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She reaches for me, face soft. I can’t jerk away without hurting her, but I try to put as much distance as I can. Daphne hates it. She wraps her thighs tighter around me, forcing my body to rest on hers.

“You didn’t do anything, Dez. I hurt myself.”

“I—”

“No, you didn’t.” Greedy hands pull me down and the second I’m within reach, Daphne presses kisses everywhere. Along my jaw, across my lips, over my cheeks. Each one melts my anxiety a little more until I’m willingly giving her my weight. “I thought you were teasing me again, and I couldn’t handle it. I should’ve told you as much. You asked me to, and I forgot.”

I should’ve stopped it. She trusted me to take care of her and I failed. “I wasn’t giving you what you needed.”

Daph doesn’t disagree, hands running a soothing circuit across my thighs, my ass, my back. “Any other time, playing would be fine, but in a heat spike…”

“Things need to happen fast. I’m sorry.” My head sags into her shoulder, scent darkening more. Careless. I was so fucking careless.

There’s the faintest rumble coming from Daphne, not a purr, but a growl. She’sgrowlingat me. Her little fingers pinch my ass, carding through my hair to pull my face into view again. “I want to play, Dez. I just needed you like this first.”

Something warm and gooey swishes in my chest when she smiles softly. Like she really means it. Like she cares.

“I’ve never knotted anyone before,” I confess. Needing her to know I saved this for her. Maybe I should’ve followed Nate’s example.

“Really? It does something to me to know that I’m your first heat, too.”

That's obvious. Her pussy clenches, shifting a little with a throaty sound.

“Stop moving. I don’t want to hurt you again.”

Daph slants her mouth over mine, moving restlessly against me. “To be fair, it was less pain and more surprise. How was I supposed to know you’re a grower?”

Her teasing steals my attention and my cock jerks, happy she’s talking about it. “I tried to tell you.”

“You did. It’s my fault. If you’d like a do-over, I’d be happy to volunteer.”

“Is that so?” She’s wiggling on my knot again, making us both groan as she fights for more stimulation. I haven’t come yet, and I want to. Want to watch her drip with me, smell our scents wrapped together for days. “If I fuck you again, are you going to listen this time?”

“Maybe.”

Laughing, I test her with a short, sharp thrust. My knot’s still inflated, our bodies tied together, but the drag and pull of thatlittle movement is enough to make us moan. “What if you don’t listen to me?”

“Punish me with orgasms. That sounds good,” Daphne gasps, throwing her head back and flashing that perfect neck at me.

Bite her. Mate her. Make her yours.

It would be so fucking easy.

Instead, I hike her leg higher on my hip, watching her reaction. Making sure she’s okay. “You don’t know what you’re asking for.”

But she will.

The fear pushed the rut to the edge of my mind. I have no doubt by the end of this heat, it’ll be back, but not until my brothers are here to keep watch. I’ll only be able to relax when I know Daphne will be safe.

Until then, my knot and fingers work together to keep her coming and by the time I finally deflate, she’s too weak to lift her arms and I could drink an entire lake. No wonder packs are the norm. How the fuck did Connor do this by himself?

When Daph finally wiggles off my knot, I pull back to watch andgod fucking damn.This is something elseI want to paint. Her hair loose across the bed, pale skin darkened with love bites and an obscene amount of my cum dripping out of her pussy.

The urge to have her in my mouth is so strong, I can’t fight it. I dive, ready for a taste of sated, sighing omega, only to be stopped with a hand on my face.

“What are you doing?” Daphne shrieks, trying weakly to push me away.

“Cleaning you up. The others are going to be back any minute.”