Page 50 of Trick or Heat

“So?” I prompt. “What do you say, Case?”

It feels like an eternity, but when he finally meets my gaze, I realize he’s crying. His lower lashes are wet, and he seems to be holding his eyes open to keep them from spilling over.

I stand, pulling him up with me. “Casey?”

“I’m sorry, I—” He shakes his head, embarrassed. “I’m just so happy.”

“Me too,” I say. “And I want you to bite me first.”

His eyes flash. “Are you sure?”

“I’ve never been more sure of anything. You are the first person I’ve ever been in love with. I want you to also be the first one to mark me.”

The emotion in his blue eyes swirls with something else, something dark and promising, and my stomach flips.

“Elsie, I have been waiting years to hear you say that.”

He picks me up and my legs instinctually wrap around his hips as he moves us. The guys’ apartment is spacious, but it feels so small as we quickly get to Brodie’s room and he tosses me on the bed that’s big enough to fit all five of us.

“Thank god Brodie had this shipped in right after your heat,” DJ comments as he crawls up next to us.

“How proactive of you,” I tease, catching Brodie’s eye.

He shrugs, the action both nonchalant and the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen. “I wanted my omegas to have somewhere we can all sleep together.”

“And your omegas thank you,” Casey says, the sound muffled in the crook of my neck. I squeal from the way it tickles my skin and then moan when he licks a line up the column of my throat. “Now we can all be together, finally.”

His hand wraps around my wrist, pulling it to his mouth. In the same breath, his wrist appears in front of me, ready for my bite.

“I want us to do it at the same time,” Casey whispers, and I can’t help the whine that climbs up my throat.

“Please,” I say, not wanting to wait another moment. I grab his wrist, keeping it right at my mouth as he kisses mine. One time, two times, and then his teeth sink in and I follow, biting into him as deep as I can.

My entire body lights up from the inside out. Memories of our life together flash through my mind. Leaving elementary school, riding the bus together, school dances, designating as omegas, our first college party. It all flashes in an instant, causing my eyes to sting with both relief and bliss.

He’s mine. I’m his.

It’s the most intense thing I’ve ever felt in my life, but it’s also the most beautiful. Every molecule in my body feels different now, morphed to hold a new light, new information. Everything that Casey embodies now lies inside me, and that makes my eyes water with all the built-up emotion.

Casey’s protectiveness, his sunshine nature, it’s all present as we morph and the bond clicks into place. I can feel the love he holds for me, overflowing and intense, and I can feel the emotions pouring through him as the same realization falls over him. His voice cracks as he curses, the emotion almost too much.

“I love you,” he whispers between the kisses he’s planting up my arm. “I love you, I love you, I love you.”

A tear escapes down my cheek. He caresses it away with his thumb, his blue eyes peering into mine.

“I love you,” I mouth to him, my throat so full of emotion that I can’t seem to get any words out.

“Now we need to let the alphas bond us,” he jokes through his tears, causing the guys to laugh around us.

Casey moves over to DJ, and then there’s a handsome alpha in front of me, his nutmeg scent pulling me in like a siren song.

“Pari,” Raivat whispers in my ear, the sound curling in a way that leaves me breathless. “You are the best work of art I’ve ever seen. Through you, the world has taught me once again what real beauty looks like.”

My heart leaps into my throat as he clamps down on the skin in the crook of my neck. Euphoria shoots through me, every morsel of my flesh taken over by the pleasure of his bite. When he pulls back, his tongue slides over it, cleaning the mark thoroughly. I take the opportunity to sink my own bite into the ball of his shoulder. His answering hiss turns into a low groan as our bond forms beneath our skin.

The calming presence, the voice of reason. His energy is tranquil and clear, grounding to anyone who has the pleasure of knowing the real him rather than the soccer star he’s known to be. The sensitive artist underneath the persona is glorious, and I am now tethered to him for the rest of our lives.

I take the time to clean the wound, my body singing from the inside out as we hold each other. It’s intense, but also serene. Being bonded is the best feeling of my entire existence.