Page 53 of Knotty New Year

After that first time, we rested for a while. She fell asleep with my knot still inside her, and when she woke, it seemed as if the suppressants had worn off completely. Her heat arrived like a hurricane of passion, as she became insatiable.

Every few hours, a soft knock on the door indicated the arrival of food, cold juice, and water. Each time I slipped away from the nest, Candy growled until I returned, then staked her claim once more. My skin was littered with pink bite marks, and I never wanted them to fade.

On the first day after my arrival, I was able to speak to Kati for a few moments.

“Nicky, some woman just came storming in, said she was going to cut off a grapefruit and feed it to pigs. The guards stopped her outside. Dark hair, tiny, an omega by her scent. Should we call the police?”

I winced, pulling my robe more tightly around me as I accepted her offering of pineapple juice and a charcuterie board. “No, that’s Candy’s best friend. Put her up in a spare room.”

“I think she scared the guards,” Kati whisper-shouted, as Candy began to stir behind me. “Should we really let her run loose here?”

“A room in a hotel, then. And make sure she’s taken care of. Rain doesn’t have money to spare.”

“We called Candy’s parents. Should we fly them up as well?” She wrinkled her nose. “Maybe after a few more days?”

“If they want to be here, go ahead. I’ll owe you.”

Her eyes shimmered with emotion. “You’ll never owe any of us a damn thing, Nicky. None of us can ever repay you for all you did after Mom and Dad died. Now it’s our turn to take care of you, and your omega.”

I tried to fill two small words with all the love I had for my siblings. “Thank you.”

Outside, I heard a woman shouting about all alphas being pigs, before her voice was muffled.

“I need you to stay if you can. Tell the rest of the family if they want to get back to work, go ahead. We’ll gather at the house sometime soon.”

“Are you kidding? Everyone’s taking the week to get to know Paloma while Victor’s holed up in the conference room, conducting online meetings. He’s ‘retired’ half the board.”

“It’s his choice. I’ve made mine.”

“Nicky? You made the right one.” She quietly closed the door as Candy began whining on the bed behind me.

Two days passed, and to my surprise, Candy’s heat haze began to clear. She was still feverish, and if I didn’t knot her at least every few hours, she would descend into the mindless haze, but for some reason, she was more coherent than I’d expected. In between lovemaking, we began to share stories of our childhoods, and she told me about the most important people in her life: her parents and her two best friends.

I made a mental note not to be alone in a room with Rain Torres for at least a few years. I had a feeling she knew how to hold a grudge, and I’d earned her distrust.

“She’ll forgive you in about a decade,” Candy laughed. “She responds well to dark chocolate raspberry croissants, gift certificates to classic movie festivals, and any flavor ice cream except mint chocolate chip.”

“You really know your friends.” I nuzzled her hair, drawing her rich strawberries and cream scent into my lungs. “I love that.” Just as it had before, that word had her tensing up. I massaged her shoulders, purring lightly, until she relaxed. “Is this what your heats are normally like? Don’t get me wrong, I like being able to talk.”

“They always gave me heat suppressants,” she said, as I fed her some honeyed brie on a cracker. “Maybe that’s part of it? What are other omegas’ heats like?”

“I wouldn’t know. I’ve knotted omegas before—” Her growl was immediate, and loud enough to shut me up. I loved hearing it, knowing what it meant. Her inner omega was possessive and protective, just like my alpha nature. “But never during a heat. Our mating heat is the only one I’ve ever participated in. And now, of course.”

“You never…” Her voice trailed off, and the air filled with more of her scent. I could feel her lips curving up into a smile against my bare chest. “I like that. Mine. All mine, from now on.”

“And you’re mine, princess. Forever.” I slid her up the rumpled sheets, lowered my teeth to her mating mark, and bit down gently.

That set her off, and within minutes, she was perched atop me, sliding herself down over my knot. I met her gaze, trying to tell her with my eyes all the things she wasn’t ready to hear. To tell her that I might not have been in love with her when I claimed her—or at least I hadn’t realized what I was feeling was the beginnings of love—but sometime in the past few days, that had changed.

When she bit her lip, tears coursing down her flushed cheeks, but her eyes shining with the same emotion, I hoped she’d understood. But I said it aloud to be sure. “I’m here, princess. I’m here from now on. It will just get bigger every time I look at you.”

She blinked, then shouted with laughter. “I hope not. The damned thing’s the size of a grapefruit now, Pax!”

My own laughter filled the room. “Little minx, are you laughing at my knot?”

“No one would laugh at it,” she whispered, still giggling. “It’s a threat all on its own.” The vibrations of her laughter had her walls squeezing my knot even more tightly. “I swear, Pax, how are you still coming? I had no idea.”

“I’ve been saving up for decades, princess. I’ve got a backlog.”

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