Page 55 of Fragile Heart

Her movements grow more unsteady as she gets closer to her orgasm. I palm her hips and take over, pushing up into her until her legs are shaking all over again. As soon as her body locks, herhead thrown back on a desperate moan, I let myself fall apart, too. The orgasm races through my veins, so intense it robs me of sight for a heartbeat. My knot swells, and I pull her down tighter over me, forcing it all the way inside.

She collapses against my chest with a scream. Satisfaction roars through me. I kiss her temple and comb through her hair, easing her down from the extended bliss of our knotting. She shivers and burrows deeper into my chest, wiggling until her arms are under my body and playing with the strands of my hair.

“Thank you,” she whispers.

I close my eyes, not trusting my voice. I kiss her temple again, and she relaxes against me.

“I’m going camping this weekend,” Brielle says, her cheek pressed against my chest and her hand resting on my stomach. “Melissa’s going, too. And Olivia and Hudson. There’s a spot some of my friends know about south of the Tetons. Would you…” She trails off and takes a deep breath. “Would you like to come, too? Camden would be welcome. Faedra’s girls are five, so they’re about the same age. I’m sure they’d love to have another person their size.”

Her words grow closer together until they run over each other, her voice rising with her nervousness. I pull her into me and press my lips to her temple. She quiets instantly, the tension in her body easing away.

“I’ve been called to a fire,” I say, making sure my voice is heavy with my regret.

Did I think I regretted Sam’s text an hour ago? I absolutely resent it now.

“Oh,” she whispers. “When do you have to leave?”

“Tonight.”

“And you don’t know when you’ll be back?”

I shake my head. “It’s a small localized fire burning north of Cheyenne. So it’s possible I’ll be back in time. But I can’t promise anything.”

“That’s all right,” she says, offering a small smile that doesn’t touch her eyes. I tuck a piece of hair behind her ear and offer the same half-hearted curve of my lips. She settles back against me, her hands tracing down my side.

I grab my phone from the side table and send a text I’ve never actually sent to Sam before.

I’ll be there. I have to be back by Thursday, though.

Scent match things?

Yep.

You willing to file the Council’s announcement? It’ll get you more time off than just the confirmation info.

Goddamn, I wish I could. But I can’t file anything unless Brielle does, her Matchless status with the Council making it impossible for me to make any of this official with them. Sam is an Alpha, though, so he’ll understand it. Probably.

It’s on my radar. Can’t do it quite yet.

Ah. Got it. No promises, but I’ll do what I can.

I send off a quick thank you and then stash it away again, running my hand along her thigh. She twists into me, buryingher face in my chest. Lavender surrounds us, overlaying the older smells of our knotting. My dick twitches, but I ignore it, focusing on the feel of her skin under my hands and the brush of her hair against my cheek.

“Brielle,” I whisper, turning until my lips are against her temple. She hums and wiggles against me.

I love you.

Fuck, it’s too early to be saying those words. But that doesn’t stop them from sitting on the tip of my tongue, ready to spill out at the first moment. I trace shapes along her hip to keep myself from being an idiot.

Her scent strengthens again, and I groan. She presses a giggle into my skin even as she traces my happy trail with a featherlight caress. My dick twitches, and I press my hips up, encouraging her lower. She gives me open-mouthed kisses down my sternum as she adjusts, rolling until she straddles my thighs. Her hair falls over her shoulder in a beautiful wave. I sink my hand into it, twisting the strands around my palm until I can see her eyes.

She glances up at me through her lashes, her hand flattening against my hip. My breath saws out of me as I nod in silent permission. Her lips brush along the underside of my dick, and I drop my head back on a groan.

A girl’s laughter cuts through the quiet cabin. A moment later, a baby’s cry does, too, followed by a low murmuring—a man’s soothing hum. Brielle freezes, her eyes so wide I can see the whites all the way around.

Footsteps on the porch echo all the way to the back of the cabin.

Brielle squeaks as she pulls away from me. I drop my hand out of her hair before it can hurt her as my groan turns mournful. Her cheeks flush a dark red as she pulls her dress from the floor and disappears into the bathroom, though sheleaves the door open. I run my hand through my hair as I sit up and pull my own clothes from where I’d left them on the floor near the foot of the bed, sliding back into my jeans and shoving my phone into the back pocket.

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