Page 48 of Knot Now Knot Ever

“Our ride’s here whenever you’re ready, angel,” I shared, tucking away my phone.

Lyra was dressed and had finished throwing her hair up in a messy bun still damp since she decided to let it air dry. “Perfect timing. Do we need to pick up anything along the way? I don’t have a whole lot of snacks and things back at the apartment.”

“Nah, I have a whole box of popcorn for us to make and planned to order pizza if you’re okay with that,” I said, looping my arm through hers, feeling the need to be close. “Is there anything you want to stop and get?”

“Nope, pizza sounds perfect, and you have the popcorn,” Lyra answered.

We waved goodbye to Alma as we passed the front desk, and she smiled and waved back. The Oasis truly made an effort to hire top-notch people. So much so they’d convinced my angel to come back and possibly make this a regular thing. None of the others in our pack were much for the spa life, but none of that mattered now I had Lyra.

Wade was out front with the car door open, waiting for us. Lyra didn’t seem to find this odd, but something felt off. There was a slight look of worry on Wade’s face which had me looking around as Lyra got in. A flash caught my eye from across the street, drawing my attention to a man holding a camera and appearing to be taking pictures of us.

“Mr. Fawn, I need you to get in the car,” Wade instructed.

“Is he the only one?” I asked, turning my gaze on him.

“No, there are more, but they haven’t realized I’m here to pick you up. Which is why I need you to get in the car,” Wade said again, this time more insistent.

Not wanting to spoil the lovely day we’d been having, I got in and didn’t say a word to Lyra about the reporter. She smiled and snuggled against me, threading her fingers through mine before resting her head on my shoulder.

“I don’t think I realized how much I needed a day to pamper myself.” Lyra sighed. “Since I left my previous pack, I’ve been so focused on moving forward and ignoring everything else, afraid if I stopped, I’d fall to pieces.”

Nuzzling my cheek against her hair, I breathed in her soft lily scent mixed with the rich notes of Earl Grey. The combination made me want to curl up with a blanket and read a book while sipping piping hot tea. It was a scent that would soothe your soul and offer comfort like nothing had before.

“Well, if you ever do end up falling to pieces, now you’ll have a pack to be there to help you put yourself back together,” I added, kissing the top of her head when she hummed her agreement. “Hey, I just wanted to check with you… my plan for movies to watch had been raunchy romances like Magic Mike and 365 Days. After what happened at the spa, I wasn’t sure if that was still a good plan.”

Lyra didn’t answer right away but chose to sit up and face me. “Let me ask you something first.” I nodded for her to continue when she paused, curious as to what this question was. “If things between us get hot and heavy again, do you want to go all the way? I know we haven’t known each other long, and I don’t want to assume⁠—”

I slapped a hand over her mouth, cutting off her next words. The action had been a little more aggressive than I’d meant it to be. “Sorry,” I mumbled, shifting my hand to cup her cheek. “I didn’t mean to get that overzealous, but I couldn’t let you continue down that road of thinking I didn’t let things go any further because of where we were, not because I didn’t want you. Lyra, the second I think about getting you naked so I can learn every part of your body, my dick is so fucking hard. You’ve unlocked feelings in me that I’ve never felt with another person. I can’t wait to take this next step and build a deeper connection with you. However, I feel like it’s only fair to warn you that once we cross this line, I won’t ever be able to go back, and I don’t think you will either.”

“All right, then I say let’s watch whatever the hell we want and throw caution to the wind,” Lyra decided, grinning at me.

Instantly, my mind went back to the moment after our massage, bodies pressed together, and how fucking amazing she felt. I slowly reached out and brushed my fingers over the hickey I’d left on her neck, and an overwhelming sense of satisfaction welled up in me. Was this how my Alphas felt when they saw their marks on me? If so, it made sense why they liked to lavish so much attention on that spot, driving me crazy. Both Tanner and Zachary loved to get me to orgasm, only using my bonding mark as stimulation. The bastards got me every time, but holy hell, they were some of the best climaxes I could remember.

“Could it be that you have a wild streak in you, angel?” I teased, nuzzling a kiss to her lips. “I think we might need to explore this a little more, just to be sure.”

That had Lyra laughing, a sound I was quickly growing to love and didn’t hear nearly enough. When we arrived at her apartment, Wade got out, and I watched him scan the area. I understood his caution, but how would the media know Lyra and I had gone to the spa? It had been planned fairly last minute, and the staff would never divulge that kind of information to the media. Things appeared to be fine, but I didn’t let Lyra linger out front, playfully dragging her into the building.

“Welcome back, Miss Lyra,” the doorman greeted with a wave.

“Hi, Lewis,” Lyra said, waving back, then paused. “Lewis, how do I add people to a list so they can come up to my apartment anytime?”

“Give me a moment, and I’ll grab that sheet for you. All you need to do is fill it out and hand it back to me,” Lewis explained as he headed for the small desk near the front doors and pulled a form out of a file. “Here we are.”

“Thanks, and I really appreciate you helping Fawn this morning,” she shared and gave the man another wave as we headed for the elevators.

Once we were alone and heading up to her floor, I asked the question that had been burning on the tip of my tongue. “Are you not planning to move in with us?” I blurted.

Lyra looked up from the form and blinked at me. “Oh…”

“Oh? Did you really think you’d continue to live here after courting leave was over?” I questioned.

“Honestly, I have no idea,” she admitted. “I just can’t seem to wrap my head around the fact things are happening so fast. It took months before I moved in with my previous pack. How could we possibly be ready to combine our lives in a fraction of the time?”

I was dumbfounded by her answer. “Lyra, you won’t have a choice. If you’re truly teetering on the edge of a heat, and your Alphas help you through it, there’s no going back. The withdrawal alone could kill you if you tried to continue living separately. Haven’t you ever wondered why most Omegas bond so quickly after meeting their Alphas?”

The doors opened, and we silently headed down the hall to her apartment. How we’d all missed the fact that, in Lyra’s mind, she wasn’t moving in was beyond me. Then again, I don’t know any Omegas who had actively been avoiding finding her scent matches. Could it be the progress I believed we’d been making wasn’t as much as I’d thought?

She unlocked the door and let us in, only for us to stop in our tracks at the two beautiful bouquets of flowers sitting on the counter. One was made up of light pink lilies, white roses, eucalyptus, and lamb’s ear, pulling together a combination of beauty, grace, and elegance. The other bouquet was full of giant puffy pink peonies, purple hydrangeas, and baby’s breath, creating a flower explosion that made you smile.