Page 17 of Therefore

Chapter Fifteen

Trystan

E merson carried me to my bedroom like a starving man heading to a feast, and I was fucking thrilled.

He accepted me. I didn’t know if I’d be able to get out of thievery for him, but knowing I had the freedom to live my fucked-up life with him was a relief.

I was more than a thief to him. And I was more than an omega.

He wanted all of me, regardless of the mess it brought.

After all, without that mess, we wouldn’t be here.

My back hit the bed, and I looked up to see Emerson yanking off his tie.

He smirked down at me, his trousers already half open from my desperation, with an impressive tent poking out.

“You have ten seconds to strip and hold your knees beside your head. I’ll still knot you all night if you fail, but I won’t let you come until dawn. Go.”

I couldn’t have been more motivated if my life were at stake. Without even getting off the bed, I shucked everything off my hips and kicked it across the room, then assumed the position asked of me.

Emerson chuckled as he carefully folded his clothes, neatly placed them on a chair, and climbed between my spread legs. He tapped his cock against my hole, then ground the thick length of it up and alongside my own, leaning to kiss up my chest.

“So close. Don’t fancy being my good little cockwarmer for the night, do you?”

“Mm, actually, that part sounded great.” I moaned as he took one of my nipple piercings between his teeth. “It was the threat of all-night edging that made me pick up the pace. Maybe we start with a cheeky one-minute edge and work our way up?”

“Don’t worry, love.” He planted a kiss on my forehead, and I melted into the pillows. Little moments like that were so unlike anything I was used to, and it never failed to affect me. “I’m going to take such good care of you tonight. Now, where’s your lube?”

Within moments of handing him my dwindling supply, Emerson was already two-fingers deep and making me writhe beneath him. I swear, the way he moved his fingers was like he had a fucking built-in map to my prostate.

He circled my Adam’s apple with his tongue, kissing along my jaw as he added a third finger. “You need to relax, sweetheart. You’re always so tight.”

My cock twitched as he fingered me, sparking pleasure all the way down to my toes. “I can take it, please.”

Removing his fingers, Emerson lubed his cock and lined up at my hole. He pressed against me, teasing me with his girth as he ran his hands up the backs of my thighs to where I held them up. His hands covered mine, and he leaned down, pushing my legs back further and opening me up to him.

“Ready, love?”

I’d never been more ready in my life. It was scary how quickly my life had changed, but I didn’t want to go back now.

“Ready, Alpha.”

Emerson entered me in one long, deep stroke, filling me perfectly and making my omega purr.

I’d never had this with another partner.

No one else praised me or touched me with the reverence he did.

Even when he leaned into the dominant side of his alpha, he prioritised my pleasure, and ultimately, my wellbeing.

He genuinely cared for me, and I wasn’t totally sure what to do with that.

I’d never cared what anyone thought of me before, but the opinion of this man—my alpha—now mattered more to me than I’d ever thought possible. I’d do anything within my power to be worthy of his affection.

His thrusts pounded against my prostate like it had personally offended him, each plunge sending shockwaves of pleasure throughout my body. The scent of leather and patchouli washed over me, and my eyes zeroed in on the juncture between his shoulder and neck.

Bite. Claim.

The urge built inside me like water behind a dam, and I knew I didn’t have long until it broke free.

“Please, Alpha,” I whined. “Knot me. Claim me.”

Emerson pressed his lips to my forehead, my mouth, then my neck. He breathed in deeply, taking in my scent, and a growl rumbled from his chest.

My heart pounded in my throat as the pressure of his knot pushed inside me, stretching me to my absolute limits. Finally, his teeth sank into my neck, and I couldn’t have held back my release if I’d tried. Pleasure drowned my senses, overwhelming every nerve ending in my body.

I collapsed into the mattress, my limbs trembling in a tangled heap around my alpha, who licked at the mark on my neck. One prominent urge remained. Summoning my remaining energy, I tangled a hand in the soft strands of Emerson’s hair and tilted his neck to the side.

Arms curled beneath me, lifting me to his neck, and I bit down, hard.

As my teeth pierced his skin, I instantly felt the change.

The bond between us snapped into place, and a strange calm washed over me.

All the noises of the outside world faded until it was just me and Emerson, our hearts beating together in perfect synchronicity.

