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For now, I’m simply going to enjoy the feel of his knot and his teeth. I’m going to let him make love to me. Because despite what my dad said about Timber using me for my money, I know this is real.

It has to be.

12

Timber

In the red wolf shifter settlement where I grew up, love bites were as common as kisses, and the marks they left behind on an omega’s skin were considered a sign of a happy bond. I run my fingers along the beautiful pink marks on Andrew’s arm.

I’ve never wanted to bite my lovers before. They never felt like mine. Not in the breeding pits. Not at work. But I want to bite every inch of Andrew’s skin. The desire is so deep and primal it makes me ache. I long to claim him with my teeth—leave a bite mark that will make him mine forever. But every mark I leave on Andrew’s skin today will heal until there’s no trace of my teeth anywhere.

Maybe it’s for the best that no omega has ever wanted to date me.

“Tell me, baby boy. What do you want to do with our last day together?” I ask.

We still have twenty hours left. I can’t claim Andrew, but I can make him feel good.

“This,” he whispers, snuggling closer to me. We’re still tied by my knot, and the wriggle of his hips brings little sparks of pleasure where our bodies meet.

“What do you mean?” I chuckle. “You want me to knot you for twenty hours?”

He twists his neck to smile back at me. “Is that possible?”

“I’m afraid not.” Already, my knot has begun to go down, and I’m sure he can feel it.

“When I was little, I was afraid to go to the doctor, so when we sat in the waiting room before my appointments, we played a game called ‘anywhere but here.’ You basically think of places you’d rather be and things you’d rather be doing,” he says. “If I ever play again, this will be my answer every time. Lying in bed with your knot inside me.”

That answer makes me ache as much as the desire to give him a bond bite. I press a kiss to the shell of his ear. “You better hope you’re playing with adults.”

He lets out a soft laugh.

“If I could be with you, I would,” I say. He deserves to know that.

“But you can’t?”

I shake my head. “It’s too risky for you, baby boy. You need to find an alpha who is a proper Blue Blood to help you with your bond ache.”

His eyes fill with tears. “What if I don’t want an alpha who’s a proper Blue Blood?”

I bury my nose in the crook of his neck where his skin is still pink and swollen from my teeth. “They could lock you up, baby boy. They could lock you up and throw away the key.”

“So I’m just supposed to do what my father wants and be alone for the rest of my life?” Andrew’s lip trembles as tears streak down his cheeks.

Heaven help me, but I don’t know what to say to him. Will I really be able to walk away from him, knowing he’s at the mercy of his father? Even if that’s the best thing for him, a fate like that isn’t enough for Andrew. He deserves so much better than that.

“I’m just a porn star, baby boy. I’m not powerful or clever. I wouldn’t know the first thing about fighting your father or the Monroes on this. If I get involved, I’ll just make things worse for you.”

Andrew wipes away his tears. “What if I don’t want you to fight my father or the Monroes for me? What if all I want is this? We can be discreet if you want to be discreet. We can make love inside a hotel room instead of outside. But this ismylife.Mychoice.” He stops for a moment as more tears well in his eyes. “The last time I let my father make an important decision for me, I ended up with a bond ache. Even if there are risks, I don’t want to let him take this away from me.”

The hard logic of his argument stops me cold. Andrew should have control over his own life, and if being with me is what he wants, is it fair for his father to hold him back from that? Even if this is his bond ache talking, isn’t he going to have a bond ache for the rest of his life? At what point does Andrew end and his bond ache begin? Are all his desires and wishes invalid now?

And he said “making love.” Andrew isn’t asking me to be his hired knot anymore.

I don’t know if I can deny him.

“How would something like that work?” I ask.

The corner of his mouth quirks up. “I don’t know. We could get burner phones and meet up in seedy motels.” His lips spread into a full smile. “Wear disguises.”

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