Page 51 of Knot Your Business

“But a lot can change in four years,” he whispers, palming my hip as I ease onto my knees in front of him.

I bite a second mark I find tucked just under his collar, making sure it’s enough to bruise over before running my lips over his jaw. I leave my own bruise just under where it meets his neck, that possessive part of me easing at the sudden intake of his breath, at the way he tucks his hands under my shirt and into the waistband of my slacks.

“I don’t need you to fuck her, Dom,” he says after a moment. I pause where I’m running my lips across his collarbone over his shirt. His blue eyes pierce me, his lips set in a thin line I’ve rarely seen from him. “I’m not asking you to be involved with her at all. If you don’t want to be, then don’t. I’m asking that you give Rylan and me the space to pursue her.”

I’ve never paused long enough to really consider that I might be polyamorous. It must seem so obvious to those looking in, since Rylan and I both fuck Jasper. But bringing in another person forces me to pause. Can I handle knowing that sometimes he fucks her the way he does me?

A growl rises in my throat, but I force it back.

When I nod, tension releases from his body, like a marionette dropping the strings. He falls into my arms, his head pressed against my shoulder. I wrap my arms around his waist and pull him completely against me, guiding his legs until he straddles me even as I continue to kneel on the concrete patio. His cock pushes into my stomach, and I grunt. His lips are on mine a moment later, his tongue fighting with mine over control of the kiss—and of our coupling this time. When he doesn’t immediately let me lead, I back off. He grunts, and then his hands are working through the buttons of my shirt, his lips tracing down my neck and across the hollow of my throat.

The bare hint of grapefruit surrounds us, the most that the suppressors will allow me to scent, and he groans.

“When is she coming?” I ask.

He pulls away from me, hands pressed tight against my chest, our noses nearly touching. The afternoon sun reflecting off the ocean gilds him in perfect lighting, highlighting his hair and brightening his eyes.

“Sei bello, Tesoro,” I murmur.

A corner of his lips turn up, and he eases another button open. He eases the fabric off my shoulders and drapes it over the seat behind me.

“Friday,” he says. Before I can say anything, he asks, “What were you doing for your dad this weekend?”

I frown. He’s never asked about the business before.

“Bianca said you were helping your dad out,” he murmurs when I don’t answer. He leans back, letting his hands fall to his sides. “What were you doing?”

“Enforcing the books,” I say, nearly a growl.

Why did he want to know?

His throat moves with his swallow, worry moving across his face.

“I needed to blow off steam,” I explain, leaning into him until our lips brush again. He doesn’t fight me, his hands soft where he buries them into my hair. “And it helped Victor get caught up.”

“Isn’t that Lorenzo’s job?” he asks, his breath catching as I mark him again, just under his other ear.

“Lorenzo is too busy fucking an Omega to keep track of his obligations,” I growl. Goosebumps rise across his arms as the wind picks up, blowing off of the ocean. I chase some with my tongue, and his hips flex. “I will not stop you from being with her, Tesoro. But I do not wish to know her like you do. Is this enough words between us right now?”

With a sigh, he nods. He pulls a small bottle of lube from his pocket and then eases me onto my back. My dick jumps, and I breathe in his cologne, letting it wash away the stress of the last week.

Twenty-Four

VIOLET

“Ifeel completely useless right now,” Faedra whispers, leaning in close enough that her hair blocks her mouth from prying eyes. “What are we supposed to be doing?”

The movers work around us, emptying out the things in the dorm that are mine without a word to us. One guy looks up as he comes out of my bedroom, a set of boxes propped on a dolly, and smiles. He seems vaguely familiar, but I can’t quite place him.

Faedra waves. “Hey, Sam. Didn’t realize you started a second job.”

Well, that explains it. Sam is one of the guys in her major. They’ve taken nearly every class together and are often in the same study groups.

He shrugs. “Just something to tide me over until grad school starts in the fall. Keeps me busy. When do you move out?”

“My family’s coming out tomorrow to help me finish packing, and then the movers will be here Saturday.”

He nods, and one of the other men ducks around him, my nightstand in his arms.

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