Page 36 of Knot All Is Lost: Part 1

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Hesettledmeon his lap so my legs straddled him as I twined my arms around his neck, burying my face in his neck. The feel of him pulling me close to him just felt so right and perfect, the fear of knowing this happiness and losing it was something I didn’t know if I could survive. Tears streamed down my face causing me to hiccup as I tried to break through them.

Then Marius started to purr, the deep rumbling sound drew my Omega nature out unlike anything I’d felt before. I whined as I clung tighter to him, and without understanding why I let my head roll to the side so my hair fell away and my neck was exposed. Instinct rode me hard right now and I knew I was offering something important but I didn’t really understand what it meant.

“Cambrie,” Marius whispered, a tightness in his voice as if he was fighting to be able to talk. His lips landed on my neck in a soft kiss. I went limp in his arms in an act of perfect surrender to my Alpha.

“You honor me by offering up your neck, but I haven’t earned the right to claim you just yet,” Marius said, his lips brushed my skin igniting a fire deep in my belly. “One day my Princess you will be ours in every way but for now you must wait a little longer.”

Another whine was on the tip of my tongue but it stopped when he locked his mouth around my neck catching the skin and sucking it roughly. My hand convulsed as euphoric pleasure I’ve never experienced before flooded my body sweeping me into the clouds. Only in heaven could something feel this good.

“Marius,” Nixon’s voice cut out.

Slowly Marius pulled back and cradled me to his chest, his purr kicking up a notch as I sat there trying to remember my own name.

“Sweetheart,” Nixon murmured, brushing a hand over my forehead causing me to open my eyes to look at him. “Come here, we need to let Marius finish getting ready for work but he’s not going to move from this spot with you in his arms.”

I hummed my understanding turning to press a kiss to Marius’s neck where he’d kissed me before letting Nixon pull me from him. While my brain understood that Marius left the dining room with Spencer in tow, I didn’t seem to have the energy to worry if I’d done something wrong with how light I felt.

“Holy shit he blissed her out good, didn’t he?” Bodhi said as he lifted a glass of water to my lips. “Here Cambi, this should help.”

“He’s a better man than me I’ll tell you that,” Nixon muttered. “I don’t think I could have done that without marking her for real.”

Rafael snorted. “Oh, I’ll say he marked her. That’s as clear as you can be about your claim on an Omega without doing the deed.”

“Hey Sweetheart,” Nixon said, tracing my face with a finger. “You alright?”

“I had no idea that someone could do something to a body that felt so good,” I shared, lifting a finger and brushing it down his nose. “You have beautiful eyes, did you know that? They are so deep and remind me of the ocean.”

Nixon playfully nipped at my finger. “You’re one to talk with those shimmering aqua orbs sitting in your face. They are like gazing into a crystal ball, you never know what they might say about your future.”

“No, I’m not nice to look at like all of you are. Everyone who lives here is so handsome. I’m all bones, bruises, and marked up with scars,” I said, brushing off his compliment, reaching out with both hands, placing them on his cheeks. “You’re scratchy today,” I shared, rubbing my hands along his scruff until I realized what I was doing and yanked my hands back to my chest. “Sorry.”

Nixon laughed, and a bright, happy smile appeared on his face as he brushed his cheek against mine. “Haven’t shaved yet Sweetheart, don’t worry I’ll be smooth faced in a bit. Speaking of getting ready I need to get going on that. Do you think you’re gonna be alright if you stay here today with Oscar and Bodhi?”

Hearing him say that made me realize they wouldn’t be able to stay with me all day. I nodded slowly keeping my feelings to myself as the euphoric cloud started to dissipate. “You have to work. All of you do incredibly important things for everyone. I’ll be just fine if you need me to stay here.”

Nixon kissed me on the forehead, stood, then settled me in his spot next to Oscar. “Don’t worry we’ll make sure to say goodbye before we leave alright?” I smiled reassuringly as he headed upstairs.

“Guess that’s my cue to get myself ready since we all drove home together. I left my car at the shelter so I’ll need to catch a ride with them,” Rafael informed us as he picked up his plate and carried it into the kitchen.

I looked at the table and saw all the food that was left and was amazed. Clearly, Marius hadn’t been kidding when he said they liked leftovers.

“Cambi, do you mind helping me clean up the table?” Bodhi asked. “It’s part of my chores since I don’t work just yet doing school, but it will help familiarize you with the kitchen if you need anything. No matter the time of day you are welcome to eat or drink whatever you find here and no one will care.”

“Okay,” I answered, getting to my feet.

Now that the amazing feeling I’d gotten from Marius was gone it almost made me feel like I might be hollow inside. After feeling so much all at once, now I was left… empty. Never in all my memories could I remember having felt something so powerful and so warm. It was so hard to find the right words to describe what Marius had made me experience.

Numbly I gathered plates, stacking them and placing the silverware on top before walking into the kitchen. Spotting the sink I set them on one side and started the water, turning it to hot as I grabbed a sponge. I couldn’t find any dish soap but when I tested the dispenser it came out blue. I guess in fancy kitchens you hide the common things like dish soap. I got lost in thought as I started on the silverware gazing out at the backyard.

“Cambi, you don’t need to actually wash them,” Bodhi commented as he stood next to me. “We have a dishwasher right here. You can toss them in.”

He pulled open the silver door next to the sink pulling out the wire rack that already had some dishes in it. “Silverware goes in these baskets, the cups go up top, and the rest just find the best place they’ll fit. Once we put all of it in, we’ll run it, and put it away later.”

“That sure makes things easy, doesn’t it,” I said, placing things where he instructed. “With it just being Father and me, we didn’t have much to clean up.”

“Makes sense, I never used one either until moving in here, but the way these guys eat and cook this is a lifesaver. There’s a lot in this kitchen I never knew existed but now that I’ve gotten used to them it’s gonna be hard to go back,” Bodhi rambled.

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