Page 71 of Knot Now Knot Ever

“I’m sorry I scared you,” I whispered, hugging him tightly with my free arm. “When things get too much for me, I either detach, trying to hide from a situation I don’t want to face, or spiral into a panic attack.”

Pascal kissed my forehead, drawing my attention. “We had you take one of your pills when you stopped responding to all of us. Is there anything else we need to do? Should we take you to the hospital or call your therapist?”

“Once the pill fully kicks in, all I’m going to do is sleep for a few hours. My head will be much clearer when I wake up, but for now, all I need is sleep,” I reassured Pascal.

“Do you want us to stick close while you rest, or is it better to give you space?” Tanner asked, peering over Pascal’s shoulder to look down at me.

“If it’s not too much trouble, I’d like to have you guys close by,” I requested. “You won’t have to worry about waking me. Those pills are pretty much a tranquilizer.”

Pascal settled me on the oversized chaise and tucked a blanket around me. Fawn curled up beside me, his head on my stomach and one leg tossed over mine. Zachary settled himself at the head of the chair so he could run his fingers through my hair while the guys turned on a sports channel. It wasn’t long before the medication kicked in, and I was dead to the world for roughly the next three hours.

When I woke up, I rubbed my sleep-crusted eyes and stretched, grimacing at the leaden way my body felt. The pills did wonders to stop my panic in its tracks, but the aftereffects never let me forget I’d been drugged. Yawning, I propped myself up on the pillows and found Eli was the only one with me in the living room. He’d been engrossed with something he’d been reading on his laptop but shut it when he realized I was awake.

Eli stood and joined me on the chaise, tracing my jaw with the softest touch. “I’m so sorry, Lyra. This is all my fault.”

Confused, I frowned. “How is this your fault?”

“None of this would be happening if I hadn’t done that press conference with Perry fucking Noble,” Eli said in a way that turned the name into sounding like a curse. “I exposed you and Fawn to those reporters when it’s my first priority to protect both of you over my own self-interests. I could have handled things differently in so many ways that wouldn’t have put a target on your back.”

The anguish on his face felt like a knife in my heart. Driven by the need to comfort my Alpha as well as myself, I straddled his legs before wrapping my arms around Eli’s neck. Our foreheads touched, and I could feel his breath on my skin, making me shiver.

“Eli, you’re forgetting I was standing right next to you through that entire interaction. I saw the masterful trap they set for you, backing us all into a corner. Either you talked to the press, or we ignored them, and Mr. Noble controlled the narrative,” I reminded him. “This isn’t your fault. All you ever wanted was to make sure a woman who hurt your family would be punished for the things she did. However, a powerful man twisted things, forcing you to cover his company’s ass.”

“If he’s not careful, he’ll soon force me to destroy his company,” Eli muttered. “I won’t stand idly by while people are spreading lies or sticking their noses into our private business, harming the two people I love with all my heart and soul.”

I pushed him back slightly so I could see his eyes. “Are you saying you love me?”

“My sweet, perfect petal, isn’t that obvious?” Eli asked, closing the gap to brush his lips against mine. “You’ve captivated me since the moment I found you sleeping on the office sofa. Every moment since then, I’ve only found more reasons to fall more in love with you, Lyra Clark.”

His words had my heart thudding against my ribs, making me wonder if it would burst out of my chest. A joy I’d never experienced flooded my brain as our lips slammed together. I clutched his face, grounding myself in the feel of his skin, desperate to believe this wasn’t a dream. I didn’t really know what it felt like to be in love, but I was going to take a wild guess and say this chaotic swirl of emotion I couldn’t put into words just might be love.

Eli’s hands pulled me closer, turning me on my side. I felt a hand slide under the waistband of my yoga pants and then yanked down to my knees. Agreeing with where this was going, I kicked them off the rest of the way and hitched a leg over Eli’s hip. There was no foreplay as Eli freed his cock and, the next second, sheathed it in my pussy. A moan tore out of me, but he swallowed it up as his lips found mine again. I clung to him with my leg, rocking in time with his thrust, forcing him deeper into me.

“Do you feel how perfect we fit together, my petal?” Eli asked as he trailed kisses down my neck and pushed me onto my back. “Your body was made to take my cock and find pleasure in my knot. I might not be able to fill you with a baby, but that won’t stop me from marking the deepest parts of you with my cum. You’ll be so full of my love you’ll never be able to get rid of it all.”

His hips snapped forward, thrusting in as deep as he possibly could then slowly pulled back out. I locked my ankles together so my body stayed pressed to Eli. Even if we were mostly dressed, I had to feel him. When he ran out of bare skin to kiss, he returned to my lips as I curled my arms around his neck.

“Tell me, petal, do you still wish we’d never met?” Eli asked, his forehead against mine with his cock on the verge of slipping out of me.

“No,” I croaked. “Things have been hard, and old wounds have been exposed, but I need to face them if I’m ever going to find happiness. I’ve been lying to myself for so long because I was scared, but I’m not alone anymore, and that’s all thanks to you, Eli. You found me when I needed you most, and then you stayed even after finding out how broken I am.”

A faint growl slipped out of Eli as he slammed into me. “You. Are. Not. Broken.” With each word he spoke, my Alpha hammered it home, and my body exploded with pleasure as I came.

Eli cradled me as he sat up, whispering in my ear as he fucked me through my climax. “Lyra, you are everything good, kind, and gentle. I love how strong you are and how you face each day, knowing the fears you have to overcome just to get out of bed. Everything you do, you give your all, and nothing is half-assed. You, my beautiful flower, have bloomed into an incredible woman, and I will never let you call yourself broken ever again.”

With another deep thrust, Eli came, his knot locking us together hit all the pleasure spots, triggering another orgasm that had my body trembling in his arms. Just as he promised, Eli filled me with every drop of love he could manage, purring the entire time with his face resting in the crook of my neck. I felt his teeth scrap over my skin, and in response, I exposed my neck to him, silently begging for him to mark me.

“Eli,” I whined.

His purring intensified as he nipped at my neck, making me cry out in pleasure.

“I will leave a mark on you, my petal,” Eli reassured, running a soothing hand up and down my back. “However, I don’t think it’s right for me to claim you right now. There isn’t anything I want more than to have that bond with you, Lyra, but I won’t risk doing it now when you might not be thinking clearly. Ask me again tomorrow, and there won’t be a second’s hesitation to make you mine forever.”

There was a moment of silence as my Omega instincts and rational thought battled over Eli’s decision. While I wanted to weep at his choice, I knew Eli wasn’t rejecting me—the reason he was doing this was to protect us both if I ended up having regrets.

“I understand,” I whispered, resting my head on his shoulder to hide the tears I was fighting back.

Eli must have heard something in my voice because he laid me down again and cupped my face, wiping away the tear that escaped. “Please don’t cry, my petal. It breaks my heart to see tears when there should only be light and laughter. I love you, Lyra Clark. Scent match or not, I would have found you one way or another because you were always meant to be mine. This feeling isn’t from biology, hormones, or magic. The woman who claimed a piece of my soul was the one who asked me never to leave her even in death so she never had to be alone again.”