I hum. "I’ve spent half my life wanting to see you like this."
She lets out a breath, her gaze heavy as she pulls me closer. The flickering light of the TV shows the flush on her skin.
I grin. "I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere."
Sliding two fingers into her opening, I curl them and press up into her G-spot. I watch the way her eyes flutter shut and her mouth opens as the pleasure builds. I move my hand in a steady rhythm, my fingers sliding in and out of her heat. She arches her back, her hands gripping my shoulders as her breath hitches.
"Look at me, Zora."
Her brown eyes meet mine as I pump my fingers faster. I want her to know it is me giving her this pleasure. Her lips part as her walls flutter around my fingers and her back arches more. "Fuck, Theo. I’m coming!"
I groan as her passage squeezes my fingers with a rush of slick. Pulling my fingers out, I suck them clean as I watch her come down from the orgasm. She watches me with a look I can't name. I move between her legs and take hold of my dick, tapping the head against her clit. I run it along her slit to find the entrance. I push in an inch then stop, drawing out the friction, wanting herto relish every inch. I edge in deeper, my eyes locked on hers. She is tight and hot. Her muscles clamp around me as I bottom out.
I take my time setting a pace. I pull out and thrust back in. It is a slow, deep slide. I’m not trying to win a race. I lift her good leg to go around my waist, keeping her injured one flat and safe on the cushions. My free arm uses the armrest behind her head to brace my weight.
The pressure begins at the base of my shaft where my knot forms. I slow my movements, edging the widening base into her entrance. Zora gasps, her eyes widen as it stretches her opening millimeter by millimeter, I push forward with a slow grind, forcing the swollen knot past her opening.
She lets out a choked sound, her hands finding my hair and pulling me down for a hard kiss. I seat the knot deep inside her, locking us together. We are locked. Her walls squeeze and pulse around my cock.
A pressure that has been waiting a lifetime to break builds in my chest. I watch Zora as she hits the peak again, her body reacting to the lock. Her back arches. Her chest heaves as she lets out a long cry. She shakes under me. Her release hits in waves, the muscles of her core clenching around the knot in a tight grip. I lose my hold a second later, my body tight as I come deep inside her.
I collapse against her, my face buried in her hair. The knot holds me inside her while the release fades.
Zora reaches up and runs her fingers through my hair. She pulls my head back so she can look at me. Her tears gather in her the corners of her eyes.
I frown.“What’s wrong? Did I hurt your ankle?”
She shakes her head as a smile tugs at the corner of her lips. "Theo."
"Yeah?"
She runs her thumb over my cheek. "I’m in love with you too."
I freeze. I’ve wanted to hear her say that for so long.
"I’ve known it for a while. But I needed to find it on my own. I needed to know it wasn't just the bond or the situation. I needed to see you like this. Thank you for giving me the time."
I lean down and kiss her forehead. “I’m sorry that we unknowingly took your free will away, but I’m glad over the last few weeks we’ve been able to restore it and your faith in us. I will always love you.”
Iadjustmyglassesand lift another crate of pediatric trauma kits onto the stainless steel counter. The medical wing of the Sunflower Center is finally starting to look like a real clinic instead of a construction site. It smells like fresh paint and the heavy scent of the lavender cleaner Zora insisted on using for the lobby. Six months of work are finally coming to a point where I can see the finish line. I glance over at Zora as she tears open a box of thermometers. She moves with a focused energy that makes the gold-blonde puffs of her hair bounce with every motion.
We have spent every day for the last two weeks in this room together. She has moved past the cold silence that defined our first few months, but there is still a wall between us that I can’t seem to scale. Dameon and Theo have already found their way back into her good graces. She still looks at me with a flicker of hesitation. I understand it because I’m the doctor who should have known better than to mess with her autonomy.
I set the trauma kits in a neat row on the shelf. "The delivery for the oxygen tanks should be here by three. I want to make surethe brackets are secure before they arrive."
Zora doesn't look up from her task, her fingers moving quickly as she sorts the digital thermometers into their charging docks. "I already checked the schedule. The technician said he might be early if the traffic downtown stays light."
I watch the way her shoulders stay tight. Her silk shirt is a soft shade of cream that makes her skin look even warmer under the fluorescent lights. She is always put together, even when we are doing manual labor in a humid building. I want to reach out and touch the spot between her shoulder blades to see if I can make her relax. I stay where I am instead. "You have done an incredible job with the layout, Zo. This place is going to save lives before the first month is even over."
She pauses for a second, her hand hovering over a plastic tray. "I hope so. It feels like a lot of pressure to get everything perfect."
I walk over to the sink to wash my hands, the sound of the running water filling the small exam room. The silence between us crackles, but today it is thinner. I can feel her watching me when I turn my back. She has admitted she can tell us apart now based on our Alpha pheromones, but I try to stay consistent in my appearance for her.
Zora walks over to the desk in the corner and picks up a thick stack of folders. Her expression shifts into something more somber. "I spent all morning going through the preliminary placement files. The social workers sent over thirty more names today."
I dry my hands and lean against the counter, giving her my full attention. This is the part of the project that usually keeps her up until three in the morning. "That is a lot for one intake cycle. How many beds do we have left in the first wing?"
She flips through the pages, her eyes scanning the bios. "There are only twelve spots left for the initial opening. I haveforty-two children on this list who are currently in high-risk environments."
