Page 50 of Knot Forever

I glance around, biting my lip. “I need…um/ Maybe an hour or two to put everything in the right place? Is that okay?”

“Of course.” Marcus heads for the double doors separating this space from his room. “I have some work to do in my office. I’ll come back after lunch?”

Beaming, I nod, my eyes already on the messy piles around me. I’m itching to get started. “Perfect.”

I carefully unpack every bag, every box, setting out the blankets, the candles, the pillows into little piles that I happily move around until they’re in the right position. The only thing we’ll need is something a little softer for the floor, but that’s easy enough. Just having a space to play with has lightened tension in my body that I didn’t even realize I was carrying.

A frisson of excitement fills me, my heart jumping as I imagine my heat for the first time.

“Nova?” Marcus is leaning against the door, watching me. “It’s lunchtime. I made you a sub.”

He holds out the plate, and I walk over to him, my stomach rumbling. “Thank you. I didn’t realize how hungry I was.”

I take a seat on the steps leading down from Marcus’s room into the nest, and Marcus joins me. “Are you enjoying your nest building?”

“I love it,” I say, a touch dreamily. “There’s something soothing about making sure everything is in the right place.”

“I understand that,” he offers, looking at the way I’ve arranged it. My blankets are draped across the floor, building up a soft surface and surrounded with strategically placed pillows and cushions. The shelving on the far wall is filled with my candles, lotions and toys, and I’ve wound little twinkling lights around the clothing rail that runs across the left wall, giving the whole room a warm, soft light. “I like knowing where things are too.”

I bite into my carefully-made sub, the layers perfectly crafted. These alphas are spoiling me with food.

“I’ve been thinking,” he says casually as I chew. “About your heat.”

My choke sends crumbs flying everywhere. “You have?”

I put the food down, giving him my full attention, and he frowns at me. “You need to eat. I heard your stomach rumbling.”

“I am,” I assure him. “But I want to hear about this.”

Marcus shifts, and I move my eyes from him, both of us looking into the room as he gathers his thoughts.

“I have never had sex,” he says quietly, and my heart skips a beat. “I never found someone that made me feel that it was something I wanted to do. But you make me want that, Nova. So I made a list.”

Affection tingles in my chest as I watch him from the corner of my eye. “I like the idea of a list.”

“I use them a lot. To plan my day, like you’ve seen.” He shifts. “I can lose track of time when I’m working. I kept forgetting to eat, so Asher wrote me a list to follow, and I have a timer in my office.”

“That makes sense,” I say softly. “Can I see the list you’ve made for us?”

He hands it over. It’s typed, neatly set out in a table. “My handwriting isn’t the best, so I prefer to type things.”

Nodding, I take a look at the list.

Send Nova text messages Take Nova on a date Set a date Clean, soft bedding for Nova Showers Massage Foreplay Sex

“Oh, Marcus,” I whisper. “This is a good list.”

My eyes land on theclean, soft bedding, and the backs of my eyes start to burn a little. He’s clearly done his research into omegas and what we like.

“Nova?” Marcus asks, worried. “Are you okay? Is something wrong?”

I shake my head violently. “This is lovely. Can I have a hug?”

He opens his arms and I set my plate down, crawling over to him, settling in his lap and finding my favorite spot to breathe him in. “When does this list start?”

He hums, his hand rubbing my back. “It’s already started. Check your phone.”

My stomach flips giddily as I yank my phone from my back pocket to check. Sure enough, there’s a message from Marcus, the first one he’s ever sent me since Seth programmed their numbers in.

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