Page 65 of Down Knot Out (Pack Alphas of Misty Pines #3)
“I’ve been waiting for the right moment.” He crosses to the dresser and opens the top drawer, reaching into the back corner. “After everything with the Sinclairs, it felt like we needed to close that chapter completely.”
My pulse quickens as he turns back to me, holding a small velvet box in his palm. The navy blue velvet shows wear at the edges, faded in spots as if handled many times over the years.
“This isn’t what you think.” He fiddles with the box. “Not exactly.”
I step closer, drawn by curiosity and the hint of vulnerability in his expression. “What is it?”
He opens the box with careful fingers. Inside, nestled in faded satin, lies a delicate silver ring with a soft blue stone that catches the lamplight and throws it back in flecks of azure and indigo.
“I bought this for you in high school.” Emotion roughens his voice. “Sophomore year, after winter formal. Do you remember?”
My breath catches in my throat as the night floods back to me in fragments. Snowflakes melting in his dark hair. The way his arms felt around my waist as we danced. His mouth hesitant on mine in the backseat of his car afterward.
Our first real kiss.
Tears sting my eyes. “You saved it all this time?”
He lifts the ring from its nest. “I was going to give it to you when our courtship was confirmed. Had this whole speech planned.” His laugh holds no humor. “Then everything happened with your family, and…”
“It’s okay, you don’t have to say it.” The old hurt is there, but duller now, a scar rather than an open wound.
“I should have been stronger.” His fingers close around the ring. “I should have told them to go to hell.”
I touch his wrist, his pulse fluttering beneath my fingertips. “We were kids, Dom. And we’re past that now.”
He takes a shuddering breath. “I kept the ring. Even when I thought I’d never see you again, I couldn’t let it go. ”
“Why?” The question slips out before I can stop it.
“Because I bought it with money I earned myself, not my family’s, which is why it’s not a diamond.” He uncurls his fingers, offering the ring to me again. “It was the first decision I ever made that wasn’t filtered through what my parents wanted.”
I take the ring, its slight weight in my palm, the silver still warm from his skin.
“I didn’t think I’d ever see you again, either. I never imagined we’d make it back to each other.” I raise my head, a grin spreading over my lips. “But look at us now. We both escaped from toxic families.”
“And built better lives.” His hand cups my cheek, thumb brushing over my lower lip.
I slide the ring onto my finger, and it somehow fits, even after all the years, as if it was meant to be there all along. “We made it.”
Dominic leans down, his breath warm on my lips. “We’re still making it.”
He closes the distance between us, his kiss gentle. His hand slides to the back of my neck, fingers threading through my hair, and his tongue traces the seam of my lips. I open to him with a soft sound that gets lost between us .
My hands find his chest, his heart a steady beat through his shirt. He walks us backward until my shoulders meet the wall, his body a line of heat against mine.
When he breaks the kiss, he swallows thickly. “I never stopped wanting to be with you. But I needed you to choose us on your own terms. No pressure, no obligation.”
My fingers work on the buttons of his shirt. “I choose you. I’ll keep choosing you.”
I lean forward to press my lips to the hollow of his throat, where he tastes like salt and smells like home. His hands find my hips, pulling me closer until our bodies align. The hard length of him nudges my stomach, and heat pools between my legs in response.
His mouth trails down my neck, teeth grazing the spot where my shoulder meets my throat, and I arch into him, seeking more contact.
With a rumble of desire, his hands slide under my thighs, lifting me in one smooth motion. I wrap my legs around his waist as he carries me to the bed, our mouths never parting.
The mattress dips beneath us as he lowers me onto the cool sheets. His weight settles over me, and through our bond, his desire mirrors my own, amplifying it, creating a feedback loop of need that has my skin humming with anticipation.
“Chloe,” he breathes against my lips.
I pull him closer, drawing him into the shelter of my body, ready to create something new from the ashes of our past.
I sweep my palm over the bare planes of Dominic’s chest, his heartbeat thundering beneath my fingers. His breath catches when I trace the line of dark hair that disappears beneath his unbuttoned jeans. The ring on my finger catches the lamplight, sending prisms dancing across his skin.
“You’re beautiful,” I whisper, watching goose bumps rise in the wake of my touch.
His fingers find the buttons of my blouse, undoing each one. “Says the woman who stopped my heart the moment she walked back into my life.”
Electricity charges the air in the room, raising prickles of awareness along my spine. When my blouse falls open, Dominic’s eyes drop to the curve of my breasts, the rise and fall of my breath visible in the soft light. He pushes the fabric from my shoulders, his knuckles grazing my collarbone.
