Page 34 of Knot Your Business

I press her into the door and cup her face, watching her carefully. Her eyes dilate, her breath catching in her throat. Her eyes flutter closed as I close the space, and it’s the little bit of encouragement I need. She tastes as sweet as I imagined, her lips soft against my own. The little whimper she makes in the back of her throat has me hard and aching in an instant, and I press into her, crowding her against the door. Her hands twist into my hair, pulling me down over her, her nails digging into my skin.

I’m a second from pulling her shirt over her head in this hallway when the doorknob twists. I pull her off the door a moment before it opens, revealing the redheaded woman from earlier. Her hair is out of the braids, soft waves falling around her instead.

Her cheeks blaze bright red as she freezes.

“Oh shit, Vi, I’m so sorry. I was just going to grab a smoothie before my call.”

I chuckle and pull away from Violet. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll chat with you later, Vi.”

Her cheeks darken as she nods. I kiss her one more time and then head down the hall, not even bothering to adjust my boner.

Sixteen

RYLAN

I’m just tucking my double bass into its typical storage spot at the back of the prep room when Liz appears practically out of nowhere. I have to adjust my arm so I don’t accidentally take her out with my elbow. Not that the almost collision isn’t noticed. A low, menacing growl works its way across the room from one of the side entrances.

“It’s fine, Zach,” Liz says, not turning toward the Alpha. “It wasn’t on purpose.”

Zach doesn’t much care, his eyes narrowing on me. I force a deep breath and scratch at my tattoo, giving myself a minute to collect myself before turning around and focusing on Liz. Jasper’s just putting away his cello, slinging it over his shoulder, his gaze on the floor.

“What’s up, Liz?” I ask, not bothering to hide the tired impatience.

“When do we get to meet her?” She’s bouncing on her toes, still full of energy despite it being nearly eleven at night. “Jasper didn’t have an answer, so we figured we’d check with you instead.”

Huntley raises an eyebrow as she draws close enough to hear Liz. Though, honestly, most of the room can hear her. It’s not like she’s subtle. Jasper still isn’t looking at me, his hands shoved into the pockets of his tux slacks. I haven’t had a chance to check in with him, but it’s clear enough the update on Dominic. He’s still not come home. My stomach twists. I grab his hand and lace our fingers together, running my thumb over his in silent comfort. His breath is shaky, but then he leans against me, resting his head on my shoulder.

“So? Are we getting to meet her? Or is she just going to stay this imaginary person? You haven’t told us anything, Jas,” Huntley says, crossing her arms.

His tensing is subtle enough that I doubt the others notice. I press a kiss to his temple and pull out my phone, tightening my grip on his hand. I send off a quick text to Violet.

Some of the coworkers would like to meet you. You up for that?

It takes a few minutes for her to respond.

Sorry, just got off shift.

No worries. Take your time.

The others start up a small conversation about where they’re hoping to go out tonight.

“You want to go?” I ask Jasper, keeping my voice quiet.

He takes a deep breath before shaking his head. “Not tonight.”

Sure. I work a double tomorrow but am off Monday. Is that ok?

That’s fine. We’re off Mondays.

“She can hang out Monday.”

Liz and Huntley cheer. Jasper tenses again but doesn’t say anything.

“Perfect,” Huntley says. “Let’s go to our normal bar. They’re pretty quiet on Mondays.”

Mason shakes his head. “They have a local band playing Monday. It’ll be crowded. How about the Rowdy Seahorse?”

“Not there,” I growl. I don’t offer an explanation of my refusal, but they take it in decent stride, quickly pivoting to other options. I leave them to it.

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