Page 26 of The Knotty Clause

Joy surged through his chest, expanding until he thought it might burst. The crushing weight of loneliness and guilt that had been his constant companion for so long simply…vanished. He smiled back at her, his own eyes bright with emotion. The promise of a future together, of shared nights and mornings, filled him with anticipation.

“Do you think we should see what Liam thinks about this?” he asked and she nodded.

The boy’s reaction was everything he could have hoped for, his face alight with pure delight.

“My own room? Really? And I can decorate it however I want?” Liam bounced on his toes, looking eagerly between them.

“Within reason,” Gemma said firmly, but she couldn’t keep the smile from her face as Liam darted around his new room, pointing out where he wanted things.

“Can we put my drawings here? And maybe add some more shelves?” Liam spun in circles. “And lights! Like the ones in your workshop!”

“I think I have some spare parts we could use to make special lighting.”

Liam immediately grabbed his hand, small fingers wrapped trustingly around his much larger ones as he tried to tug him toward the workshop.

“Can we start now? Please?”

He let himself be pulled along, Gemma following with a soft laugh.

“First we need to make a plan,” he said as he pulled out paper and drawing tools, setting them before the eager child. “Show me what you’re thinking.”

As he and Liam worked on their plans, he couldn’t help glancing up every few minutes to find her watching them, a smile playing on her lips. He couldn’t quite believe that she was really there, that they were really doing this.

They spent the rest of the morning working on the room and transferring Liam’s small collection of belongings. He was intensely aware of Gemma’s presence as she moved around the room, tidying and reorganizing. Her hip bumped against his thigh as she moved past him with an armload of blankets, and the contact sent desire racing through him. She glanced up with a knowing smile that made his pulse quicken.

She kept finding excuses to touch him—a hand on his arm, her body pressing against his back as she reached for something. Each contact made his skin tingle. He found himself returning the gestures, his hand settling on her waist as they moved a chest together, letting it linger longer than necessary. When she leaned in to whisper “thank you” in his ear, her breath ticklinghis neck, he had to fight the urge to pull her closer. Tonight could not come soon enough.

The rest of the day passed in happy chaos until Liam was finally tucked into his new bed, a happy smile on his face.

“Goodnight,” he mumbled, already half-asleep, and they slipped quietly away.

As soon as they were alone, she laced her fingers through his and tugged on his hand.

“Come to bed.”

His heart raced, excitement and nervousness mingling together. The last time he’d been with her, he’d panicked. But he wasn’t going to let anything spoil this. He followed her willingly, anticipation building with each step towards her room—their room now.

As soon as the door closed behind them he kissed her. He intended it to be a gentle, tender kiss but as soon as their lips touched he couldn’t hold back. He crushed her to him, his mouth devouring hers as three long years of loneliness and need exploded within him. She responded just as eagerly, her hands sliding up into his mane, holding him close. Their tongues tangled as they explored each other’s mouths. Heat coursed through him as he lost himself in the taste of her, the sensation of her slender curves pressing against his body.

When they finally broke apart, gasping for air, he could feel the rapid beat of her heart where her breasts were pressed against his chest.

“I’m sorry.” He ran his thumb across her kiss-swollen lips, feeling the heat of her flushed skin. “I didn’t mean to lose control like that. I intend to take my time.”

“Fast isn’t always bad.”

“Remember you said that,” he growled.

He stripped away her dress to reveal the slender graceful lines of her body before carrying her to the bed. He kissed her again, his mouth hard and demanding, then raised his head and smiled at her.

“Tonight it’s my turn.”

Her eyes widened, her lips still parted from the kiss as he began to kiss his way down her body, exploring every curve and hollow until he parted her thighs.

She was so tiny, so delicate, that his face almost covered her lower body, but she only sighed and parted her legs wider as he used his thumbs to part the delicate folds. She shuddered as he licked a broad path through her liquid heat, her body quivering beneath his mouth. A small pearl of flesh at the top of her slit throbbed against his tongue and he lapped at it gently. Her hips bucked against his mouth as she cried out.

Oh, yes.

He licked her again, using his broad tongue to circle the little button and she whimpered, her hands clinging to his horns as she ground against his mouth. Her scent filled his head, sweet and spicy. He explored her carefully, finding the small entrance to her body, and she whimpered again as he pressed into her, first with this tongue and then with a careful finger. So tight andhot and perfect that he growled, his cock throbbing against the sheets