Page 91 of Ready or Knot

Jude’s eyes are glassy, and he doesn’t bother with trying to blink away the tears before they fall over his lashes and down his cheeks. He doesn’t say anything before his lips are on mine, slow and soft and infinitely gentle, and the care he takes breaks my heart. I pull away from him and reach into my back pocket, grabbing the thin piece of paper and pressing it against my stomach.

Logan frowns.

“What’s that?”

“Something the doctor did for me while you were taking that phone call,” I say. The column of his throat moves with his swallow, and Carter’s hand spasms against my side. “She said it isn’t nearly as good as an ultrasound tech could do, but...” I shrug and flip the paper over, resting it in my lap so they can see it.

I don’t know what I’m expecting, but complete silence greets me, and I squirm as my nervousness grows.

“She said I’m about eight weeks, so it would have happened before my heat.” I swallow and mess with the corners of the ultrasound picture. “Which she explained is probably why I didn’t drop into it on my own. Officially I’m due mid-March, but she said that they’ll probably come closer to early February—and harped on me for getting in to see the proper doctor soon.”

Logan blows out a breath. “They?” he asks, his voice shaking. “As in more than one?”

“It’s apparently something that’s more common when a hormonal birth control fails.” I point to each of the small bean shapes from the ultrasound. “She can’t tell if they’re identical, but there’s some testing we can do if we—”

Carter cuts me off with his mouth on mine, his hands cupping my face and tipping it towards him. Someone takes the ultrasound picture and sets it on the counter beside me. A moment later, Carter has my legs wrapped around his hips as he takes me toward the bedrooms, lunch all but forgotten.

“Mine, please,” I whisper against his lips between kisses.

He lays me out on my bed, standing at the foot of it, and I rush to take off my shirt, throwing it towards the closet on the other side of the room. Logan’s already stripped by the time I’m pulling off my bra, and Jude isn’t far behind. Carter hesitates, his eyes roaming over me, catching on the scabs from the knife wounds, his gaze pausing longer on the scab left from where my chest tube was placed.

Logan climbs up beside me, nuzzling my neck, nipping at my throat hard enough that heat races through me, slick pooling between my legs. Jude groans, flanking him, kissing just under my ear.

“Right here,” he murmurs. “I’ve wanted to mark you right here since that first night you were in my bed.”

I tip my head back, giving them both more room, anticipation making my heart race. My scent drowns the room, overpowering both of theirs, and I twist my hands into the sheets to keep from reaching for them, wanting them to explore me without my urging.

And still Carter pauses.

I hold out my hand for him, palm up, and he takes it in a steady hold, his fingers lacing with mine, but he doesn’t move towards me. Doesn’t strip out of his clothes. Doesn’t set a knee on the bed.

His face is full of emotion, awe and devastation and joy, and I tighten my hold on him in silent question.

“I am so incredibly lucky, little Omega,” he murmurs, voice thick with the same mix of emotions. I squeeze his hand and pull him towards me.

This time he doesn’t hesitate, setting a knee on the bed while stripping out of his polo. He kicks off his slacks and boxer briefs in the next moment, and then he’s on me, pushing me back into the bed and covering me with his body. He strips me of my skirt and underwear so fast I gasp. Jude and Logan back away as Carter sinks into me, driving into me with hard thrusts that have my hips lifting off the bed with need.

This isn’t a seduction. It’s a primitive need, similar to my heat but infinitely more at the same time. He sets small bites along my sternum, and my orgasm rises, his movements so precise that they have me writhing in pleasure in a matter of moments. He tips my chin back, his eyes full of desire, and then sets his teeth on my throat. My body is alive with pleasure, and one expert flick of his thumb over my clit, and I’m falling over the cliff, my body locking as wave after wave of my climax races through me. He bites hard enough to break my skin at the same moment, and I cry out, my hands scratching into his back hard enough that I pull blood.

His satisfaction is suddenly simmering in my blood, so visceral I almost don’t notice him pulling out and coming across my belly. He runs his tongue over the bite, and my core clenches around nothing, more slick rushing down my thighs. Before I can settle into the afterglow of the orgasm—and the bond with Carter—he’s moving away from me, adjusting until he lays next to me, breathing heavily. Logan pulls me against him, rolling me onto my side so that we’re looking at each other, lifting my leg as he slides in with a single, seamless push, and I groan, dropping my forehead against his, the sensations overwhelming me as he sets his thumb to my clit and encourages me to the brink of awareness again. He hums as he kisses the spot just under my ear, the same spot he bruised during my heat when the need to have him bond with me rode me hard.

“Love you, Red,” he murmurs, his lips skating over my ear. All I manage is a moan, my body awash in goosebumps as he drives into me harder, faster. He pinches my clit, and I’m gone, drowning in another unending wave of bliss. His teeth sink into that spot, and I cry out, clinging to him as his emotions roar through me, his happiness and soft, tender affection. Just when I think he’s going to knot with me, he pulls away, his cum landing across my clit and hips, his breathing ragged as he takes my lips in his, his tongue twisting with mine.

I’ve not yet come down from the high when a firm hand grasps my ankle and pulls me away from Logan, flipping me onto my back as I’m moved to the edge of the bed. Jude wraps my knees around his hips, one hand on the base of my throat as he pushes into me with a hard thrust, his face tight with desire. His eyes never leave mine, even as he forces me closer to the edge of the bed, bringing one leg to rest over his shoulder.

“Fae,” he murmurs, and I shiver. I don’t know how I’m still capable of responding to his touch, to his systematic claiming of my body. Lightning ripples through me, and I clench around him, pulling a groan from deep within his chest. He leans over me, his teeth brushing along the delicate, sensitive space just under my left ear, left devoid of either of the other claiming marks. He pulls the skin into his mouth, sucking gently, pressing his thumb against my clit and rubbing quick circles around it.

I fall apart in his arms, my entire body trembling, over sensitized from the three orgasms they’ve pulled from my body in quick succession. His teeth break my skin, and my back bows, my keening cry echoing off the windows.

His love overwhelms me, his bone deep gratitude keeping me from floating away entirely on the wave of sensation that ripples through me as his knot locks us together, his grunt against my throat making me clench around him again. He runs his tongue over his mark before pressing a kiss so gentle it feels more like a whisper of his lips against it.

His eyes are bright, tears lining the bottom lashes when he pulls away, cupping my cheeks and kissing me until I’m gasping for breath, my body igniting under him again. Carter and Logan flank me, their lips soft against my temples, and I lace my fingers with theirs, holding them both over my belly, drowning in the overwhelming sense of them within me. Jude pulls back, rising above me until he can spread his palm over my pelvis, his fingers stretching to my belly button.

“You’re ours, Fae,” he says, emotion making his voice crack.

Carter whispers in my ear, “Always, little Omega.”

Logan hums, biting my ear before murmuring, “Our perfect Red.”

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