love you,” I say as I carefully slip free. “More than books, more than coffee, more than anything.”
“I love you too.” She pulls me down beside her, and I immediately gather her into my arms. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For being patient. For being gentle. For making everything I dreamed it could be.”
The possessive satisfaction that roars through me at those words is probably not entirely healthy, but I can’t bring myself to care. She chose me.
“I’m honored,” I say, and mean it completely. “I’m so honored, Sadie.”
As she drifts off in my arms, her scent warm with satisfaction and love, I stare up at the ceiling and try to process what just happened. I’m completely, utterly in love with Sadie Quinn. More than that—I want to build a life with her, want to give her everything she’s never had, want to be part of something bigger and more beautiful than I ever imagined.
Tomorrow we’ll figure out the logistics. How to navigate pack dynamics with Caleb and Reid, how to handle the festival pressure that we both completely forgot about, how to build the future we both want.
But tonight, I’m exactly where I belong. Holding the woman I love, breathing in her scent, feeling more complete than I ever thought possible.
This is what love feels like, I think as sleep pulls me under. Not just wanting someone, but being willing to wait for the perfect moment to claim them. Being willing to put their needs before your own desperate instincts.
Being willing to build something beautiful together, one careful moment at a time.
Chapter 21
Sadie
Iwake to the press of warm lips against my throat and the scent of cedar wrapping around me like a promise. For a moment I’m disoriented—my body feels different, claimed in ways that go deeper than skin. Then memory floods back and I’m melting into Levi’s gentle kiss.
“Morning, beautiful,” he murmurs against my pulse point, and the rough affection in his voice makes heat unfurl in my chest.
“Mmm.” I stretch beneath him, acutely aware of the pleasant ache between my thighs that speaks of last night’s thorough claiming. “What time is it?”
“Early. But I wanted to wake you properly.” His mouth finds that sensitive spot behind my ear that makes me arch against him. “Before I have to leave for the real world.”
The real world. Right. Friday morning means work, festival preparations, the careful balancing act we’re all still navigating. But right now, with Levi’s hands mapping my body like he’s memorizing every curve, reality feels very far away.
