The sentiment settles somewhere deep in my chest, but my gaze drifts to the enormous circular bed. It has a sturdy hardwood frame that rises into a four-poster canopy, and is dressed in oatmeal, sage, and chocolate bed linens, topped with silk cushions and fuzzy throws. It’s the most decadent bed I’ve ever seen, and I drift towards it like a honeybee to its favorite flower.
“It smells like Tristan,” I murmur, leaning down to press my face into a soft cushion in green velvet. “God, now I’m craving apple pie and a peppermint mocha.”
“That can be arranged.” I want to return his smile, but the air is too charged between us, and his eyes darken as I clutch the pillow to my chest. “He's definitely going to be a little green that he didn’t get to show you the room himself.”
“I want him here,” I say softly, “but I’m glad it’s you.”
It’s the closest I can come to declaring my feelings, but Otley looks like I’ve just handed him something precious. He steps closer, his eyes never leaving mine as he brushes the hair back off my face. He studies Logan’s mating bite for a moment, then gently traces my cheekbones, my chin, and the small indent under my lips. I lean into his touch, my breath caught in my throat as his other hand encircles my waist.
“Do you want me to stop?” he asks, looking down at the cushion I’m still clutching to my chest. “Because once I get you naked, not even the sheriff walking in here is going to distract me.”
The look in his eyes sets fire to the floorboards under my feet, burning up my thighs to settle in my aching core. “I remember what you were like, during my heat. I liked that you were so focused and intense. I don’t think you looked away from me once.”
Otley’s expression morphs into something harder, hungrier, but hestilldoesn’t reach for me. “I never want to hurt or frighten you, Lily.”
“I know, but I feel like I’m going to fly out of my skin.” I gesture towards the captivating view through the window. Soaring mountains, picture-perfect lake. It’s like a postcard from a place I never thought I’d get to visit in my life. “Everything’s changed, hasn’t it?”
He doesn’t even glance at the view, and when his pheromones touch me, it’s like sun-warmed cherries in a bowl of melting ice cream. “Places change. People evolve. But some things are still the same.”
And they are. Like the soul-deep attraction that I felt when I first saw him and the way he watches me, as if his hands’ only purpose is to touch me. “I like that you’re always in control,” I admit, leaning against the bedpost. “During my heat, you knew what you wanted, and you didn’t hesitate to give me what I needed.”
He finally fills the space between us, his fingers wrapping carefully around the side of my throat. “I just want to warn you; I haven’t mellowed with age.”
“Good.” His hand tightens, his eyes pinpoints of silver light. “I want you to ground me, Alpha, so you’re the only thing in my head.”
A low, primal rumble greets my words. “Then get in the nest, Omega, and let me take care of you.”
When I asked him to ground me, I didn’t mean literally, but Otley goes into the walk-in closet, returning with a bunch of silk ties over his arm. I watch, breathless, as he loops one around a canopy pillar and ties it off, then crooks a finger in my direction.
“That’s not really the knot I had in mind.”
My voice sounds shaky with nervous arousal, but he doesn’t smile as he reaches for my hand, stroking the soft skin of my inner wrist. “You’ll like these ones,” he promises, the thrum of his voice resonating in my belly. “You just need to trust me, Lily, and I’ll take care of everything.”
Idotrust him, but I’m too overwhelmed to admit it, and he pauses as he knots the tie on my wrist. “What do you need?”
So,somany things, but I shake my head. “Leo? Is he…? I should check that he’s okay.”
He presses his thumb over my wrist, taking his phone from his pocket and quickly dialing a number. “George, just checking on the boys.” He listens for a moment and then relays to me, “They’re with Zander in the stables, settling the horses in. If you’re okay with it, George wants to take them down to the lake to swim when they’re done.”
I nod mutely, because I’m pretty sure Leo is walking on cloud nine right now, especially with two real-life cowboys for company.
Otley passes on my permission, then taps the phone in his hand. “What about Logan? He and Tris can’t be more than a couple of hours away, if you want to wait.”
I glare at him, because waiting would be the opposite of giving me what I want right now. And besides, Logan and I have already discussed this. Pack means safety and security in his eyes, plus he knows that Tristan is already a done deal for me.
When I shake my head, Otley places the phone on the nightstand, still within easy reach. Assuming my hands aren’t tied to the bedposts, at least. “You might not be able to answer it, but you want to call someone, I’ll make it happen.”
I nod again, because the message is clear. Otley is in charge now, and I just need to settle back and let him take care of everything.
“My biggest regret,” he says quietly as he loops the next tie around my wrist, “is that I didn’t listen to my instincts when we met.”
It’s not what I’m expecting, and I look at him curiously. “What are your instincts telling you now?”
“That I’m a lucky bastard for being given a second chance.” He finishes securing the tie to the bedpost and tests the tension against my wrist. “Too tight?”
I give a small tug and lick my lips. “No. It’s fine.”
“Fine?”
