Page 59 of Knot Forgotten

CHAPTER 31

Riley

Typically, the team arrives together and leaves together, but it is fairly easy to convince Coach that I will be riding back to school with Matt and Erin. A quick signature on some kind of release for the school, and I am walking out of the school to meet them in the parking lot.

I’m lighter than I’ve felt in weeks. Coming off of the high of winning at Semi-finals, a guarantee of going to States, one step closer to Nationals, and proving to myself I can do anything I set my mind to.

A lot of the lightness has to do with Rin, though. Mending the relationship with her and learning who she is again has allowed me to get my head back into the competition. And, for once, swimming isn’t an escape from my life, a place to drown out all the bad. It is only a place to excel.

I swing her into my arms as soon as I reach them. Her face transforming with delight is the only thing that matters, lighting up with happiness for me, her hands clinging to my shoulders. Her perfume blooms at full strength between us, and I inhale greedily, setting her down and burying my face into her neck. Mine.

“You smell amazing,” I say against her throat. Her response, if she had one, is lost on me, and I turn my implants up as I release her.

She steps back, pushing her hair from her face. Then I notice something I missed before. The way Matt stands closer to her and how she leans into his orbit. An intimacy that wasn’t there when we left the dorm yesterday morning. It makes my heart pound in my chest with excitement.

Matt lifts his brows, reading the thoughts on my face. He nods slightly, and I know without words that he’s taken the first step at bringing her back into our pack. Of making her ours. My gaze dips to her neck, looking for a claiming mark. There isn’t one.

Rin’s fingers come up and graze the spot I’m burning into her collarbone, and I tear my eyes away. Shoving my fingers through my hair, I look back at Matt in confusion.

“Ready?” he says.

I nod. My emotions are all over the place as I head toward the Bronco. I’m musking. My pheromones are strong in the open air, so I’m sure I’ll choke everyone out once we are in the enclosed vehicle.

Flashes of Rinny, her lips swollen from my kisses, her cheeks pink with arousal, and her eyes dark with lust fill my thoughts. I toss my bag into the back and then let my alpha take over. If I don’t taste her lips now, I’ll lose all the restraint I have left.

I snag her wrist, tugging her between myself and the side of the Bronco. Pinning her in place, I drag my fingers up the side of her neck, committing the pure desire on her face to memory.

Thumbing her lower lip, I bounce between her mouth and her eyes, waiting for her to tell me to stop. When she doesn’t, I kiss her the way I crave to, hard and claiming. Because she is mine. Every single part of her is mine. And she should know it.

She answers back like a wild animal, nipping at my lip ring, giving as good as she gets. Her fingers are in my hair, ensuring my lips don’t leave hers. Her perfume and taste overwhelm me, and before I know what I’m doing, my fingers find her skin just above her waistband.

So much for restraint; I have zero control when it comes to her. Maybe if she fought me, pushed me away, but no. She drew me closer. When her left leg curls around me and I settle against the warmth of her, I let out a groan. I’m going to fuck her in the parking lot. Out in the open for anyone to see.

The thought sobers me, and I pull back, tearing my mouth from hers. Her chest heaves as she stares up at me with need splashed across her face. My gaze darts toward the pool house as I attempt to gather the ability to detach from her. Mentally reminding myself that she deserves more than what I can give her out here in the open, I loosen my hold.

Matt draws my attention as he pushes off the Bronco next to us, his face amused. “Are you two done acting like teenagers?” he asks.

I can’t help the smile that spreads across my face at his words.

“Making up for lost time,” I say, stepping away from her after a soft kiss to her swollen lips.

She blushes a pretty pink, ducking her head. Matt grins and heads around the hood of the car before climbing into the driver's seat.

I open the passenger door and gesture for Erin to slip inside. Once she is in, I reach across her body and buckle her in, breathing her delectable scent even further into my starving lungs. She is the air I need to survive.

Her chest rises in a deep breath, and I know she is scenting me too. And it takes everything not to pull her out of the passenger seat and drag her into the back with me.

I straighten before I do something I’ll regret and softly shut the door between us, climbing into the back seat. Matt signs, ‘All good?’ I nod, sliding into the middle of the back seat and turning my implants up further to catch any conversation they might have. Matt keeps the music at a low enough level that it doesn’t interfere with them or cause that annoying buzz.

Erin shifts in her seat as we get onto the freeway, twisting to look back at me. Her cheeks are still pink, a smile tilting up her lips.

“I’m not a virgin anymore,” she says, like it is news to me.

I press my lips together, holding back a smile. Then I nod. “I know.”

She wets her lips before parting them and saying, “We have another night at the hotel.”

Flashing a wide grin at her, I say, “I know.”

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