Page 40 of Knot Giving Up 2

“To have a little fun.”

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“This is lame.” I try to go with the flow when Meggie drags me out of the Olympic Village and into the streets of Paris, but I’m hot and sweaty and I’d really rather just go back to our apartment together than be around all the strangers and their baguettes.

I’m trying not to be a cranky Aries, but I am who I am. She’s not running away, but I’m still having a hard time believing this is happening.

“Quit complaining.” She shoots me a grin and pulls harder on our clasped hands as she drags me down the cobblestone streets. “We’re here!”

I look around at the old church behind us and the stone buildings. “Hmmkay?”

Meggie huffs her exasperation and stomps a foot. “Look down! We’re at Paris Point Zero.”

Dipping my head, there’s a coppery-gold multi-point star in the stone ground. Point Zero Des Routes De France is engraved around the star, and a sprinkling of coins dots the area.

“That’s Notre Dame,” she gestures to the old church behind us, “and this is the center of Paris. It’s a superstitious place. It’s supposed to be lucky!”

My heart does embarrassing little flips. Without thinking, I slide my hand into my pocket and rub the rabbit’s foot I always carry with me. Meggie sees me. She could have taken me anywhere in Paris and she brought me here. Shit, man. I’m falling stupid hard for this girl. How did I not see it before?

Her smile is fucking sunshine as she stands before me, each of us on one side of the bronze star. Her touch slides down my arm, and she pulls my hand from my pocket to intertwine our fingers.

“I want you to be the first to bite me,” she says, her eyes alight with so much feeling.

I shake my head, disagreeing or disbelieving. I’m not sure which. “You can’t mean that.”

“Yes, I can.” She squeezes my hands tighter. Other tourists pass us by, none of them paying us any attention, even though, to me, this moment feels monumental. “If we all decide we want this after the Olympics, I want it to be you first.”

“Shouldn’t it be one of the other guys? Nils or Ellis or something?”

“They’ll get their chance.” She glances down at the star on the ground between us before looking back up at me. “I want you to always know, without a doubt, that I choose you, McQuinn. I want you. Just as much as everyone else. You’re important to me. Even if you act like a giant ass sometimes.”

Her smile is wide and playful and so genuine. It melts everything inside me. She’s offering me exactly what I’ve wanted my whole life, that elusive connection that’s always seemed just out of reach, even with Nils. A bond.

I have a hard time believing it, but I want to trust her. More than anything else in the world, I want to trust her. Following my instincts, I pull her close, scoop her up, and kiss her right over the star that marks the center of Paris.

Meggie wraps her legs around my waist, and I don’t give a damn what Harrison said about not being physical. This woman just told me she wants me to bond her, something no one has ever said to me before. It makes me feel a bit like I’m flying and drowning all at once. And when she kisses me back with an enthusiasm that nearly knocks me on my ass, I feel like I’ve finally come home.

With her arms around my neck and her legs around my waist, I grab her ass and scrape my teeth along her bottom lip just to hear her gasp. Fuck, why haven’t we been doing this all along?

“Believe me now?” She asks, lips still touching mine.

I grin back at her. “I might need a little more convincing.”

She giggles and gives me a peck on the cheek, sliding her legs down so her feet return to the earth. “Later, right now, we still have to soak up all the luck we can from point zero.”

“I was getting pretty lucky already,” I smirk.

She lightly smacks my arm. I rub it, pretending it hurts. “Tell me what to do. I’m all yours.”

Her smile gets even bigger and brighter. “Well, I didn’t bring any coins,” she motions to the coins at our feet, “But there’s another way to make a wish.”

With Glenn’s threats hanging over my head, the upcoming games, and Meggie’s status as an omega, we need all the luck we can get. I give her a nod to go on.

“So, you stand on one foot, on the star, and spin in a circle.”

“Like a ballerina?” I’m sure my smile looks completely stupid, but my girl is making wishes with me in Paris and I can’t keep a straight face if I try.

“A French ballerina,” she clarifies with a grin before she steps into the center of the star, lifts one foot up, and twists herself around in a circle on the spot.

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