Page 74 of Bloom in Darkness

His laugh comes again, softer this time. “Jesus Christ, Bryn. You’re scared out of your fucking mind.”

“So are you.” I kiss him before he can deny it. “Good.”

Caelan reaches back, catches the side of my neck, and turns his head enough for me to kiss him while I start moving again. I can feel that he loves me. Actually feel it. It's so fucking strange that I stop again.

Caelan catches the side of my neck when I stop moving again. “Bryn. You keep stopping.”

I stare at him, still trying to separate what I’m feeling from what’s coming through the bond.

His phone vibrates on the side table. Neither of us stops. It vibrates again.

Caelan reaches blindly, misses it, swears, then finally gets his hand around the phone. He stops moving when he sees the name.

"Astra." My hips still.

"Don't stop," Caelan says before answering.

I almost smile as he accepts the call. "Sweetheart?"

Astra's voice comes through clearly enough that I hear every word. "I packed my apartment."

Caelan lets his head drop for a second.

"I'm coming over," Astra continues. "I'm still going tomorrow. I want to choose you there. Publicly. I just needed a minute."

Caelan looks at me and exhales hard, the tension finally draining out of him around my cock.

"Door's open," he says.

I move my hips, and Caelan gasps.

There's a beat of silence on the phone. "Is he fucking you right now?"

Caelan starts laughing. "Yes."

"Jesus Christ."

"He got a little freaked."

"A little?"

I bite Caelan's shoulder, avoiding the fresh mark. He swears into the phone.

Astra laughs. "I'll be there in fifteen."

"Drive safe."

Caelan hangs up and drops the phone onto the carpet. He takes one breath, then another, still smiling when he looks at me.

“You’ve got fifteen minutes to clean up.”

“Five.”

Caelan looks back at me like he’s sure he misheard.

I grip his hips and pull him tight against me. “I’m fucking my freshly bonded Alpha for another ten minutes. Then we get five to clean up.”

Caelan's laugh turns into a moan when I start moving again.