Page 73 of Instant Bond

When I finally surfaced, my knot receding as it spurted out the last jets of come, I realized I was licking the mark on his neck over and over, laving my tongue over it. It wasn’t bleeding anymore, the alpha DNA in my saliva speeding up the healing process.

He seemed to realize I was spent, raising his head to stare at me. Tears were streaked down his cheeks.

“Did I hurt you?” I asked sharply. “When I bit you? Or with my knot?”

He shook his head, and I realized they were happy tears.

“No,” he said. His voice was slightly raw from crying. “It’s wonderful. It didn’t hurt at all.”

“You’re wonderful.” It was all I could think to say. He looked otherworldly to me, his skin glowing with sweat and satisfaction. It was the bond, I realized, intensifying my perception of him. I’d already fallen for him, completely in love, but everything between us now was magnified.

I held him carefully, slipping out as gently as I could. The mess he’d very cleverly suggested we bring to the bedroom instead of my leather couch seeped out, soaking into the comforter on my bed. Laundry service was included with my penthouse, something we’d taken advantage of many, many times in his short stay with me already.

He slumped down, rolling off me to rest on the mattress. Moving down the bed to align my body with his, I stroked a hand over his hair.

“What do we do now, sweet boy?”

He hummed, nuzzling his face into a pillow. “If you give me maybe 15 minutes, we can fuck again.”

I chuckled, shaking my head in amazement. I supposed that was the consequence of being mated to a pregnant 22-year-old.

“My question was directed more at our future beyond this bedroom.”

“We could get married?” He suggested, blinking placidly at me, very obviously not concerned about whether I’d turn him down or not.

“You can have the wedding of the century, with golden doves and a thousand cakes and diamonds crusting the walls, Cameron. But what I’m asking is what do we do now, about this?” I trailed my finger down his throat and chest to rest my palm just below his belly button.

“Oh!” He realized, bringing his hands up to cover mine, holding it to him. “Well, I need a doctor. To make sureeverything’s good, you know. And I guess I need to stop taking my birth control now. Oh, and I need special vitamins. And I need to check online for all the stuff I’m not allowed to eat anymore because I already forgot.”

“Sounds like a lot,” I commented, wishing I had more knowledge on the subject. But I’d be doing plenty of my own research in the days to come.

“Um, there’s like 10,000 more things on top of that we have to do,” he said, giving me a look I could only describe as sympathetic but incredulous.

“Ah. You’ll have to forgive my ignorance on the subject.”

“It’s sweet,” he decided, grinning. “I’m not used to knowing more about something than you are.”

“I know how to buy a house,” I said. “A house with enough rooms for a nursery for little Karmteron.”

He snorted, shaking his head. “Gross, come up with a different placeholder name.”

“I’ll work on it,” I promised, chuckling along with him.

He nuzzled into me, breathing me in, sighing in complete contentment.

I wasn’t a lonely, bitter alpha disillusioned with the people around me anymore. I had the most adorable mate imaginable, who had already given me one veritably perfect kid, soon to be another.

People had called me lucky all my life, because of the money, and the status. But I could have managed without those things.

Cameron, and my perfect family, would be what I couldn’t live without.

CAM

THE APARTMENT WASdecorated for Christmas, filled with the spicy scent of the gingerbread cookies we’d baked the night before. They were set out on the counter, ready to be decorated for Karter’s moms’ party today.

Tinsel and lights sparkled on the tree in the living room. It was Ty’s first year of having a real tree, and he loved it. Karter had taken him to a holiday store and let him pick out whatever ornaments he wanted. As a result, every inch of the tree was covered with an odd mix of colorful bulbs and balls, as well as random ones like rocket ships and hamburgers. It was perfect.

Ty danced at the edge of the kitchen in excitement as we pulled down the frostings and sprinkles from the cupboards. Karter glanced over at me, and though he didn’t show it in his eyes at all, I could tell through our bond that he was a little nervous. It was definitely understandable.

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