Page 70 of Knot Your Business

“I’m on my period. Now stop asking, Mom. It’s none of your business anyway.”

Rylan laughs. “First time you’ve seen them in a month, and you’re on your period? Tough break.”

Faedra glances over her shoulder, her cheeks slowly staining red.

“Whatever, man,” Jasper says, laughing even as he shoves away from Rylan. “Periods don’t bother me.”

Faedra drops her head into her hands as she groans. I elbow Rylan again without really meaning it. When my best friend glances up, an eyebrow cocked, I snicker.

“It’s not like it’ll be a problem for long. You’re only getting them because you’re suppressed.”

Incredulity flashes across her face, and I’m suddenly sure she’s moments away from punching me out of frustrated embarrassment. Rylan tenses beside me, noticing it, too.

Jay intervenes before it gets dicey, though. Thank the gods.

“You bring that project you started?” he asks Faedra.

Rylan helps me into the seat across from Faedra, Jasper on my left and Rylan taking up the seat on my right. The moment Rylan’s settled next to me, he’s running his hand along my thigh, first the outside and then the inside. His face is impassive, a polite half-smile tipping his lips as Faedra pulls out the new quilting project she’s been working on since the gala.

My breath hitches as his finger brushes over my clit. Jasper glances at us, his eyebrow raised, but doesn’t say anything. Rylan’s next touch is more insistent, and I roll my hips, trying to keep from making a noise. He leans over and kisses my shoulder before pressing his grin into my skin.

Bastard fucking knows how hard it is for me to be quiet. Who the hell thought he’d have a fucking exhibitionist streak? His hand is featherlight where he runs it back down my leg.

Fuck, am I trembling?

Faedra’s mom takes a few of the finished pieces of the quilt and turns them over in her hands, tracing the sewn seams.

Rylan runs two fingers over my clit, and even with my clothing between us, it sends a rush of heat through me. Holy hell. I clench my thighs and force a swallow, trying to focus on whatever Elizabeth is saying right now.

“Interesting choice of colors,” Jasper says.

Rylan’s fingers move faster. Jasper grabs a menu from the table and smacks his wrist, angling the hit so he doesn’t manage to strike me at all.

Rylan grunts. “Fuck off,” he mutters before lacing his hand with mine and resting them on the table.

I adjust in my seat, trying to calm my heart. I can feel my pulse in my fucking pussy right now, and he barely touched me. My heat in September is going to be—to use his word—wild. I mentally shake myself and force myself to focus on my best friend, trying to fill in the gaps of the conversation that I’ve missed.

“So I’m just going to quilt these onto one large white background and then quilt it all together,” she says, moving a few of the pieces around.

Her mom’s voice lowers, losing a bit of the manic edge she typically has, as she sets the pieces down. “It’s going to look great, Faedra.”

Faedra’s cheeks are warm as she looks up, her eyes misty with new tears. The waiter appears literally a second later like it’s a freaking scripted scene in a movie, and it gives Faedra a chance to blink quickly and tuck her project back into her bag. The man is nice enough as we all put in our orders.

The moment he’s gone, I lean forward and adjust my skirt. “So have you looked up where they live yet? I can’t believe you’ve managed to not look.”

Honestly, it’s shocking at this point. Faedra’s so incredibly curious about everything. And yet she’s managed to not even run a simple search of the guys’ address to get a sense of what she’s walking—flying, I guess—into tomorrow.

“I don’t know Denver,” she says with a shrug.

Yeah, that’s not the reason.

It occurs to me that all the fears I had to work through last week are still circling for her. Where she’s going to be living, if she’s going to fit in with their group of friends, what she’s going to do regarding suppressors and career and everything else that comes after graduating college. Well, what are best friends for if not holding your hands during terrifying moments? I arch an eyebrow, and she sighs, digging through her bag and grabbing her phone.

“Aiden, switch,” I say, standing up and moving around the table.

Her brother takes it well enough, dropping into my old seat and striking up a conversation with Jasper. Rylan grabs my other hand and adjusts his seat to be closer to me while Faedra types in the address and pulls up the first listing offered on the search results page.

The moment the site loads, I’m tipping my head back and laughing, nearly missing Faedra’s jaw dropping in complete shock.

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