Page 69 of Knot Your Business

“How the fuck did she learn about that?” Rylan pulls away from me. “It’s a club. Mostly. But there’s a shit ton of other stuff that happens there that is definitely illegal. It’s Lorenzo’s favorite spot to hang out.”

I raise an eyebrow. “So on top of being the literal Italian mafia, Dominic’s involved with underground fighting?”

Rylan shrugs and takes the paper from me. “He’s not. His brothers are. Most Dom does is bet on the fights. I don’t think he’s even gone to one of them.”

“Oh,” I mutter.

Rylan chuckles and kisses my shoulder again. “I guess we should get ready and then extract Jasper from Dominic’s room. Don’t you have a hot brunch date in an hour?”

I glance at the clock and curse. “We’re going to be late.”

His smirk turns devious as he pulls me against him, his cock hard and heavy where it presses against my belly.

“Better make it worth it, then,” he says.

Thirty-Two

VIOLET

Rylan pulls me closer as the little café comes into view, tightening his arm around my waist even as he kisses Jasper’s temple.

“I didn’t get much of a read at the ceremony Saturday. Do we like her family?” Jasper asks, looking across Rylan to me.

I nod, smiling, though it takes a lot of work and honestly feels fucking forced. Rylan hums and kisses the crown of my head.

“They’re great,” I say. “Elizabeth can be a bit much sometimes, but it’s not malicious or anything. And Jay is great. He loves Faedra. And for being a Beta, he has a really good sense of what she needs.”

Jasper nods. “That was the vibe I got from him Saturday.”

“That’s impressive,” Rylan says. “Didn’t you say she’s suppressed? I wonder if he took a few of the optional courses from the Council when she designated to help fill in some of the gaps.”

I shrug. “Yeah, she’s been suppressed since her bloodwork was confirmed in high school.”

Rylan tenses. “That’s at least four years,” he says, glancing down at me, incredulity in his voice.

“Yep.” I pop the “p” the way Faedra does sometimes.

“How many heats?” he asks.

I elbow him in the side. “Personal information, Rylan. You’re not matched with her, so it doesn’t matter.”

Jasper looks between us both. “Aren’t they worse the more you suppress?”

I nod, walking quicker as I see Faedra and her family at one of the outdoor tables of the café.

“Fuck, I hope they’ve gotten an Omega through a heat before,” Rylan mutters, scratching at the double snake tattoo on his neck. “Because that’s going to be fucking wild.”

I smack his arm again.

“What? It is. I was assigned an Omega that had suppressed one heat, and that was…” He trails off, shaking his head. “Not sure there’s much else that’s that level of intense. Maybe a forced heat, but I never had to help with one of those.”

I scrunch my nose and flinch.

Forced heats sound fucking miserable. There’s medication you can take to trigger a heat if you’re close to when you’d normally drop into one. Lots of Omegas use them as a way to help plan around their heats. Scheduling childcare and time off is easier when you’re not fighting through the haze of the heat. Forcing one is taking those drugs and using them nowhere near when you’re supposed to be going into heat. The farther off the timing, the higher dosage it requires.

I force myself away from that train of thought, focusing on Rylan’s arm around me and his subtle scent blending with Jasper’s cologne. They smell delicious together.

We’re close enough now to hear Faedra, though her back is turned toward us at the moment.

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