Page 26 of Knot Sharing the Ice

We don't need to be told twice.

We kick off our shoes, stripping down to our underwear with an efficiency born of years in locker rooms. But this is different. This isn't about getting ready for a game or a practice.

This is about being with our mate.

When I catch Ember staring at our half-naked bodies, the appreciative glimmer in her gaze stokes the hunger inside me. She catches me watching and her eyes flick away, the flush in her cheeks deepening.

Ember climbs into the center of the nest, still wearing Adder's oversized T-shirt. The sight of her in his clothes stirs something possessive in me, a need to cover her in my own scent.

To make sure everyone knows she belongs to all of us.

She looks up at us expectantly, a mix of desire and nervousness in her eyes. "Well?" she says, trying for bravado but not quite hitting the mark. "Are you coming in or not?"

I surprise myself by being the first to move. I crawl into the nest, drawn to her like a moth to a flame. Up close, her scent is even more intoxicating. I want to bury my face in her neck, to breathe her in until she's all I know.

But I remember her conditions.

No marking.

No biting.

Especiallynot on the neck.

So instead, I lean in slowly, giving her plenty of time to pull away if she wants to.

When she doesn't, I press my lips to hers in a gentle kiss.

She tastes like cotton candy and something uniquelyEmber.

I could get drunk on this taste alone.

My hands come up to cup her face, thumbs stroking her cheekbones as I deepen the kiss.

When we finally part, both breathless, I can't help but smile at the dazed look in her eyes. "Is this okay?" I ask, wanting—needing—to be sure.

She nods, a small smile playing at the corners of her mouth. "Yeah," she breathes. "It's okay."

Emboldened, I nuzzle against her cheek, careful to avoid her neck as I rub my scent on her. It's not the same as a true mating mark, but it satisfies something deep inside me to know that she'll smell like me.

Like us.

The others join us in the nest, each finding their place around Ember. Adder settles behind her, his chest pressed to her back as he noses at her hair. Mason takes up position on her left side, while Jayce mirrors him on the right.

For a moment, we just stay like that, a tangle of limbs and scents as we acclimate to each other's presence. I can feel the heat radiating off Ember's skin, smell the sweet desperation of her arousal. It takes every ounce of self-control I possess not to simply take her right then and there.

But this isn't about us.

This is about Ember.

About making her first heat with us as comfortable and pleasurable as possible.

"What do you need?" I ask, my voice low and husky with desire. "Tell us what you want, sweetheart."

Ember shivers at the endearment, her pupils dilating as she looks up at me. "I... I don't know," she admits. "I've never... not with more than one person before."

The admission sends a thrill through me. We get to be her first in this. Get to show her how good it can be with a pack that truly cares for her.

"We'll take it slow," Adder murmurs from behind her, his hands running soothingly up and down her arms. "Nothing you're not comfortable with."

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