Page 68 of Knot Your Business

Once Rylan has me outside, he pauses, pressing me against the Alfa Romeo and running his lips across my jaw.

“What has you looking like you’ve just seen God?”

I laugh, but it’s brittle. “I did not look that shell-shocked.”

He grunts and bites the small spot just under my ear. My knees buckle, and he pushes more insistently into me, keeping me from collapsing. It also lets me feel just how interested he is in me right now, his cock a hard line against my belly.

“Tell me,” he whispers. “Before I rip off your scent blockers.”

I force a deep breath. “You say that like I’ll be irritated by it.”

His chuckle is dark and breathless. “You will when you realize you won’t be able to go back inside.”

Fair enough.

“I was thinking that I feel like maybe I fit in here with you.”

He pulls away like I’ve struck him, his eyes wide as he focuses on me.

“You didn’t before?” he asks.

I shrug. “I wasn’t sure with Dominic.”

His lips tighten as he nods, palming my waist.

“So why the surprised look?” His voice is so low, it brushes over me.

“I think I want to quit and apply for grad school,” I admit in a whisper. The last week of not being at the restaurant has been amazing. And maybe my desire to study Omega designations isn’t out of reach even matched. “Even though I’m scared of being dependent.”

He nods and then his lips are on mine, and he’s guiding my legs around his waist.

The house is quiet as I pad down the hallway into the main room, intent on getting some kind of caffeine fix before brunch with Faedra’s family. It’s late for me, already past eight, but none of the guys seem to be awake. Rylan certainly wasn’t where he was stretched on the other side of my bed, his hair an unruly mess and his body beautiful enough to make me perfume.

Two hard knocks on the door pull me from the fridge before I can grab the cold brew I’d stashed the morning before. I adjust my hair and dress, making sure I look mostly presentable.

The man from the Council greets me, another unmarked envelope in his hands.

“Again?” I ask.

When he nods, I sigh. His voice is carefully neutral, his gaze growing worried. “Would you like to file a counter motion?”

A hand on my waist has me practically jumping out of my skin. I bite my lip to keep from actually shrieking. Bergamot surrounds me in a few heartbeats, and I relax into Rylan’s shirtless chest.

“Yes, I’d like to go ahead and do that,” I say to the councilman. He nods, handing me the envelope with instructions on how to fill out the motion. Rylan disappears from behind me, returning a moment later with a pen.

I sign the paperwork and hand it to the man.

“You shouldn’t hear any more from me,” he says as he takes it and tucks it into a new envelope. “But you still have Mary’s phone number in case something comes up, right?”

When I nod, he smiles and heads toward his car pulled in front of the house, his hands tucked into the pockets of his slacks.

Rylan kisses the sensitive spot where my shoulder meets my neck.

“Do I even want to know?” he asks.

I shake my head as I scan the new motion my mom has filed. It’s the same reason as before, though this time she’s added a bit about Dominic being linked to a place I’ve never heard of.

“The Tabernacle?” I ask. “What’s that?”

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