Page 58 of Knot All is Forgiven

But honestly? I don't have the energy to. I'm just so tired.

What he doesn't know is that I pulled Simon's phone number out of that box, added it to my phone, and have started and stopped at least a dozen texts to him since my heat.

Eventually, I'm going to have to hear them out. The question is, do I do it now, when I'm of a clear mind, or do we wait until I'm so sick I have no choice but to let them be around me?

"Tell me the truth, Vick." I grab his hands and pull them to my chest, ignoring the indignant squawk Blush lets out when I jostle her away. "Do you think I should give them a chance? Not just for me, but for your sake too?"

He sucks on his teeth, taking time to think over his answer. I've never seen Icarus do anything impulsive. He always takes the time to think through all of a situation's possibilities. Finally, he nods.

"I think you need to hear them out at least. And then make the decision. You'll always wonder if you don't find out the truth about what happened." He presses his forehead to mine, his eyes drifting shut as he speaks. "I think you need closure. And if that closure allows you to move forward with them, so be it. If not, we'll figure out how to combat the sickness."

"As always, my love, you make too much sense." I press my lips against his before wrapping my arms around his neck and falling backward, pulling him on top of me.

I'm eager to put this conversation out of my mind, and I know just how to do that.

Icarus' plaid pajama pants leave very little to the imagination, and with just a few swipes of my tongue in his mouth, his cock hardens and presses against me. I throw my leg around his hips, using my heel to push down on his ass as I raise my hips to grind against him. The bond lights up with his amusement.

"Eager little thing," he mumbles against my mouth. "It seems like you think you can top from the bottom tonight."

"Then stop me, Alpha. If you don't like what I'm doing, put a stop to it." A sexy rumble grows in his throat, and he jumps off of me and quickly scoops me up in his arms.

We don't make it to the nest. After nearly tripping over Dae, Icarus hastily tosses me on my bed. I bounce several times before he stills me by throwing his body on top of mine.

Vick can be and is, most of the time, quite serious and dominant, but he's also silly. I never thought I'd want to fuck someone who was being goofy, but he makes it work. Eagerly, my mate removes my tank top, his pupils widening as his gaze drifts across my naked form.

A large hand wraps around one wrist and then gathers the other, pinning them above my head. Icarus runs his nose down the column of my neck, breathing me in before kissing across his mating bite and down my collarbones. Eventually, he has to let my wrists go because even though he's taller than me, the logistics of holding my wrists while kissing down my heated flesh are almost impossible.

His lips trace across a spot above my hip that has me giggling and squirming, and he stills. "Are you ticklish here?" I attempt to wiggle away from him, but he pins my hips down with his shoulders. He kisses the same spot again, and I squeal, kicking my feet in a futile effort to free myself. His eyes light up with mischief as he drags his tongue down the divots above my hips, which buck in response.

My brain is dealing with two conflicting inputs. There is the tickling, to be sure, that is lighting up my fight or flight instinct and a low, coiling heat in my belly that has me squirming for release.

Vick is a generous Alpha, though, and he decides to put me out of my misery by pulling my lounge pants down my hips and tossing them onto the floor. His emerald green eyes take in my body as if it's the first time he's seen it, trailing over every exposed bit of flesh. His tongue drags across that ticklish spot again, but this time, all it leaves is heat in its wake.

"Alpha," I whisper, feeding my fingers through his hair. "Please."

Raising an eyebrow curiously, Vick sits up a little. "Please, what? Go back to tickling you? Got it!" And then he dives in, aggressively tickling me on both sides. My body curls in an attempt to dislodge his efforts, but it is pointless.

He has me exactly where he wants me.

Which, it turns out, is on my side, my knees pulled close to my chest.

It had to be planned because, without warning, one of his hands drops its efforts to tickle me and instead thrusts two fingers inside of me. My toes curl and my head throws back as a strangled sound leaves my throat. My Alpha chuckles, his fingers curling inside me and petting that fleshy spot that makes me see stars.

"Do you think I could make you laugh while I fuck you with my hand?" he muses, clicking his tongue. "Could you still ride my fingers while you're giggling?" His other hand resumes tickling, and the two feelings war with each other, short-circuiting my brain.

It's an overwhelming sensation, the tickling itching a part of my brain that says I need to flee, the sensation almost painful but tempered dramatically by the way he strokes inside me, his thumb joining in and grinding against my clit.

I try to shove him away, and he pulls both hands away, leaving me feeling bereft and empty. Icarus rolls off the bed, shaking his head and clicking his tongue in disapproval.

"Well, that just won't do, sunshine," he mutters, crossing the room and entering my nest. He emerges only moments later with two lengths of hemp rope. "You can't just shove me away. It's rude."

"You were tickling me!" I grumble, sitting up. "If you tickle, you need to expect to get shoved away."

"You didn't safe word me. Tickling is fair game." He stalks back to the bed, sets the rope down, and holds one hand out to me. Gingerly, I place mine in his palm. He takes my other hand and has me weave my fingers together before grabbing one of the bundles of rope and gently, carefully weaving a pretty pattern of rope up my combined arms.

"Tickling isn't sexual," I remind him, watching in awe at how he ties the rope. "Of course I didn't safe word!"

"My love, you're naked, and my hand was buried inside you. This is very much a situation where you need to use your safe word if you're uncomfortable." He guides my combined arms over my head, pulling the second length of rope through the design on my arms and securing them above my head to the headboard. "It makes me nervous that you were uncomfortable with something I was doing, and you didn't use your safe word."

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