Page 27 of Knot in Bloom
I could slip my hand between my legs right now and imagine it was his mouth there instead. The thought makes me arch against my sheets, a desperate sound escaping my throat. I’m rationing my heat suppressants to make the prescription last longer, taking one every other day instead of daily. My body’s more responsive than it should be, more desperate for alpha attention.
My phone buzzes and I grab for it with shaking fingers, hoping it’s him. Some sweet message about how perfect last night was, how he wants to do it again, how he’s been thinking about the taste of me.
Instead it’s my supplier. “Delivery truck broke down. Wednesday’s flower shipment delayed until Thursday.”
I stare at the message while my body still throbs with need. Any other day this would send me into panic mode—what if I can’t fill Mrs. Keller’s order? What if the church arrangements fall through?
But this morning I feel invincible. I’m the omega who made quiet, careful Levi Reyes lose complete control. Who had him pressing me against bookshelves and groaning my name like I was killing him with want.
An alpha wants me. Really wants me. After months of thinking I was broken, that I’d never feel that desperate need. Levi proved me wrong with his mouth and his hands and the way he looked at me like I was everything.
I can handle a delayed flower shipment. I can handle anything.
I take my time getting ready, letting the hot shower wash over skin that’s still sensitive from his touch. By the time I’m dressed and heading downstairs, I’ve almost convinced myself I can act normal around him.
Almost.
The October morning is crisp and clear as I unlock the shop, the kind of day that makes the mountains look like they’re showing off. I’m arranging fresh chrysanthemums when I spot movement outside.
Reid Harper walking down the street with coffee cups and pastries from The Honey Crumb, looking expensive and polished in the morning light.
My pulse quickens, but not with the overwhelming need I felt thinking about Levi. Reid is different territory.
But then I notice more movement from the same direction and my stomach drops.
Levi, also carrying coffee cups, moving with that careful grace that made me want to bite his neck last night. The same hands that traced my jaw like I was something precious are wrapped around cardboard takeout cups.
They’re both coming from The Honey Crumb. Both walking toward my shop. Both about to arrive at exactly the same time.
I watch them notice each other about twenty feet from my door. There’s a pause, what looks like a polite but awkward conversation. Reid gestures toward my shop. Levi says something that makes Reid’s shoulders relax.
This is fine, I tell myself, even though my body is already responding to the anticipation of being near them. Just two men bringing coffee to the local florist.
Except I can see Levi from here and I’m remembering exactly how his hair felt when I had my fingers twisted in it.
The bell chimes as they come through the door together.
Both their scents slam into me at once—cedar and rain colliding with expensive bergamot—and I have to grip the counter to keep from swaying. My omega biology goes absolutely haywire, recognizing two alphas in my space, both interested, both radiating that focused intensity that makes my body respond without my permission.
Slick pools between my thighs so fast it’s almost embarrassing. My scent blooms sweet and inviting, honeysuckle and vanilla broadcasting my arousal to every alpha nose in the room.
“Good morning, Sadie,” Reid says, but his voice is rougher now, pupils blown wide as he catches my scent. His own smell shifts, turning richer, more possessive. An alpha scenting an interested omega.
Then Levi clears his throat. “Morning coffee delivery.”
The familiar roughness in his voice makes my core clench with want, but there’s something new there. A confidence that wasn’t there yesterday. Like kissing me senseless has awakened something primal in him.
When I breathe in, I can still smell traces of myself on him. My scent clinging to his clothes from last night when he pressed me against those shelves and made me forget my own name.
“You two haven’t officially met,” I manage, though my voice comes out breathy and affected.
“Reid Harper, this is Levi Reyes—he owns the bookstore across the street. Levi, this is Reid. He’s an architect working on a project in Pine Valley.”
The moment I say Levi’s name, his scent spikes with possessive satisfaction.
Reid picks up on it immediately. Instead of backing down, his own alpha nature rises to meet the challenge. Not aggressive, but definitely not yielding territory either.
“Interesting timing,” Reid says, and there’s subtle challenge threading through his polite tone.
