Page 85 of Fragile Heart

I give a quick nod even as I let him take my hand and ease my body to sitting. He runs his mouth over the crown of my head, and I perfume. Again. This is honestly a bit embarrassing at this point. Maybe it’s because we’ve spent the last six weeks circling each other without giving in to the base needs of our bodies and our scent match?

Ethan doesn’t say anything, though, as he kisses my temple and urges me to my feet.

“Shower,” he whispers when I wobble on unsteady legs.

Already, the need for him is rising, building in me like we didn’t just knot. It’s never been this intense, not even last night with Caleb. And that was borderline irrational. What in the hell is happening to me?

“Shower,” he repeats, “and then I’ll give you as many orgasms as you need to take the edge off.”

My cheeks are bright red as he guides me into his bathroom.

Chapter Thirty-Seven

ETHAN

It’s too damn hot.

How can it already be so hot this early in the morning?

I blow out a breath as I rub my eyes, trying to find the motivation to get up for the day. One last check through the separated herd to make sure they’ve been covered, and then prepping for moving all the cattle around on Monday to their late summer grazing spots. Hopefully the drought that’s ripping up Arizona and Colorado doesn’t extend any farther north, because we haven’t gotten a chance to fix all the fencing that runs along the southern edge of the ranch, exactly where we’ll need to move some cattle if things dry out.

I groan and scrub my face. The blanket on me moves, pressing harder into my side. Lavender floats in the air, reminding me of riding through some of the meadows in the summer.

My heart beats faster. My scent floods the room. My dick throbs, arousal rushing through my veins in a way it hasn’t in years. Fuck, I love the smell of lavender.

Wait.

Memories of the night before overwhelm me. The feeling of Brielle underneath me. The sounds she made filling the room. Her scent drowning me and all the conflicted feelings weighing down my chest. The rush of slick from her cunt soaking the sheets as I forced my knot inside her and locked us together.

My scent intensifies even as I force a swallow to soothe the lump in my throat.

Brielle whines as she presses harder into me. I snap my eyes open, scowling at the obscene amount of light coming in through the windows. Whatever has her worried, I need to fix. Whatever has that whine building into a near sob? I’m going to fucking murder it. It had taken way too many orgasms to get her calm last night, and I hate that she’s already on edge again.

Not that I minded eating her out. The opposite, actually. But knowing that she was that worried when Caleb has only been gone for a day? It has unease weighing heavily on my sternum.

I run my hand down her back even as I ease onto my side, keeping her pressed into my chest with a solid palm against the back of her head. Her hair is a wild mess, brushing against my face as I turn toward her and run my lips across her temple.

I hum, low in my throat, pressing her harder into me, the bone deepneedreducing me to instincts alone. The whine cuts off. I relax my hold on her. I can’t quite manage to pull my lips away from her skin, though. Instead, I trail them down her cheek and jaw and neck, setting a soft bite in the sensitive, unmarked spot just behind her right ear. She shivers in my hold. Her hand drops lower on my waist, a finger tracing the edge of my boxer briefs.

My scent redoubles from the small touch, cocooning around us until it blends effortlessly with hers. Christ, they smell good together. I suppose scent matches would, though. She shudders against me as I bite her again. She slips her hand under thewaistband, circling my dick, and I groan into her skin. She presses a smile into my chest.

“You like teasing me, princess?” My voice is gravel.

She shivers, goosebumps rising along the skin I can see—which is most of it. Her hand doesn’t falter, though, and I push up into her hold. Goddamn, she feels amazing. And I’m not going to last more than a few minutes if she keeps going. My stamina is fucking shot.

“I should return the favor,” I murmur against her skin.

I pull on her hair, forcing her head back, and bite at the hollow of her throat. Her breath catches, her scent growing thicker, and I grin. I need her under me. I need to taste her, feel her, breathe her in until she’s all that exists around me. The purr starts before I can hold it back, not that I would in this moment. She goes boneless against me, her hand still at the base of my dick, her thumb brushing the sensitive spot where my knot starts.

“Fuck, princess,” I groan.

She giggles, pressing her face into my chest.

My phone pings with a notification.

Brielle immediately moves away from me, sitting up and pulling her hair back. Her hands fly through her hair, braiding it before I can even sit up. She frowns as she looks at the base of it, like she’s missing something. With a sigh, she lets go, and the bottom couple weaves come loose.

With a sigh, I sit up. My irritation at the loss of her touch fades as I take in her beautiful body.

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