89. Chapter Eighty-Nine

Chapter Eighty-Nine

Beth

I 'm never going to be a morning person. That much is obvious. Of course, mornings could be about to get a little better now that I have mates.

The sound of my phone's alarm makes me groan.

I roll over and bump into Rourke, who reaches out and passes me the offending item.

"Thanks," I murmur as I switch off the alarm.

I let him sleep over, without the possibility of sex.

I made it another condition, but I wanted him here because I've missed him.

Having him hold me all night reminded me of some of the good times we had together in the past. It made me crave as many moments as I can get with him now and in the future.

"I never want to be without you again," I tell him as I set the phone down on the nightstand nearest my side of the bed.

If it sounds needy, I don't care. He's my true mate and he's an Alpha. He's supposed to care about my needs.

"Is that a condition?" he asks, as I put my head on his chest and lay back down.

"It's a demand," I decide, holding him close. "Those are even more important than conditions."

"I would do anything for you," he says. "I'll never willingly walk away from you like that ever again."

He can't bring himself to say he won't do it, full stop, and I think I know why.

"You think your mother might try to interfere with us again?"

"Probably not, but who knows when she might get bored with her rich friends and try hunting me down to mess with me again?" he says, confirming my suspicions.

"Isn't there anything we can do to stop her from finding us?"

"Not really, but I have some dirt on her I can use if she does show up. It should be enough to send her scuttling back under the rock she crawled out from."

"That sounds interesting. What's the dirt?"

"My parents have been helping fund some of that creepy psychologist Warren Corvina's private Omega clinics. It's been done in sneaky, backdoor bullshit ways, but I have enough proof downloaded onto a USB to implicate them in that asshole's criminal enterprises. It would be a huge fucking scandal. My mother would be mortified."

"Holy hell," I murmur. "You know, my friend Secret's pack have been working to take down traffickers. Warren Corvina's a big part of that stuff, but there are a lot of other creeps involved."

"Her pack is in the Alpha Alliance?"

"I think they basically created it."

"Impressive."

"Yeah, her mates are pretty awesome."

"What about yours?" he asks, making me smile.

"Better than awesome," I admit. "But this one's going to make me late for work, so I'm heading to the shower before he can distract me any more than he already has."

"Damn," he murmurs, letting me go.

I slip out of the bed, ready to get moving but not because I'm headed to work.

Jack's been super-efficient at getting all the work booked in so there really isn't that much more left to be done now. I know he did that to make sure he could spend some time with Arrow, and I got him to ask our Omega if it would be okay for me and Rourke to come over today.

Jack sent me a text within fifteen minutes, confirming that Arrow would love our company while he's in heat.

I don't know what that might end up meaning, but I want to be there for him.

With Rourke's new connection to Arrow, I know he'll want to be there, too.

I step back into my bedroom in a towel and smile at my already dressed ex-boyfriend.

"Shower's free."

"I don't need to …"

"Condition number whatever, showers are obligatory. End of story."

He laughs. "Okay fine. Am I borrowing your toothbrush, too?"

"Ugh, no. That's too weird. There are spares under the sink. Catherine stockpiles basics like she's a survivalist."

I move out of his way, and he looks me over as he passes.

Oh, that was definitely a longing look if I've ever seen one.

It gets me a little hot as he steps out of the room.

I bite my lip as I open the closet.

There's something Rourke never gave me when we were dating, and I have to wonder if he didn't realize it was possible. It felt so damn good when Enzo gave me his knot. It was intense and I ended up passing out, but I definitely want more of that.

I pick out clothes quickly and set them down on the dresser.

Checking the time, I send Jack a text to let him know we might be a little late.

I'm nervous as hell when I discard the towel.

I haven't changed in the last year, but he has.

He's got insane muscle definition now, and a tattoo of my name on his chest.

Becoming a cop seems like it suits him, though he admitted last night that the reason he's been around so much is because he asked for a break after he got stationed locally, and he threw his parents' names around to make sure they gave him it.

That probably wasn't the smartest thing to do given how crazy they are, but he doesn't think they heard about it, so it's probably not going to come back to bite him on the ass.

I sit down on the edge of the bed, trying to look sexy.

My hair's probably the same wild mess it always is, and I'm not wearing any makeup, but I know he doesn't care about any of that.

He takes his time in the bathroom while I sit there, ready and waiting to be knotted.

When the door finally opens and he steps back into the room, I get to see the shock in his expression when he looks at me, his gaze heating up as it drops to my body.

Still got it. Whatever it is.

"What …" he starts, shaking his head. "I haven't made anything up to you yet."

"I know," I tell him. "But I know you will, and I want us to be official."

"You want me to mark you?" his voice gets all low and sexy.

"I want you to mark me, right here." I point out a spot on the left side of my throat. "Before you claim me and give me your knot."

"My knot?" He blinks. "I don't think …"

"It's definitely possible. Trust me."

He licks his lips and starts to strip out of his clothes.

The sight of his body makes my pussy clench.

I sit there waiting on the edge of the bed, and he comes closer once he's naked, getting to his knees in front of me, and gazing at my lips.

"I've missed you so damn much, Beth."

"I've missed you, too," I whisper, afraid I might start to cry if he makes me think about the past.

"I'll never not love you. Never."

"I know. I'll never not love you, too."

He kisses me, and I wrap my arms around him, stroking through his hair.

When he backs up, he gazes into my eyes. "You're sure you want this asshole to mark you?"

I laugh. "I'm sure, and don't call yourself an asshole."

"Another condition?"

"Oh, definitely."

He smiles as he dips his head to my throat and kisses me. "Here?"

"A little lower," I tell him, knowing Gio's bite should be the highest as the lead Alpha.

"Here?" he whispers, kissing again.

"Right there."

I steel myself for the intense burst of pleasure that surges to hide any traces of pain.

He moans softly before he bites down, and I gasp the second that blissful charge hits, making my body shudder and my clit start to throb. It pushes me right to the edge of a climax.

"Oh my God," I murmur, slipping a hand between my legs and getting my fingers wet before swiping them over my clit. Three soft touches, and I'm crying out in pleasure.

Rourke moves back and gazes down at my hand. "I'm assuming it felt good when I marked you?"

"I was so close to coming," I admit. "I just had to touch myself."

"I watched you do that the other night," he confesses. "Your drapes were open. You lay down here and put your hand into your pants."

"You watched me?" That's kind of hot, but only because it's him.

"You looked so good. I had to touch myself, too."

"On the fire escape?" Now, it's getting even hotter. "You put your hand down your pants?"

He shakes his head. "I took my cock out and stroked it until I came on your window ledge."

He strokes the mark he just made on my throat.

"Until I ran into Arrow, you were the only person I'd ever slept with. The only one I could imagine in my life. I was ready to give up on a life of my own to keep you protected. I would still do that if you wanted nothing more from me."

"I want everything with you, Rourke. Everything we talked about. Now, we get to share all of that with Gio's pack. It's going to be our pack, our family. We get to have everything, and then some."

"That's all because of you, Beth. I never would have found those guys on my own. I never would have known Arrow existed. You brought them into my life. They don't know how lucky they just got, because you're the best person I've ever met. I love you so fucking much."

He kisses me and we fall back onto the bed, making out until we're both left gasping for air.

"Knot, please," I murmur, between breaths.

He smiles. "I guess here goes nothing."