Page 42 of Knot The Nanny We Planned

Her pupils are so wide her eyes look black. Her scent is so thick I can taste it, honey and vanilla and slick and want. Her chest is heaving.

"You'd share me," she says. "At the same time."

"We'd worship you." I frame her face in my hands. "At the same time. And every time after that. For as long as you'll have us."

Her lip trembles. "What if I'm not, what if I can't?"

"You can." I press a kiss to her forehead. "You will. And we'll make sure of it."

She looks at me, searching, weighing, deciding. And then she nods. A small, certain, fearless nod. "Okay," she says. "Okay. Yes. I want, I want all of you."

Something in my chest cracks open. Not the Alpha, not the predator, not the possessive beast that's been clawing at my insides for three days. Something deeper. Something that feels like the kid I used to be, alone and unwanted, believing he'd never be enough.

She wants us. She wants me.

"Today," I say. "Tonight. When Lily's asleep. When you're ready."

"I'm ready now."

I laugh. The sound surprises me, rough and raw and genuine. "I know. But I want to do this right. I want the nest. I want the time. I want," I swallow. "I want it to mean something."

Her expression softens. The fear is gone. The doubt is gone. What's left is something warm and steady and certain.

"It already means something," she says.

And then she kisses me.

This time, she's the one who initiates. Her hands pull me down, her mouth finds mine, and the kiss is soft. Not desperate. Not hungry. Soft. A beginning. A promise.

I hold her, and I don't take more than she gives. And when she pulls back, breathless and smiling, I feel something I haven't felt in thirty-four years.

Peace.

The morning is chaos.

Lily wakes up at 7:15, earlier than usual, and announces her presence by standing in her crib and screaming "UP!" at a volume that could shatter glass. Willow laughs, a real laugh, bright and warm, and extricates herself from the nest to go get her.

I watch her go. The oversized shirt rides up as she walks, and I catch a flash of bare thigh that makes my cock twitch. I adjust myself and follow.

Knox is already in the kitchen. He's standing at the counter, coffee in hand, and the moment Willow rounds the corner, his entire body goes still. His green eyes track her with an intensity that borders on predatory.

"Morning, little omega," he says. His voice is rougher than usual. "Sleep well?"

"Better than I have in days." She lifts Lily onto her hip. "Someone's hungry."

"Pancakes," Lily demands. "Now."

"Bossy," Knox says, grinning. "I like it."

I move to the stove. The routine is familiar now, three days old, but already a pattern. I cook, Knox cuts fruit, and Deklan sits at the island with his laptop while Willow handles Lily. It's domestic. Ordinary. The kind of morning that happens in families.

Family.

The word settles in my chest, warm and heavy.

We eat breakfast. Lily covers herself in syrup despite my explicit no-syrup rule. Knox feeds her strawberries and makes her giggle by pretending to eat them himself. Deklan reads emails and pretends he's not watching Willow over the top of his glasses. And Willow? Willow sits at the table with Lily in her lap and smiles.

Not the fragile smile from yesterday. Not the terrified smile from the first day. A real smile. Full and warm and certain.