Page 165 of Lyric & the Heartbeats

“I do,” she said honestly. “And you’re the sweetest of them all.”

The hum he let out vibrated beneath her cheek. “I come second only to you.”

Lyric propped her head up on her hand and stared down at him, now that her eyes had adjusted to the dim lighting. The curve of his lips, the sharp shape of his jaw, the dip in his cheekbones. “I don’t know what I did in life to deserve you all, but whatever it is, I’d do it again and again.”

“You keep saying you’re so lucky, but you’re wrong. I’m the lucky one.”

Lyric’s cheeks heated, and she ducked her head. “You’re talented, another artist would’ve scooped you up eventu—”

His hand drifted up to the back of her neck and turned her attention to him. “I mean you,” he interrupted. “Not the tour. I’m lucky because I have you. I get to share moments like this with you.”

Lyric’s heart thundered in her chest so loudly she wondered if he could hear it. In that moment, she had no doubt that Adra was hers, it was as sure as the pulse pounding in her throat. He was part of her pack. Part of her heart.

Lyric leaned up, caught his lips with hers. Her palm pressed against his chest, and his hand covered hers as the other cupped the back of her neck, pulling her closer. His soft, warm lips captured hers as his stubble scraped her cheeks gently.

With Adra, it was always easy. Like liquid, they moved together.

It was surreal to imagine someone could throw this man away, set him to the side, not choose him.

Lyric didn’t think she’d ever really had a choice since she’d met this alpha. And oddly enough, the thought didn’t bother her. No, the realization landed like a wave she’d watched rise and rise until it finally crashed to the shore, soaking her and the sand beneath her toes.

As her reservations were laid to rest, her walls were finally dissolved along with her and Adra’s clothes. When they were skin to skin, when Lyric was pushing her hips down, taking him in inch by inch, Adra placed a hand under her chin and pulled her gaze to his.

“What’s wrong? Why are you crying?” Adra asked, worry pinching his features. He slid a hand to her hip, stopping her from sliding down any further. “Am I hurting you?”

With a chuckle, Lyric lifted a hand and smoothed her thumb between his brows, trying to get rid of the worry lines.

“Nothing’s wrong. You’re not hurting me. I’m just… feeling things.”

“Oh, that sounds serious,” he teased, finally easing the grip on her hip and letting her take control again. “Should I call a doctor?”

Lyric laughed past her sniffles and pinched his nipple before smoothing the sting with a kiss.

“Smart ass. Nice try. You’re not distracting me,” she promised, nudging her hips up and down, taking him in a little deeper each time. When her ass rested against his thighs, she sighed, and the swell of emotion bubbled in her chest again.

“Distracting you from what?” Adra inquired, palming her hips and rocking against her just enough for her thoughts to scatter.

She tried to grab the scattered thoughts, but they slipped through her fingers like grains of sand, and what she ended up blurting was, “Bond with you.”

Adra froze, pulled her tight against him, and he pulsed inside her. “You what?”

“Want to bond with you,” Lyric admitted, her heart pounding.

Adra’s fingers tightened on her hips before he eased up and brushed his fingertips up and down her thighs like she was something to be treasured. “I… would love that. Would love nothing more than that. But I don’t want you to regret it. It’s unbreakable. It’s permanent. It’s…”

“I know all of that,” she insisted. “I just—” She sniffled back her tears. “I just want the assurance that things aren’t going to change the moment we step off the bus. Some part of me is so terrified that this is all some stupid dream, and I’m going to wake up in my apartment all alone and—”

“You’re not alone,” Adra promised, and pulled her close. She breathed in his soft marshmallow scent and sunk into his warmth like she would a marshmallow itself. “You won’t be alone ever again, not if you don’t want to.”

“I don’t want to,” she admitted. “So bite me.”

Adra’s cock pulsed inside her again, and she rocked on him, wanting to feel more of him. Something even bigger nudged at her entrance. His knot.

Lyric groaned, tightened her knees around his hips, and rolled her hips into him. His knot nudged at her core and she cried out at the promise of being filled by it. By Adra.

Adra wrapped a hand around her waist, holding her to him, and propped a knee up to roll them over. The soft mattress cushioned her back, such a contrast to the hardness that blanketed her front.

Lyric gripped his hips, digging her nails in, and pulled him closer. His knot pressed harder, more persistent, and she rocked up into him.