Page 54 of Knot Forgotten

She runs her fingers over the leather seat, raising her eyebrows at me. “This is nice.”

I shrug like her complimenting my pride and joy isn’t a big deal. “Yeah. It was part present and part money I saved all the way through high school. My dad said I needed a good, reliable car to get me home when I go.”

“Do you go back home a lot?”

I shake my head and start the car. The purr of the engine makes me smile. “Not as often as my mom wants.”

“I bet she misses you.”

“She does. She never fails to tell me all about it when she checks up on me,” I say, glancing over at her. “Buckle up.”

Once she slides the buckle into the lock, I put the car in drive. A comfortable silence falls for a little bit as we head down the darkening freeway toward our destination.

I feel her watching me and glance over. The look on her face is unreadable, and a smile plays on my lips as I look back at the empty road. “What?”

“Can I ask you a question?” she asks, her voice quiet.

I turn down the radio so I can catch every word she utters. “Sure.”

Peeking over at her, I see she’s captured her lip between her teeth and is chewing on it.

“Um,” she starts and stops, looking out the side window. She drags her eyes back to me, and I can feel the touch of her gaze as if it is a caress. “You’re gentle, right?”

“Gentle?” I am confused. She is worried about asking if I’m gentle?

“Yeah, with omegas…in…uh, well, in bed.”

I blink out at the open road in front of me. Blood rushes to my fucking cock because apparently that is code for ‘I want your knot deep inside me’ to my dick.

“With omegas?” I’m a broken record as my brain tries to understand her words fully.

She pushes a strand of hair behind her ear. “Or with anyone I guess.” I catch the shrug from the corner of my eye as my fingers tighten on the steering wheel.

I swipe my tongue over my lips as I let her question hang in the air. “Rin, I don’t sleep around. Football and the guys, that’s my life. So,” I draw out the word and glance over at her again, “I can only say, with you, I would be gentle.”

The bright smile she graces me with is everything. I only pull my attention from her face when my tires hit the rumble strips on the side of the freeway. Thank fuck the road is empty or that would have been bad.

“Are you a virgin too?” she asks, and I laugh.

“No. It's been a while, but I’m not.”

She shakes her head, half up and down and half side to side like she can’t make up her mind. “Of course. Yeah, I didn’t expect you to be.”

“If I knew I’d see you again, I would’ve waited.”

It’s her turn to laugh. Her hand lands on my thigh, and she pats my leg. “That is sweet, but unnecessary.”

The warmth of her palm sinks through my jeans when she leaves her hand on my leg. It is hard not to speed to our destination with her touch on me. It is either that or slow down and enjoy her touch while it lasts.

Before long, the exit for our hotel comes up. We follow the directions on the navigation, and then I pull into an empty spot in the parking lot. She releases me and hops out of the car, taking her backpack with her before I have the engine off. Following her, we entered the simple hotel. It has an indoor pool, weight room, and a small snack shop next to the check-in counter. Not much else.

We don’t need it for more, just two nights to have somewhere to lay our heads.

The woman behind the counter snaps her gum like she is a teen instead of the thirty-something she clearly is. “Checking in?”

“Yes. Under Matt Kobinsen.” I slide my ID and debit card across the counter to her.

She picks them both up, glancing fleetingly at my picture before typing something in the computer and silently printing out a room key. She writes a room number on a pamphlet and shoves the plastic key into the sleeve.

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