I reach for him, sliding my hands up his arms to his shoulders. His skin burns beneath my touch, feverish and alive. He unclasps my bra with practiced ease, drawing it down my arms until it falls forgotten to the floor.
His breath fans warm across my breast before his mouth closes over my nipple. A gasp escapes me, my fingers threading through his hair to hold him there. His tongue circles the sensitive peak, teeth grazing, and pleasure sparks straight to my core.
“Dom.” My head falls back. “Please.”
His mouth finds mine again, the kiss deeper now, hungrier.
His hands map the curve of my waist, the flare of my hips, leaving desire in their wake.
When his fingers slip beneath the waistband of my pants, I lift my hips to help him slide them down my legs.
The cool air of the room raises goose bumps on my thighs that he chases away with the warmth of his palms.
His mouth charts a path down my body, kissing the hollow of my throat, the curve of my breast, and the sensitive spot below my ribs that makes me squirm. When he reaches the jut of my hipbone, he looks up at me through the fringe of his lashes, his eyes dark with desire.
Gaze held, his tongue finds my center, and my world narrows to the point of contact. Heat spirals outward, my fingers clutching at the sheets as pleasure builds. His name falls from my lips, a mantra, a plea.
When the tension coils tight enough to snap, he pulls back, leaving me gasping. His slacks join the pile of discarded clothing, and he moves back over me, the hard length of his cock on my thigh.
Fingertips dimpling his skin, I tug him closer. “I need you inside me.”
He kisses me, swallowing my words. His hand slides between us, fingers testing, finding me slick and ready. When he pushes one finger inside, my hips buck up to meet him, seeking more.
He groans. “You feel incredible.”
Reaching between us, my fingers wrap around his length to guide him. He hisses through his teeth at the contact, muscles tensing beneath my touch. Slowly, he presses forward, the stretch perfect as he fills me.
“Alpha.” My back arches off the bed. “Dom.”
He stills with his hips flush to mine, breath coming in ragged pants. Through our bond, his restraint, the thin thread of control he clings to, shudders. I roll my hips, and his breath catches.
“Move.” I wrap my legs around his waist. “Please.”
He draws back and pushes forward again, setting a rhythm that starts slow and builds. Each thrust sends pleasure spiraling through me, tightening the coil in my belly. His mouth finds mine, kisses turning messy and desperate as our bodies move together.
His hand slips between us, thumb circling the bundle of nerves at my center, and the world fragments around the edges. I cry out, fingernails digging into his shoulders as the first wave crashes over me. He follows me over the edge with a groan, his rhythm faltering.
His knot swells, stretching me further, locking us together in the most primal way. The pressure of it sends another wave of pleasure washing through me as his release floods my womb, and his body trembles above mine.
Dominic collapses beside me, careful not to crush me, his arm wrapping around my waist to pull me close, while his knot throbs inside me, a reminder of our connection. We lie tangled together, breathing in sync, skin cooling.
His hand strokes my hair. “I love you. I think I’ve loved you since the first day in seventh-grade English, when you corrected Mr. Thomas about the difference between a metaphor and a simile.”
A laugh bubbles up from my chest. “You remember that? ”
“I remember everything about you.” His fingers trace the curve of my hip and the dip of my waist. “The way you twirl your hair when you’re thinking. How you bite your lip when you’re nervous. The exact shade of pink you turn when you’re embarrassed.”
I rest my cheek on his chest, watching the ring glitter in the lamplight as my hand strokes his flushed skin. The blue stone catches the glow, transforming it into something magical. “We have time now to make new memories.”
His arm tightens around me even as his knot releases. “A lifetime.”
The peaceful moment wraps around us like a cocoon, warm and safe. The contentment of my other mates comes through the bond.
Our pack, our family, all under one roof.
I lift my head from Dominic’s chest, smelling wood smoke, like a log left in the fireplace, and my brow crinkles. I don’t remember anyone lighting a fire downstairs.
Dominic’s nose twitches, too, and his body tenses beneath mine. “Do you smell that?”
I inhale again, slower this time, picking up the burning, acidic scent of smoke. Not the fireplace.
Alarmed, we bolt upright at the same time.
Dominic reaches for his pants while I’m already moving, grabbing his shirt to pull over my nakedness.
“Wake the others.” He yanks his slacks up. “I’ll check downstairs.”
I’m already at the door, heart hammering. Out in the hall, the scent of burning grows stronger as smoke creeps in through the vents.
Our home is on fire.