Page 136 of Knot Her Cowboys
That only made me cry harder, clinging to Levi like I might fall apart if I let go.
“Did I say it too soon?” Levi asked as he cradled me.
I shook my head, somehow burrowing even closer.
“Why are we all at the door? What’s happening?” Cooper peeked over their shoulders before pushing forward so all three spilled into the room and got down to their knees next to the bath. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m going to guess she’s having a little struggle processing that we love her,” replied Cash gently. He stroked a hand over my damp hair. “Is that right, Riles?”
“I don’t d—” I didn’t get another word out because Dakota pinched my lips between his fingers to stop them.
“Don’t youdaresay you don’t deserve it.” Dakota cupped my cheeks, forcing me to look at him. “That’s not what love is about. Love is freely given. You might need time to work through the fact that we love you, and that’s fine. You had people in the past treating you unkindly and making you question if you’re worthy of love, but youcannotsay you don’t deserve it. We’re pack, and the love will be there in all its forms regardless of what you believe.”
“Do you want to be our omega, sweetheart?”
It took me two tries to get out the word, “Yes.”
“Do you want to bemyomega?” Levi asked.
Dakota released his hold on me so I could turn to Levi, drowning in his amber-brown eyes and nervous smile.
“Yes.” Be brave. He did it, and so could I. “I love you. I want a life with you, too. I want to be part of this pack.”
“Well, that’s a relief since you’re stuck with us for the rest of time,” Cash said with a beaming grin.
“Not stuck,” I insisted. “Neverstuck, but always with.”
We rushed through the few errands we needed to complete before Riley’s heat, and a good thing too. By the time we were driving back to the ranch, she was already sweating, her fingers digging into the seat below her, and her scent sweetening exponentially.
With the windows rolled down I was able to keep some semblance of control. Cash was a different story with the bondconnecting them. When I slowed at a railway crossing, he pitched himself over the front seat and undid Riley’s seat belt to drag her into the back with him. Her moans of pleasure quickly followed, making concentrating on driving that much more difficult.
I drove slower than I wanted to for her safety. If she were properly belted in, I’d have taken those roads with at least a hint of reckless abandon to make sure she got home to be tended before her heat started to get painful.
The staff had put up temporary privacy fencing to block the view of the big house from guests. Bless them for being incredible. They were all used to working as a team, and even without our direction they knew how to handle things. Now that we had an omega, it would be nice to know who took the lead and could continue to do so whenever we had to be off work for Riley’s heats.
I pulled to a stop and shoved the vehicle into park, and all of us not holding Riley burst out of the truck. Cash was forced to surrender her after getting tangled in his own seat belt when he tried to climb out with her in his arms. I took the opportunity to have her latched on to me, putting Levi and Cooper in charge of opening doors on the way up to the omega suite.
Riley was so close to descending into the haze when I laid her out in her nest. Her mouth on mine was ravenous. She refused to let go of me, even if that meant we were both still fully clothed.
I did my best to wrestle out of my pants, but she whimpered, holding tighter.
“Don’t let go,” she pleaded.
“You’re not going to be content with cuddles in a few minutes,” I pointed out.
She was already breathing hard, and sweat dampened her temples, her skin a furnace where she was pressed to me.
“Bite me,” she whispered. “I love—I love you. I need it. Needyou. Please. Bite.”
Desire and delight hit me like a brick. “I’ll give you anything you want, petal. I would imagine you want to get fucked along with that bite, though, right?”
She nodded frantically, digging her nails into my back and arching closer.
“I can’t give you my knot if you don’t let me strip.”
With a long, desperate whine, she managed to detach her grip and I moved like lightning. My clothes hit the floor while Cash and Cooper slid in to strip her down for me.
She had come into our lives nervous and terrified. Even without having felt that in the bond before, I knew she was lighter now. The shackles of her past had been tight around her throat, but they had fallen apart with Darrell’s death and Darlene’s arrest.
