She pulls on my hand. She wants me closer.
I lean down. I press a kiss to her forehead. Her skin burns my lips.
“Billy,” she breathes.
And then she pulls me down.
She captures my lips with hers. It’s messy and fevered. She tastes like salt and heat. She parts her lips, her tongue seeking mine.
I groan. I can’t help it. I kiss her back. For a second, I let myself drown in it. In the taste of her. In the feeling of her hands fisting in my shirt.
But then reality snaps back.
I pull back. I break the kiss.
“We shouldn’t,” I rasp. “You’re sick. You’re not in your right mind.”
Her eyes are wide. They are filled with a fear that has nothing to do with the fever.
“Please,” she whispers. “I’m so empty. It hurts, Billy. It aches. I need…”
She doesn’t finish the sentence. She doesn’t have to.
I know what she needs. I’ve seen that look before. Her body is screaming for a knot. It’s screaming for an Alpha to fill the hollow space inside her.
The memory hits me like a wave.
She’s curled up on the floor of her bedroom, a heating pad clutched to her stomach.
The cramps are so bad she can’t walk. I drove in the middle of the night to get to her. I snuck in, and now I’m confused by the state that I find her in.
She’s on the floor. She looks terrified.
“Make it stop,” she begs. I hold her hand. I brush her hair. I talk her through it. I tell her she’s strong. I tell her she’s beautiful.
I don’t leave her side. I feed her ice chips. I change her sheets. I’m the one who holds the bucket when she gets sick. I’m the one she trusts.
I look at her now. The same fear. The same pain.
But this time, I know what to do.
“I can help,” I say. “If you want me to.”
She stares at me. Her chest heaves. “How?”
“I can take the edge off,” I say. “I can make the ache stop for a little while.”
I slide my hand down her stomach. My fingers brush the edge of the towel.
She freezes.
“Just to help,” I murmur.
She nods. A tiny, jerky movement.
I move my hand lower.
My fingers find the source of the heat. She’s soaked. The slick is copious, coating my fingers instantly. She’s swollen, puffy with need.
