Page 102 of Knot Your Baby

“Of course,” Miller agrees solemnly, though I can see his lips twitching. “Safety first.”

“I’m excellent with knots,” I tell her, lowering my voice. “Fire service training.”

“I bet you are.” She winks at me. “But what about the doctor? Can he handle restraining a patient properly?”

Miller’s eyes darken. “I think you’d be surprised at my skills, omega. I could tie you up so beautifully you wouldn’t want to be released.”

“Promises, promises,” she teases.

“I’d blindfold you too,” Miller continues, his voice dropping lower. “Make you trust us enough to just relax and enjoy whatever we decide to give you.”

Freya stops walking abruptly. Her hand flies to her mouth, and her eyes widen. “Oh my god.” She looks down and squeezes her thighs together. “Slick is running down my legs.”

I laugh at her honesty. “Right here on the beach?”

“You can’t just say things like that,” she protests to Miller, but she’s grinning. “There are children here.” She covers Stone’s ears.

“You started it,” Miller points out. “With your bondage talk.”

“Well, I didn’t expect you to be so good at it!” She gestures wildly with her free hand. “I thought you’d blush and stammer like a Victorian gentleman being offered an ankle glimpse.”

“Disappointed?” I ask.

“Not at all. I am thoroughly pleased,” she corrects. “And drenched. Which is becoming a problem as we’re in public.”

I’m still grinning ear to ear, not at the bedroom talk, but because this is the Freya I met. She’s back loud and proud, and I couldn’t be happier.

Rosie returns with her ball, dropping the drool-covered sandy mess at my feet and looking up expectantly. I scratch behind her ears in reward before throwing it again, watching her bound away again.

“So,” I clear my throat, steering us back to the more serious topic. “About bonding, though. For real.”

Freya’s smile softens. “Is that what you both want? To bond with me?” She glances down at Stone.

Miller doesn’t hesitate. “Absolutely. I’ve never been more certain of anything. From the moment I caught your scent in the hospital. Even masked as it was. Something in me knew.”

I nod, remembering that night at the bakery. “And I could have sunk my teeth into your neck as I carried you out of your bakery.” My voice grows rough at the memory. “It took everything I had not to claim you on the spot.”

Freya’s eyes widen, and she touches her neck unconsciously. “Really? Even with all the smoke and chaos?”

“Especially then. When everything was falling apart around us, holding you felt like the only thing that made sense.”

She smiles at me, and my heart does a ridiculous flip in my chest. God, I’m gone for this woman. Completely and utterly gone.

“It’s what I want too,” she breathes. “To be properly part of this pack. In all ways.” She looks at us. “With all three of you.”

Miller squeezes her shoulder gently. “Thorne will be thrilled.”

“Talking of Thorne. I’ve been meaning to ask,” Freya says after a moment, her voice casual in a way that immediately signals the opposite. “What’s happening with his assistant, Maya?”

Miller and I exchange a quick glance.

“Thorne wanted to sack her,” Miller answers carefully. “But his CFO overruled him until he knew the reason, and Thorne didn't want to discuss it with him.”

“She’s still working at Stone Enterprises?”

“For now,” I confirm. “But she isn’t working for Thorne anymore.”

Freya nods, but I catch the slight tension in her shoulders, the way her hand moves protectively over Stone’s back. Whatever Miller may say about her physical recovery, the emotional wounds are still raw.

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