My alpha roared in my arms, his knot throbbing inside me as he emptied himself. My inner omega purred at the sensation of him filling me. Emotions flooded into me, connecting me to my alpha in more than a physical sense. I felt his protectiveness, his loyalty, his love, all pouring into me.

It was the most peaceful I’d ever felt.

I’d woken beside Emerson a few times now, but this morning was different.

I felt lighter, somehow. This time, I was his, and he was mine.

Fully and completely. I belonged to someone, but not as a possession or a means to an end.

With Emerson, I was an equal. He treasured me in a way I’d never experienced before.

Hopefully, I’d get to experience it for a long time to come.

A large, muscled arm tightened around me, pulling me back against my alpha as he kissed across my shoulder to his bite mark. The muscle there ached, but not uncomfortably. More in the pleasurable way I felt after a seriously good fuck. Sore yet sated.

“Morning, love,” he murmured against my neck. “How are you feeling?”

“Mm, so good. I always…” I yawned to cover myself before I said something I’d regret. Wiggling back further into his warm embrace, I said, “Yeah, I’m good. You?”

Emerson paused in his gentle kisses before pushing me onto my back and pinning me down with his hips and a curious look. “What was that? You were going to say something else.”

“Was not.”

A grin spread across his cheeks as he leaned down to lick and nibble along my jaw to my earlobe. “Come on. You can tell me.”

“Mm, is this how you get your clients to spill their secrets? I feel like I should be jealous.” My hands wandered down Emerson’s back, the muscles hard against my palms as I reached the curve of his arse.

Rolling his eyes, Emerson grabbed my wrists and held them firmly beside my head. “Stop changing the subject and tell me. ‘You always’ what?”

I huffed a breath, avoiding eye-contact.

“I always sleep better next to you.” Heat spread up my cheeks in a burning glow, and I caught Emerson’s eyes practically twinkling in delight.

I tried to wriggle out of his grip, but he was so fucking strong.

Stupid alpha. “No, no! Stop with the face ! If you tell anyone I said that, I swear I’ll deny it. ”

Arms curled beneath me, scooping me up like I wasn’t a six-foot man with a decent amount of muscle, and rolled me on top of my alpha.

Running a hand through my hair, Emerson admitted, “I sleep better with you, too. Your scent relaxes me like nothing else. Holding you is…” He paused, studying my face with a content smile across his lips, “Holding you puts everything in perspective. It means I can sleep, because the only thing that truly matters is safe in my arms.”

My words caught in my throat. No one had ever said anything like that to me before, but I felt the truth ringing through his words thanks to our new bond. The force pulling us together was oddly reassuring, like a second set of instincts I could put all my trust into.

Settling on Emerson’s chest, I asked, “Do you need to go into the office today?”

“Yes, I need another day to investigate the diary,” Emerson explained with a sigh. “Then tonight, we’re going to come up with a plan of what to do about your contract with the diary and your employer. Okay?”

My eyes flicked up to his face. “You really think you can get me out of this?”

“I know I can. Your omega trusts me, right? So, if nothing else, trust your own instincts.”

I nodded, forcing a smile. “All right. Tonight, it is.”

I’d already pushed this job over a week. What harm was one more day?

Emerson reluctantly left my flat far too early for my liking.

My omega wanted to spend the day in bed with him, solidifying our new bond.

Yet despite my insistence that he looked better naked, Emerson needed to go grab a clean change of clothes before work.

At least I could look forward to ripping a different shirt off him later on.

Ooh, I should surprise him tonight. Keep him on his toes.

Wait. Was this how normal people felt? Disappointed to watch their partner leave for the day, yet eager to see them later? Maybe there really was hope for me to have a life with him, away from thievery. Emerson seemed to believe it.

Maybe I had a chance.

After choking down some suppressants, showering, and throwing on yesterday’s jeans with an old t-shirt, I shuffled to the kitchen in search of Emerson’s apology-pancakes.

Bee’s bedroom door was still open, and I assumed they hadn’t come home last night.

Or, if they did, they nope’d straight back out once they heard the sounds we were making. I probably owed them dinner for that.

As I heated the pancakes, my hand drifted to the bite mark at the base of my neck. My shirt obscured most of it, and it still stung a little when I moved, yet it was oddly comforting to touch. In a few weeks, it would heal into a beautiful silver scar, matching Emerson’s.