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“If you don’t, it will be very unpleasant.”

“I believe that.”

“Good.”

He kisses me, and this time, the hurt folds into heat and a longing to reconnect. His thumb circles until my hips stutter. I come with my forehead against his, one hand clamped around his shoulder and the other at the back of his neck, my purr breaking open with pleasure.

Theo holds me through it, whispering my name like an apology and a prayer. When I can breathe again, I reach between us and open his sleep pants. He’s hard and hot in my hand, thick enough to make my body clench in anticipation. His knot is already swelling at the base, responding to my scent, my anger, my choosing.

“I want you,” I say.

His grip tightens, then eases. “Are you sure?”

“I’m hurt, not confused.”

He looks as if that sentence will live inside him forever.

I rise on my knees, guide him to me, and sink down slowly. The stretch steals my breath. Theo’s forehead drops to my shoulder, his whole body shaking as I take him inch by inch. We settle into a sensual slide that cracks the foundation of my world, cutting me open until it’s only my alpha and me. My body welcomes him with a deep, aching pull that makes my thoughts blur around the edges.

“Too much?” he asks.

I shake my head, then make myself answer properly. “No. Stay with me.”

His arms come around me, snug and careful. “I’m here.”

I move again, slow, then deeper, letting the floor brace my knees and Theo’s hands anchor my hips. The angle is raw and close. His chest drags against mine. His purr vibrates through both of us. Every lift and drop rubs my clit against him until pleasure gathers again, heavier this time, fed by anger, relief, and the bewildering tenderness of being held by someone trying so hard not to hold wrong.

Theo’s control frays. I feel it in his breath, the heat of his skin, the way his knot presses harder each time I come down.

“Little rabbit.” His voice is strained. “If you keep doing that, I’m going to knot.”

I stop with him buried deep. His eyes snap to mine.

I cup his face. “Ask.”

He swallows. “Will you take my knot?”

The request moves through my body in a rush of omega need. My scent spills sweet and bright, filling the kitchen, curling toward the couch, the porch, the strange helpful lamp keeping watch over us.

“Yes,” I say. “Knot me, alpha.”

Theo makes a broken sound and kisses me as his hips roll up. His knot catches, thick and demanding, stretching me around the swollen base of him. For a sharp second, my body cannot decide if the fullness is too much or exactly what it has been begging for. Then my body opens around him.

I come again as the knot locks, shaking hard enough that Theo has to hold me through it. His release follows, hot and pulsing inside me, his purr turning ragged against my throat. His mouth stays against my skin, lips open, teeth carefully away from claiming me.

That restraint makes tears spill down my face.

Theo feels them. “Pepper?”

“I’m okay,” I whisper, which is not entirely true and not entirely false. “Don’t move.”

“I won’t.”

For a long time, we breathe together while the knot keeps us joined on the kitchen floor and the house hums softly around us. Ezra sleeps on the couch, breathing steady beneath the blanket. The bathroom faucet runs like a thin silver thread through the hall.

Theo strokes my back.

After a long while, he says, “I’ll bring out the old property boxes tomorrow. Photos too. There are albums from before I bought the place and some paper surveys I never digitized. I don’t know if it will help, but I’ll put it all on the table.”