This isn’t just nosiness. If it’s to do with me in any way, I’d like to know. But I don’t hover. There was something in his face, beneath his bored tone.
Almost like a plea…But that’s fanciful thinking.
Still, I go into my room. It’s not the same one they put mein for when I was in heat. This is bigger, the bedroom nicer, and there’s also a little living room. I stand, at a loss, and decide maybe I could freshen up.
I go to undo my apron, and I freeze.
Oh, good lord, I left it upstairs, wrapped around the vibrator.
I run to the door and pull it open, running into a warm mess of welcoming scents. Lavender, leather, honey, and the heat and strength of a male form wrapped in something snuggly soft.
“Knight,” I whisper, looking up at his smiling face and the caramel curls. “I need to?—”
“You can’t go up there.” He walks me into my room and closes the door, snipping the lock behind him.
My heart beats fast.
“Sit.” He steps away and motions to the sofa, and I get why he’s so damn soft. He’s got a throw, and it’s big.
“What’s going on? Are you…” I have to stop myself.
He looks like a rich college boy with those curls. The soft, welcoming smile’s enough to make me want to run to his arms. Before I met these men, before I went into heat, I hadn’t thought about sex. Now? It’s on my mind all the time. I’m basically a fiend.
“Just stay here.” He puts the blanket down. And a part of me sinks.
“First, Dante bosses me around, now you.” I don’t look at him, even as my fingers itch to touch the super bouncy material of the throw. It’s a pretty deep rose, and?—
I swallow down the tight, hot lump in my throat. Along with the sting of tears that hits the back of my nose.
“Why am I even here? No one wants me except when I’m in heat, and I can’t help that.” I look up at his frowning face. “You want to know why I came here instead of running off?”
“Me?”
A small laugh breaks free.
“It seemed smart. I-I figured Dad would want me safe.” I look down at the black trousers I’m wearing for my bussing and cleaning. “That’s why I came here.”
“Dang, you mean you didn’t come so you could jump me?”
He’s not playing his Daddy-master role. He’s flirty, funny, and to my horror, I sob.
An ugly sob that makes me drop my head to my hands in shame.
“Hey, Liz?”
I shake my head and utter a squeak, the only sound I can make. Hell, I’m like some sex-starved idiot, lusting after these men, sobbing because…because…because he hasn’t touched me since I got here.
“Liz, please don’t cry.” Knight leans in, mouth brushing my hairline. “Breaks my heart.”
I sob a little louder as I try to get myself under control. “I don’t really cry.” I try to breathe, try and get my shaky voice back in order. “I know you’ll keep me safe, you and Reaper. Dante too. I just wish the loneliness didn’t eat at me.”
He sighs softly and kisses my forehead again, pulling me in against him. I close my eyes.
This is nothing like Dad, nothing like anything I’ve experienced.
To me, it’s a little like the start of something…romantic, the sort of thing I never had and it only makes me ache more.
He likes me. He wants me. I’m not sure if it’s the same thing, but I snuggle in a moment, breathing him in, losing myself.