Page 47 of Knot Her Cowboys
“I’d bet my life on that.”
“I kind of feel worse knowing I’d have cursed you all to an omegaless existence.”
“Not so omegaless now.”
She smelled so fucking sweet I wanted to bury my face against her skin and breathe her in until my head swam.
Riley chewed her bottom lip. “I haven’t decided if I’m staying. I need to, for a while, anyway. Making Cash and myself sick from the separation isn’t high on my to-do list, but a lot of what I ran from back then is still here.”
“What were you running from?”
“Family, mostly. Cooper, Cash, and Morgan were the reason I made it to adulthood, and it felt like my family had a pretty fucking vested interest in making sure I didn’t. I had to leave to survive, and I don’t regret that part of things. I do regret going no contact, though, in part. They didn’t deserve that, but after a while there was no safe way to reach out to any of them, or at least not one that got a response. Plus, I missed them so much and if I hadn’t cut this whole world off, I’d have given in, come home, and been torn apart. Cooper couldn’t protect me from everything, no matter how hard he tried.”
“I’m sorry you grew up like that, and I’m grateful you had people who cared to help you through it.” I wanted to scoop her up and hide her away from all the shit of this world. Hiding her in the barn wouldn’t work for long, but for now it was just me, her, and Buttons.
Riley squirmed, her scent sweetening as she leaned her forehead against the fencing. “I don’t think my suppressants are working very well.”
Sweat glistened at her temple when I smoothed her hair back, turning her face to look at me and finding her pupils blown, lips softly parted.
“We should get you back into the big house. I can find Cash for you.”
She shook her head, shifting to burrow against my chest, fingers curled into my shirt as she shivered, sucking in deep breaths. “Give me a minute.”
My arms looped around her automatically, acting independently of my brain that was currently setting off some internal air raid sirens about how fucking incredible she felt tucked in my arms.
She was Cash’s mate and Cooper’s obsession. But…we were pack, so she was mine too, in a way, even if we hadn’t explored that yet. I didn’t even know if she’d want to.
“The suppressants will probably take a few days to kick in properly since you missed a dose,” I reminded her. “If you were already coming up on your normal heat, they’ll be fighting a bigger battle than usual. We could go into town, get you an emergency high dose to give things a chance.”
Her whimper was like a lightning bolt straight down my spine. Every muscle pulled taut, my cock trying to press its way through my jeans.
“I hate taking them. I was only on them for the move. They always worked so well for all my friends in college, but my body hates them.”
“Cash is going to struggle to take on a heat alone.”
I nearly died on the spot when she swiped her cheek against me in a scent mark. Wearing an omega’s claim wasn’t something I took lightly. I wasn’t sure what it meant to Riley, but it damn sure meant something to me
“Why alone?” she asked quietly.
“Well, I’m sure Cooper would be on board to assist when he gets back, but I don’t know if you would want him to just yet.”
She pursed her lips. “I don’t think Cooper would be on board foranythingregarding me right now whether I wanted him or not.Youdon’t want to?”
The edge of burnt sugar sharpened, tainting her floral sweetness. Did she think I was rejecting her? My body was so fucking primed I was ready to rut her right there on the barn floor. “I don’t want to assume I’d be there just because I’m in the pack. You should only have people you trust for your heat. I want you to feel safe.”
Riley let out a snort, fingers walking up my chest to hook in the collar of my shirt. “You saved my life. Pretty hard not to feel safe with you after that. It’s okay if you don’t want to, though. I mean, my instincts don’t like that thought, but the tiny bit of rational Riley fighting for the surface understands. I’m not everyone’s cup of tea, but Iampretty fun.”
“Sweetheart, if you were a damn cup of tea I’d have already drunk every drop. The issue here isnotwhether I want you or not. I do. I just wantyouto wantme, because you would anyway and not because of a heat flare.”
Her dark eyes swallowed me whole when they met mine. “Problem solved, then.”
I had about a half second of rational thought before her scent surged, my omega rising up on her toes, pulling me down at the same time, meeting my mouth with hers.
Hot damn.
Riley was a live wire in my arms, writhing, squirming, and whimpering as she tried to press every ounce of herself against me while also wrestling out of her clothing. She shoved down the top of her dress before I could blink.
All right, I guessed we were fucking in the barn, then. I’d never get her back to the big house in time.
