Page 58 of Knight Life In Vegas

I gave the address to the taxi and focused on keeping the frayed bits of myself from unraveling on the way over. I had worked so fucking hard to keep myself under control after I lost Emily, practically duct-taping myself into some semblance of a human to keep going. I managed through the workday and consistently fell apart each evening. A couple of years before Bryce had found Ava had been the best I had done in ages, but my son finding his scent match had dredged up so much anguish. That was the problem with scent matches. They had so much potential to bring joy and even more to bring pain.

By the time I got to Charlotte’s apartment, I was ready to climb out of my own skin. Every second between hauling my luggage out of the trunk and waiting for her to answer the buzzer was an eternity.

When no reply came, I picked up my phone.

Beau:

I’m here.

Charlotte:

Be there soon!

Fucking hell.

I sat down on the little stoop outside, my body craving her with no reprieve in sight. I let my face drop into my hands, taking slow, deep breaths to measure the time and keep myself calm.

The swing of a car door sometime later, followed by the patter of footsteps against cement, had me lifting my head.

“I’m so sorry.” Charlotte approached me and the relief at hearing her voice was sharp and sweet all at once.

Her scent was perfect: buttery lemon and sugar. My rational mind switched off the moment she was within reach and I swallowed her up, clutching her tiny form to my chest and dipping down to breathe her in. I wanted to do a million things at once: drown in her kiss, strip down every stitch and memorize her curves, bundle her away into a nest and hold her until I felt sanity return. She was delectable.

Her arms tentatively wrapped around me. “Hello there.”

The words shook me free of the hold my instincts had on me and I stepped back, flexing my hands on my side.

Not mine.

I didn’t deserve another omega. I just needed to get through everything until our bodies settled.

“Come inside.” Charlotte grabbed one of my rolling suitcases and tugged it through the door while I was held frozen, my mind twisting those words. I’d imagined the sounds she would make when we came together a hundred, maybe a thousand times since I’d last seen her. But she hadn’t invited sexuality between us, and I certainly wasn’t going to ask for it. I hadn’t touched a partner for years, and that wasn’t about to change with her.

I dragged my suitcase in behind me, setting it inside the door, and dropping my carry-on to the floor. The scent of other alphas hung in the air. I vaguely recognized them from Night of Knights, her other scent matches. She must have seen them while I was away. Should that bother me? It didn’t. Better she be spared the same suffering as me.

“You’re looking a little worse for wear,” she commented. “Did you want to have a cuddle to recalibrate?”

My whole body stiffened. I really fucking did. “Please.”

She took my hand, electricity arcing up my arm from the skin-on-skin contact, and led me to her bedroom. I’d expectedthe couch based on our last experience, but she was already sitting down on the bed and patting the space next to her.

“You might want to take off a few layers. I have the AC on, but I would melt in long sleeves.”

She watched me expectantly and I shrugged off my suit jacket.

“I don’t want your belt digging into me,” she said simply.

What sort of game was she playing? How much did she expect me to take off? She was in shorts and a tank top, all those plush curves barely contained. With shaking fingers I undid my belt and slid it free, dropping it down, then I toed off my shoes. I paused my fingertips on my shirt buttons.

“I talked to Jesse and he said it all works faster the more skin we have in contact. It’ll take twice as long if all you have available are your hands and face.”

I swallowed hard. “I haven’t disrobed for anyone in quite a while.”

The tiniest smile graced her lips. “No expectations. We both know what this is. Do you want me to close my eyes?”

“I… yes,” I said before I could talk myself out of it. How had I fallen so far that I was nervous to take off my shirt?

Charlotte closed her eyes and spun around for a good measure, letting my brain turn into scrambled eggs in peace. My hands shook with every button, but eventually I reached the end. She stretched out as I climbed onto the bed and I tucked myself against her back, muscles seizing with each new bit of contact. My chest felt like it was going to burst, my heart a frantic staccato as I pressed the length of my body to hers and wrapped my arm over her.

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