Page 3

Chapter 3

Carver

What the hell made me suggest the friends with benefits situation?

I want more and the way she kissed me, so does Harlow. But being the good person in the relationship she had with Colton, she’ll be the one who will sacrifice our future for his sake.

I open the door, take a deep breath, and walk over to the bed, sitting down beside Harlow as she stares at the ceiling.

The room feels heavy with unspoken tension.

“Why didn’t you say anything before?” Harlow asks, her voice soft and vulnerable.

"About being my mate?"

She nods. “All this time, you’ve been...” she trails off, shaking her head slightly .

I rub the back of my neck, trying to find the right words. “I don’t know. You weren't ready and I guess I was scared of losing you, of ruining what we had.” I let out a humorless chuckle. “Some alpha I am, huh?”

Harlow sits up, drawing her knees to her chest. “You’re not like other alphas. That’s why I...” She pauses, biting her lip. “Maybe that’s why I’ve always felt so comfortable with you.”

“Don’t underestimate my kindness toward you as being a weak alpha.” My heart pounds in my chest as I hold her gaze. “I held back for one reason only.”

“Because I was?” she answers. I nod, but she already knows. “I suspect it was also because you never wanted Colton to believe I was an omega while we were together.”

“I didn’t. He’d have claimed you, and you’d have let him.”

She swallows and presses her head against her knees, realizing what that meant. “Oh my God.”

I murmur under my breath. “So, where does that leave us?”

“I don’t know.” She looks at me, her expression conflicted before she glances away. “It wouldn’t be right. Colton is my ex-boyfriend, and you’re his brother. I can’t do that to him.”

The words sting, but I knew this was a possibility.

I nod slowly, trying to tamp down the disappointment. “I understand.” Not that it’ll stop me, but I need to stay calm.

An uneasy silence falls between us before she stands up and strolls to the door.

“Harlow, wait.”

“I should go,” she murmurs, holding the handle, glancing back. Her eyes shining with unshed tears.

I should let her go. We should put some distance between us before I do something I might regret .

“I’m sorry,” she whispers. “If only I was an omega. If only you weren’t my ex’s brother.”

I give her a sad smile. “I’m sorry too.”

With that, she steps out of the room. My heart thuds against my chest as she closes the door behind her.

Moments later, I stride after her. But as I reach the door, I lean against it, trying to process everything that just happened. And how I deal with everything.

Let her go.

Part of me wants to follow and fight for her, to convince her we’re meant to be together. But I know Harlow. She’s loyal to a fault, and the thought of hurting Colton would be enough to keep her from pursuing anything with me.

Despite how much he hurt her.

And as much as it pains me, I have to respect her decision until she is ready. I want my omega now, but not at the expense of her not wanting me.

I push off the door and head back to my bed, wondering if I’ll ever get a chance.

What if this is it? My chance with her.

Or what if she secretly knows she is an omega, and she is testing me?

Do I fight for what I want, or am I prepared to walk away?

Before I have time to think about what I’m doing, I head down the corridor and push on her bedroom door.

Harlow looks up at me, her red-rimmed eyes glistening with unshed tears.

“He deserves nothing from you,” I tell her.

“I know.” She hiccups back a sob. “Can you hold me?”

Without a word, I dash to her, pulling her into my arms .

She melts against me, her body trembling slightly.

I tilt her chin up, searching her gaze. “Harlow...” My voice scratches against my throat.

She stares back at me, and before I can say another word, she surges up and her lips crash against mine.

The kiss is fierce, desperate.

Only when we finally part. Breathless, I gaze down at her. “Harlow...”

She reaches up, tracing the line of my jaw. “Why you?” she whispers.

I scoop her up into my arms, cradling her against my chest.

She lets out a soft sigh, nestling closer as I carry her back to my room.

Gently, I lay her down on the bed, hovering over her. “It was always me. Deep down, you knew. And now I’m not letting you go, Harlow,” I murmur, my eyes locked with hers. “Not now, never.”

She reaches up, her fingers tangling in the front of my shirt. “Just kiss me again,” she breathes, pulling me down for another searing kiss. And I lose myself in the taste of her, the feel of her body beneath mine.

All the tension, the desire, the longing—it all comes rushing to the surface as two people who have been denying what’s been there all along finally accept their destiny.

Nothing but us matters. Not Colton, certainly not the consequences of us being together. All that exists is Harlow and the overwhelming need to show her just how much she means to me.

I want more.

My cock is hard against her stomach as we kiss.

I kiss her mouth, her cheek, her neck, as I keep going lower.

“Do you want to feel your mate fucking you? ”

She gasps as I kneel between her legs, and move her thong to one side.

My dick twitches, aching behind my pants.

“Your slick...”

She presses her hand against her pussy. “It’s not slick. I’m just wet.”

“Stop denying it and you’ll reveal sooner,” I groan as I run my nose along her skin—her thighs, her pelvic bone, her stomach—kissing her everywhere but where she wants and for long enough for her to moan.

“Do you want me to touch you?”

“Yes,” she murmurs, but she can hardly deny it when she is practically panting.

I want to tease her more, but I give in and suck her clit into my mouth.

“Oh my God,” she moans.

I fill her pussy with two fingers, thrusting them slowly in and out as I nibble and suck at her clit. She moans with each graze of my teeth across it. I soothe the bite with a flick of the tip of my tongue.

