Page 26 of Knot My Secret Santa

My heart started pounding, and I almost dropped the plates I was transferring to the sink to rinse. Did that mean Lloyd knew about us? If he told the authorities, Nathaniel could end up in a lot of trouble. He might just be fined, but he could also serve jail time, and, since he hadn’t claimed me, he would definitely never be allowed to see me again.

Never seeing Nathaniel again… Nope. I could not deal with that. Not right now.

“Avery? What’s wrong?” Nathaniel had boxed up the rest of the food and put it into the fridge before coming over to me and caressing my cheek. He took the plates from my hands and put them on the counter. “Are you okay?”

Nothing was okay. This past week had been the craziest of my life. So many highs and lows and what the hell was I doings. Now one of my clients, one of Nathaniel’s friends, could know about us. I remembered to breathe out and noticed I was gripping one of his sleeves. “That bit just now, between you and Lloyd, does he… Is everything alright here?”

He pulled me against him. Drawing in his rich scent, the rigidity of my muscles eased a little. “It’s all good. Lloyd is normally an intense guy, but with Olivia in heat, that intensity is cranked up a thousand fold.” He tipped up my chin and kissed me lightly. “He’s also very impressed by you. And so am I. I had high expectations, and you’ve far exceeded them.”

Perhaps that was it. Lloyd was all worked up from Olivia. He probably didn’t even think about the fact I was an Omega without an escort and likely wouldn’t even remember that he forgot. His focus was on taking care of his wife.

As my tension released, it settled in what Nathaniel just said to me. I’d exceeded his expectations. This made me far giddier than I ever expected. “Far exceeded them? You’ll need to give me numbers. What did you originally expect and how far did I surpass them? Preferably in the form of a graph or a table. No, both.”

He chuckled and kissed me again. “We need to tidy up this mess and get back to the hotel before we really test how well the new room is soundproofed.”

I laughed even as an ache of desire grew in me. Kissing him back, I gathered the dishes, rinsed them, and put them in the dishwasher as Nathaniel fetched his car and brought it around front. Upstairs, Henry was shouting about smashing bubbles to the music of his parents’ laughter. The sound warmed my heart and soul. I wanted my career, but I also wanted a happy family full of love and giggles. I was determined I could have both, but spending time here, I found myself yearning even more for my own family.

Gathering my coat and slipping on my boots before grabbing my messenger bag and the wine, I internally reminded myself that I likely felt that way because I was in heat. An Omega’s heat was to attract a mate and have him impregnate her. The primal instinct to claim the Omega ensured he would stay around to protect her and their baby. No matter all the technological advances in the world, nothing could curb an Alpha’s and an Omega’s natural urges.

Nathaniel opened the front door for me and then the car door. A gentleman with a fervid stare.

I noticed the bags in the backseat of his car. Yet I didn’t have a moment to be surprised when he slipped into the car and pulled me to him for a feverish kiss. I moaned and melted into him. Screw all the technological advances. I could live just for this.

The drive to the hotel was a blur. I hoped we looked put-together and in control of ourselves when we walked through the lobby, but the second we were in our suite, he dropped his bags and pressed me against the wall with his hard body. Kissing down my neck, he plucked the wine and my bag from my hands and set them on the nearby table. He then tugged me to him before peeling off my coat.

“I’ve been waiting all day to get you alone,” he murmured hotly against my throat as he peeled off my suit jacket. Just his voice alone made me wet. I ran my hands up under his shirt, needing more of his skin on mine.

Slick gushed forth as he caressed my breasts. This wasn’t happening fast enough. “Take off these clothes. I want to be naked under you.”

“Fuck, yes.” My shirt and then his were yanked off, but then he paused, growling against my mouth. “I want to rip something else off of you. Something special.”

I whimpered as the heat of his body left mine. I was left in my bra and pants as he shed his clothes on his way to where he left his bags by the door. He grabbed a pink one and held it out to me. “For you. I hope I got the size right.”

He got me a gift? This whole trip had been a luxury for me, but something else? I’d already guessed what might be in the bag, but I was more than curious what he wanted to see me wear. “You didn’t have to buy me anything. I could have worn my Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer underwear.”

Nathaniel smirked. “Now I very much want to see that too.” He unzipped his pants. “Open it.”

Nipping my lower lip, I peered into the bag and removed the delicate pink tissue. The deep royal blue of the garments struck me first along with the sheerness of the lace. I gasped as I lifted out the delicately embroidered bra. It was lighter than a snowflake and just as beautiful. The matching panties were barely a scrap of material.

And they must have cost a small fortune.

“Nathaniel,” I whispered, as if the full force of my voice might blow the lingerie away. “I can’t acc—”

“If you don’t feel you can accept this gift, then think of it as a gift to me,” he purred as he pushed down his pants and boxers. His stiff cock bobbed with its freedom and had me quake with another pang of need. “I get to see your hot little body in it, and then I get to tear it off of you.”

I sucked in a shaky breath. He was so sexy. “You can’t rip—”

“I can do whatever I want with it if it’s a gift to myself.” That smirk was devilish and irresistible. He stroked his erection a few times, mesmerizing me with his huge cock, and motioned to the bag. “Are you going to put it on, vixen?”

Blinking, I hugged the bag to myself. Well, if he was just going to ruin the lingerie if I didn’t want it. “Don’t you dare tear them. They’re too pretty.” I set the bag down to take off my slacks. If he was teasing me, I was going to do the same in return. “Now you have to wait until I change.”

I turned my back to him to remove my panties and bra. There was no hiding the wetness between my thighs. In fact, I turned a little more toward the light so it would more obviously glisten for him and received a wanton growl as my prize.

Bending over, I laid the blue lingerie on the bed, taking time to set it out carefully. The thrill of him watching me was making me bolder, and I propped one foot up as I slid on the panties up one leg. Everything was on complete display from behind, and I almost expected him to rush over and fuck me before I could do anything else.

Nathaniel growled again, digging his fingers into the back of the chair beside him. “Fuck, Avery. What you do to me.”

I flashed a saucy little grin over my shoulder and repeated the same act with my other leg. I pulled the panties onto my soaked pussy and tugged them so they molded to it. The thin string of the thong settled between my butt cheeks as I did a slow spin and adjusted the elastic bands.

---