Page 34 of Knot Forgotten

Linking my fingers with hers, I attempt to draw her attention back to me. “They care. Hell, Blake is letting Riley room with him.” I laugh just thinking about it. “No, he is demanding he does, so that you have a space that is your own. And I’m pretty sure that Cam would have slept on the couch if Blake didn’t let Riley sleep in the extra bed.”

She lifts hopefully eyes to mine before sadness takes over. “When I saw you guys that first day, all I wanted to do was throw myself in your arms. But it’s been a lifetime since whatever it was that we had ended, and maybe that distance is too big to breach.”

“No distance will be too big. I would travel through the cosmos to be with you, and the guys will do the same, once they get out of their heads.”

My gaze travels over the lines of her face, committing them to memory, matching them to the girl I grew up with. She is the same person, only now she’s matured and ready for everything we wanted back then.

She cuddles into my chest, making me feel like a million dollars. The crickets chirp somewhere in the distance, counting off the temperature with their legs. And the forest comes alive with the nighttime sounds. But none of that matters with Rinny in my arms, sleeping, as if she trusts me to keep her safe as the darkness takes hold of our world.

My body reacts to her, like it always does, but I welcome the discomfort of it, just to keep her in the circle of my arms, cocooned into the bean bag and a soft blanket pulled over us both. I’d lied to my mom, said I was staying at Cam’s tonight. Instead, I came here, and found her already curled up on the bean bag like she was planning on staying out here all night.

I didn’t plan it. Although having her all to myself after the week we’ve all had soothes the awakening alpha inside of me. Even if I hadn’t stolen kisses from her pretty pink lips, she is next to me, making my body feel like it is on fire.

The moment the four of us realized she was becoming an omega, we made a pact. She is it for us. We’ve always known it, and it is as if whatever higher power that is out there knows it, too. Four alphas and their omega, it couldn’t be any more perfect.

She shifts in my arms, her leg slides up mine, running over my crotch in a way that makes me bite back a groan. More of that, please. I glance down at her and see that she is still asleep. Holding my breath, I glide my fingers over her side, and she adjusts herself again, laying more on me than the bean bag and murmuring sweetly in her sleep.

I’m a ball of tension as I hold her, attempting not to move a muscle even though every atom inside of me wants to find the friction her body could provide.

“Matty?” she whispers. My fingers curl unconsciously into her hip when her leg runs higher over my cock straining behind my zipper, and I bite off another moan.

“Rin?” I choke out. The fabric of her shorts bunches beneath my hand as she shifts more and straddles my lap. Her warm core lines up perfectly with me. Even with clothing between us, it's too much.

“You smell incredible,” she says, leaning over me and inhaling deeply at the crook of my neck. “Like those cookies your mom makes. Gingersnaps.”

She nuzzles the side of my neck. The sensation of her lips and nose against my skin has my stomach dipping.

Scrambling from beneath her–before I do something neither of us are ready for–I stand up and drag my fingers through my curls.

“I'm sorry, Rinny.”

She watches me with confusion. “For what?”

A strangled laugh falls from my lips, and I glance away from her. “I forget how innocent you are. We never let anyone close enough for you to experiment with anything. Before Cam, did you even kiss anyone?”

She pulls her knees to her chest, picking at the chipped paint on her fingernails. “I–no, does that matter?”

Her face falls, and I drop to my knees in front of the beanbag. “Of course it doesn't.” Not in the way she is thinking at least.

I rest my palms on her knees, shifting closer. She presses her lips together, and I just want to comfort her.

“I like that you haven't kissed anyone before us. But I don't want to take advantage of you.”

I shake my head, shaking off those distant memories. Is she still innocent? Or has another alpha tried to capture her heart?

The thoughts don't sit well with me, and I reach for her hand, tugging her between my thighs. She comes willingly, making a purr rumble happily in the back of my throat.

“It will work out,” I promise, because I won't accept less than all of her.

CHAPTER 17

Erin

We stay out as late as possible. The nature walk is a perfect little hideaway that reminds me of the forest behind our houses growing up.

I pull the sleeves of Matt’s hoodie over my fingers as he unlocks the dorm room door. Nervous energy zips through me when he pushes the door wide and the light is on in the main room.

Stepping inside, my gaze lands on Riley first. He's in the chair, legs wide, face serious as he watches me. Cameron is standing in the middle of the tiny kitchenette, his arms crossed and a scowl on his face. While Blake twists on the couch to see us.

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