Page 67 of Knot on the Market

Her scent blooms even richer around us, molten green apple and white musk mixed with something purely female and utterly intoxicating. My alpha hindbrain catalogues every detail—the way her pupils are blown wide, how her breathing has gone shallow and quick, the steady drip of slick that means her body is preparing itself for exactly what mine wants to give her.

"Callum," she whimpers, tugging at my wrist. "Please. It hurts."

It hurts.

Those two words shatter whatever restraint I've been clinging to. Not the want. I can handle want. But pain? The idea that she's suffering?

That I can't allow.

"Okay," I say softly, settling more firmly beside her nest. "Okay, sweetheart. I'm here. Tell me what hurts."

"Everything," she breathes, her free hand pressing against her lower belly. "Empty. So empty it aches."

My cock jerks at the words, but I force myself to focus on her comfort instead of my own rapidly fraying control.

"I don't..." I start, then stop. What the hell am I supposed to do? I've never dealt with this before. Never been with an omega, let alone one in heat.

She looks up at me, pupils blown wide but focused. "Need your knot," she whispers, her voice rough with want. "It's the only thing that'll make it stop."

My cock throbs at the words.

"Lila," I manage.

Her grip on my wrist tightens. "Close," she whispers. "Need you close."

I shift carefully, moving from kneeling beside the nest to settling against the pillows where I can support her weight without crowding her space. The moment my back hits the wall, she's moving, curling into my side with a soft sound of relief that makes my chest tight.

Her scent wraps around me like a living thing, molten and sweet and so concentrated it's making my head spin. This close, I can feel the heat radiating from her skin, can hear every small sound she makes.

"Better?" I ask, my arm coming up automatically to circle her shoulders.

"Mmm," she hums, nuzzling against my chest. "Smell good. Safe."

A low purr starts in my chest without conscious thought, the alpha response to an omega finding comfort in my presence. Lila melts even more into my side at the sound.

Safe. The word does something complicated to my chest.

My phone buzzes against my leg, probably Julian updating his ETA, but I don't check it. Right now, Lila is warm and pliantagainst my side, her breathing starting to even out, and nothing else matters.

"Callum?" she says quietly, her voice muffled against my shirt.

"Yeah?"

"Thank you. For coming. For staying."

The simple gratitude in her voice nearly undoes me. "Nowhere else I'd rather be," I tell her, and mean it completely.

She tilts her head to look up at me, those green eyes still dark with heat but clearer now, more focused. "Really?"

"Really." I brush my thumb across her cheekbone, marveling at how soft her skin is. "You asked me for help, sweetheart. Of course I came."

Something shifts in her expression, heat and want and something deeper that makes my pulse stutter. She pushes up slightly, bringing her face closer to mine, and I can feel her breath warm against my lips.

"Lila," I start, but whatever warning I was going to give dies when she presses her mouth to mine.

The kiss is soft at first, tentative, like she's testing my response. But when I don't pull away, she deepens it, her tongue darting out to trace my bottom lip.

I groan despite my best efforts, my free hand coming up to cup the back of her neck. She tastes like heat and want and something indefinably sweet that makes my head spin. When she whimpers against my mouth, I have to use every ounce of self-control not to flip her onto her back.

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