"You existed." His voice is fierce, brooking no argument. "That's all you had to do. Just exist, and let us love you back."
I bury my face in his chest and let myself believe him.
DOMINIC
Phoenix is on me the second I enter the room.
She launches herself off the mattress and is across the room before I can blink. One minute, I see her flushed and rumpled in the center of the nest and in the next she's trying to climb a goddamn tree, legs wrapping around my waist, arms circling my neck, mouth finding the pulse point below my jaw. Her teeth scrape against my skin—not hard enough to break through, but close.So close.
"Dom." My name comes out as a whimper. "You're here."
"I'm here." My voice sounds like gravel. My hands find her waist automatically, steadying her against me even as every nerve ending fires at the contact. "How are you?—"
She bites my earlobe. Hard.
I stumble backward, hitting the wall with enough force to rattle the pictures hanging on either side. Phoenix doesn't seem to notice—or if she does, she doesn't care. Her hips rock against mine, seeking friction, and the thin cotton of my shorts does absolutely nothing to mask the heat of her or the wet slide of her arousal against my thigh.
"Phoenix, slow down?—"
Another bite. This one lands on my neck, right over my pulse, and the pressure makes my vision go white at the edges.
I cast a desperate glance toward the bed. "Little help here?"
Atticus doesn't move. Doesn't even lift his arm from his eyes. "I'll be right there." His voice is pure exhaustion, rough and slow. "Soon as I can feel my legs again. Give me a day or two."
I'd laugh if I thought he was joking.
Phoenix's mouth traces a wet path up my throat. Her fingers tangle in my hair, yanking my head back to give her better access. The strength in her grip—surprising for someone her size—sends a bolt of heat straight to my groin.
"Need you." The words are muffled against my skin. "Need younow."
"I know, sweetheart. I know." I try to guide her toward the bed, but she resists, tightening her grip around my waist. "Let's just get you somewhere more?—"
She bites me again.
Harder this time. Hard enough that I feel the skin give way, feel the hot rush of blood welling up under her teeth.
The bond slams into me like a freight train.
One second there's nothing—just the overwhelming pressure of her body against mine, her scent in my lungs, her taste on my tongue—and theneverything. Phoenix floods through the newly opened channel, raw and unfiltered. I feel her desperation, sharp as broken glass. Her need, deep enough to drown in. And underneath it all, a love so fierce it makes my eyes sting.
Mine.
The word tears through me, instinct obliterating everything resembling rational thought. She bit me. Sheclaimedme. My omega marked me as hers, and now I need?—
I need?—
I flip us.
Phoenix's back hits the wall with a thud that probably leaves a mark in the drywall. Her gasp cuts off as my mouth crashes into hers, tongue sweeping inside to taste the copper tang of my own blood. She moans against my lips, hips tilting up, and I reach down to yank her legs higher around my waist.
"Hold on." The words come out half-growl, barely human. I'm already shoving my shorts down, kicking them off, not bothering to be gentle. "Just hold on to me."
I sink into her in one brutal thrust.
Fuck.
She's so wet, so hot, so tight around me that I have to lock every muscle to keep from coming on the spot. Her walls clench rhythmically, pulling me deeper, and the sound she makes—this high, keening cry that punches straight through my chest—nearly undoes me completely.
