Page 67 of Knot in Bloom
From up here, we can see the whole property layout. The bones of what it used to be, the potential for what it could become again. Several acres of rolling land, maturetrees providing privacy, space for gardens and maybe even outbuildings.
“You’re really considering this?” she asks when we’re back on solid ground, both of us slightly out of breath from more than just the climb.
“I’ve been thinking about it for weeks. Driving by, imagining what it could be like.”
“Imagining what?”
“A place to belong. Somewhere permanent.” I move closer to her, drawn by her scent and the way she’s looking at me. “I know the timing’s fast, but I also know what I want.”
“What do you want?”
Her voice is softer now, and I can see her pulse fluttering at her throat. The urge to press my mouth there, to taste her skin, is almost overwhelming.
“This. Us. A life we build together instead of just getting by separately.”
She looks up at me, and in the golden light of late afternoon she looks like everything I’ve ever wanted but never thought to ask for.
“All of us?” she asks quietly.
“All of us.”
We end up on the front porch as the sun starts setting. Sharing the steps, but closer now, her shoulder pressed against mine. The air between us feels different. Charged with more than just possibility.
Her scent has been growing richer all evening, and this close I can smell the subtle shift that tells me she’s affected too. It takes everything I have not to pull her into my lap.
“So what do you think?” I ask when we’ve sat in comfortable quiet for several minutes.
“I think whoever buys this place is going to be very lucky.” She leans against my shoulder, and I can smell how her scent hasdeepened with something warmer. “I can see why it caught your attention.”
“Can you see yourself here?”
The question hangs between us. She’s quiet for a long moment, and I wonder if I’ve pushed too hard.
“Is that what you’re asking? Whether I can see myself living here with you?”
“I’m asking whether you can see us building a life here together. All of us. Whether this feels like home.”
Her breathing changes. I can smell the shift in her scent. Deeper, richer, with an undertone that makes my alpha instincts respond with fierce satisfaction.
“Four bedrooms,” she says quietly. “Plus the nesting room. And all this land.” I know she’s been doing the same calculations I have.
“I can absolutely see myself here. See all of us here.” Her voice gets softer. “Cooking dinner together in that kitchen. Reading in the living room while Levi works on his poetry. Reid setting up a home office in that back bedroom.”
“What about you? What would you do here?”
“Plant flowers. Lots and lots of flowers. Make this place bloom the way it’s meant to.” She pauses, considering. “Maybe expand my business. Take on bigger projects now that I’d have proper workspace.”
The vision she’s painting makes my chest warm and my cock ache with need. “You really think it could work?”
“I think it could be perfect.”
We sit there as darkness settles around the mountains. Both of us lost in the same fantasy. When she shivers slightly, I pull her closer without thinking, and she melts into my warmth with a contented sigh that makes my body respond with fierce want.
“I should probably get you home,” I say reluctantly when full dark arrives, though every instinct I have wants to keep her close. “You’ve got an early morning tomorrow.”
“Yeah.” But she doesn’t move away from my side. Her hand finds mine in the darkness. “Thank you for showing me this. For including me in the decision.”
“It wouldn’t be right without your input. None of this would be right without you.”
