Page 248 of Knot What I Expected

I don’t have a single negative thought about myself while I undress for my mate. And I know what I look like.

I’ve had a child. My belly is soft. I have rolls and stretch marks. My thighs are thick and jiggly. My breasts nursed my son, and they aren’t as perky as they used to be.

And so fucking what?

This body made Matteo.

It carried him when he was the most precious secret I had. It nourished him. Protected him. It carried both of us away from the Suicide Cliff Wake when staying would have meant losing everything.

This body survived.

I survived.

And right now, there’s a gorgeous, Viking-looking Alpha Wolf standing in front of me, staring at every inch like I’m the most beautiful fucking thing he’s ever seen.

There’s no judgment in those molten-gold eyes. No disappointment. Just hunger.

Want.

Need.

Something deeper that makes the matebond glow warm inside my chest.

And for once, I let myself see what Rowan apparently sees when he looks at me.

Not flaws. Not a body I need to apologize for.

Me.

His mate.

His Omega.

And damn if I don’t feel fucking beautiful.

“Christ, look at you,” he growls so softly I wonder if his words are meant for me.

My knees weaken as I watch his hand move down his body while he stares. Rowan cups his balls, gives them a good squeeze. Then he grips his cock at the root with his left hand, takes his right hand and runs it over the bead of precum leaking at the tip.

Then he strokes himself.

And fuck me, it is so hot.

That low belly ache returns and intensifies. Heat fills my body. I suck in a breath.

Rowan’s expression sharpens. His hand stops moving.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah.”

At least, I think I am.

I reach for my shorts. Then that sensation in my lower abdomen comes back.

Harder.

I freeze.