“Carver—”

“Come for me,” I say, pumping my fingers in and out of her as I suck on her clit.

“Carver! I’m…”

It’s the most beautiful sight to see your omega unravel for you for the first time–your very first time–and now I want to give her something she has never had.

A knot.

I drag her thong down her legs, stand, and undo my pants.

Harlow’s gaze roams from my eyes downward as my cock springs out.

I should wait, but I’m so ready for my omega, and I’ve waited too long.

After crawling onto the bed, I settle between her thighs and hold my cock as I slide the crown down her seam to her sweet moan.

“You’re a perfect omega,” I tell her. And I know she’ll still deny her designation for as long as she can. For some reason, she doesn’t believe me, so I don’t wait for her sass. I slide my dick back up to her clit and lazily back down again before I thrust into her pussy.

“Oh, God—” she moans. Her hands find my head as her fingers cling to my scalp.

My cock slides in and out of her pussy, the wet sounds filling the room.

My omega.

I groan against Harlow’s neck as I feel her body tremble beneath mine.

She’s mine—my omega—my mate.

The mere thought sends a possessive thrill through me.

My hips snap forward, driving my cock deeper into her silky heat.

Her cries echo in the room as her nails dig into my back.

My teeth ache as I stare at her neck, wanting to claim her so much.

I run my tongue over my teeth, knowing I need to stop thinking about that and focus on making her come.

It’s not long before we set a relentless pace.

I can’t be gentle, not now. Not when I’ve waited so long to claim her.

“You feel so good, Harlow,” I growl, nipping at the delicate skin of her throat, still wanting to sink my teeth into her flesh and claim her as mine.

I’d never do that.

No, I want her to beg for that moment.

“So fucking perfect. ”

She whimpers, arching into me, and I know she’s close. I can feel it in the way her walls flutter around me, and the way her delicious scent grows richer, more intoxicating.

Her aroma is too close to a pina colada.

It’s not the time to tell her.

“That’s it, omega,” I murmur, angling my hips to hit that spot inside her that’ll make her see stars. “You’re going to come for me.”

I slam into her a few more times before I spin Harlow so she’s on her hands and knees, frantically trying to remove her top and mine as we fuck.

“Do you want me to knot you?” I growl, my voice thick with desire.

Harlow shakes her head. “I’m an alpha, Carver.”

I grit my teeth, “You’re a fucking omega, Harlow. I can smell you. You smell of coconut, pineapple with a hint of vanilla and rum.”

“I have a scent?” she murmurs.

“There is a good chance that only I can smell you. Now please tell me how much you want to take my knot. Please show me how you are meant for me. Colton could never have done this to you until you were fully presented, but I can. Your slick is running for me.”

Harlow moans as I thrust into her harder. “Knot me,” she whispers. “Let me feel you.”

I groan and pull out of her pussy. She whimpers in protest, but I want to see her face when I knot her the first time.

I turn her around until she is on her back again.

This time, I don’t just slide back in—I push hard until my knot catches against her pussy. I want her to feel how big I really am as I press against her.

Her back arches off the bed as a strangled cry tears from her lips. Her climax climbs and I keep fucking her like a wild animal .

“I’m going to knot you.” When I bottom out this time, I circle my knot around her opening, waiting for the moment she is ready to feel me fully inside her.

“Carver!” she gasps, her nails raking down my back.

I groan, burying my face in the crook of her neck as I feel her clench around my cock. She’s getting so close.

After a few more deep, punishing thrusts, I press harder, and my knot locks inside her.

Her mouth opens, her eyes are on mine.

Harlow gasps and claws at the sheets as pain shoots through her body.

It subsides quickly, and she moans as bliss overwhelms her.

“Carver!” Her body shudders as she comes around my knot, crying out my name, and it’s enough for me to follow her over the edge, spilling myself inside her.

“Carver—” This time when she calls my name, it’s much quieter as her pussy clenches around my cock, and it’s the most amazing feeling in the world.

I kiss her face. Her lips.

This is my omega. I finally have her.

“We need to stay locked until my knot relaxes,” I tell her as we catch our breath.

And it’s all we need for now.

“Then I’ll bathe you.”

“How long will that take?”

“It was my first time. I don’t know.”

“It was mine too,” she says.

“I know. I told Colton to not knot you. That it might harm you.”

She swallows. “You saved yourself for me?”

I nod .

We lay there, tangled together, our breathing slowly returning to normal. I press more gentle kisses to her forehead, marveling at the woman in my arms.

Colton had his chance, and he blew it. Now Harlow is mine, and I’ll be damned if I’m going to let her go.

I nuzzle her cheek, inhaling her intoxicating scent. “You’re mine, Harlow,” I murmur, my voice low with emotion. “Always.”

She shifts in my arms, tilting her head to meet my gaze. There’s a vulnerability in her eyes that tugs at my heart.

“What about Colton?” she whispers, her brow furrowed. “What are we going to tell him?”

I brush a stray lock of hair from her face, my thumb caressing her cheek. “Fuck Colton,” I growl. “He lost his chance. You are mine now.”

Her eyes widen slightly at my declaration, but there’s a glimmer of hope in their depths.

“Are you sure?” she mutters.

We both lie there for a moment, staring at each other.

“I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life,” I murmur.

All that matters is the warmth of Harlow’s body pressed against mine and the knowledge that our bodies are united, and soon so will be our souls.